Restaurant in Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn's most credentialed Italian. Book it.
Gianni is Tallinn's most credentialed Italian restaurant, holding back-to-back Michelin Plates in 2024 and 2025 and a 4.6 Google rating across 1,200+ reviews. At €€€ pricing it sits between the city's accessible mid-range and its €€€€ tasting-menu rooms — the right call if Italian is non-negotiable and you want third-party-validated cooking rather than a gamble.
Gianni is Tallinn's most consistent Italian restaurant at the €€€ price point, backed by back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 and a Google rating of 4.6 across more than 1,200 reviews. If you want Italian cooking done with enough seriousness to earn third-party validation in a city not known for the cuisine, this is where to book. If you want the most ambitious cooking in Tallinn regardless of cuisine, NOA Chef's Hall or 180° by Matthias Diether will push further — but at €€€€ prices and with harder reservations.
The most common misconception about Gianni is that it rides the novelty of being an Italian restaurant in the Baltics — a curiosity rather than a serious kitchen. Two consecutive Michelin Plates correct that impression. The Plate designation signals that inspectors found cooking worth noting, not just a concept worth tolerating. For the explorer who wants to understand Tallinn's dining scene in full, Gianni sits at the serious mid-to-upper tier: more polished than a neighbourhood trattoria, less experimental than the city's tasting-menu rooms.
The address , Jõe tn 4a, in central Tallinn , puts it close to the Old Town without being trapped inside the tourist circuit. That positioning matters for the experience: the room draws a local clientele that treats it as a proper dining destination, not a convenience stop between sights. For a broader look at what else the city offers, see our full Tallinn restaurants guide.
This is the question worth asking before you book. At €€€ pricing, Gianni sits at a level where lunch and dinner can represent meaningfully different propositions. Italian kitchens of this calibre typically offer tighter, better-value lunch menus , shorter, more focused, with lower per-head spend , while dinner is where the full repertoire and the higher-ticket options appear. If your priority is value, lunch is usually the stronger play at this price tier. If your priority is the complete experience , more courses, more wine pairings, the full room in evening mode , dinner earns its premium. Neither time slot is the wrong choice, but they serve different goals. Book lunch if you are managing budget carefully; book dinner if Gianni is the meal of the trip.
For context on how this compares within Estonia's wider fine-dining circuit, Alexander in Pädaste and Hiis in Manniva represent the country's destination dining, while Joyce in Tartu shows that serious cooking is not exclusive to the capital.
Gianni has no direct Italian competitor at the same award level in Tallinn. Osteria il Cru occupies the Italian space at a different price and register. If Italian is the non-negotiable, Gianni is the clearest answer in the city. If cuisine flexibility exists, Bocca offers Estonian cooking with comparable seriousness, and 180 Degrees Restaurant provides another reference point in the mid-upper tier. For those curious how Italian cooking at the Michelin recognition level plays out in other contexts, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and cenci in Kyoto show what the format looks like at starred level internationally.
Address: Jõe tn 4a, 10151 Tallinn, Estonia. Cuisine: Italian. Price range: €€€. Awards: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025. Google rating: 4.6 (1,216 reviews). Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy , you should not need to plan weeks ahead, but booking a day or two in advance for dinner is sensible, particularly on weekends. Dress: No confirmed dress code in the data; smart casual is the safe default for a Michelin-recognised room at this price point. Budget: €€€ , expect a mid-to-high spend per head; lunch will typically come in lower than dinner at this tier.
For more context on Tallinn as a destination, see our full Tallinn hotels guide, our full Tallinn bars guide, our full Tallinn experiences guide, and our full Tallinn wineries guide. If you are extending beyond the capital, Rado Haapsalu, SOO in Maidla, and Mere 38 in Võsu are worth adding to the itinerary.
No dress code is published, but a Michelin Plate Italian restaurant at €€€ pricing implies smart casual as the floor. Avoid activewear. A step up from jeans and a T-shirt is the right read for dinner; lunch allows slightly more relaxed dress without feeling out of place.
Seat count is not confirmed in available data. For groups larger than four, contact the restaurant directly before booking to confirm capacity and table configuration. At €€€ pricing in a room that holds Michelin recognition, private or semi-private arrangements may be possible , worth asking when you reach out.
No menu data is confirmed in the available record, so specific dish recommendations would be speculation. What the Michelin Plate signals is that the kitchen is worth trusting , ask the staff what is strongest on the day, which is the right move at any restaurant operating at this level. For Italian cooking with tasting-menu ambition at Michelin-starred level internationally, cenci in Kyoto is a useful comparison point for what the format can achieve.
For Italian specifically, Osteria il Cru is the closest alternative. For the most ambitious cooking in Tallinn regardless of cuisine, NOA Chef's Hall (€€€€, Creative) and 180° by Matthias Diether (€€€€, Estonian Fusion) both operate at a higher price point with tasting-menu formats. If budget is a consideration, Bocca and NOA at €€ offer serious cooking with more accessible pricing.
At €€€, Gianni is priced in the range where value depends on what you are comparing it to. Against Tallinn's €€€€ tasting-menu rooms, it represents a more accessible entry point to award-recognised cooking. Against the city's €€ options, you are paying a meaningful premium , one the Michelin Plate and 4.6 Google rating across 1,216 reviews suggest is backed by consistent quality. Worth it if Italian cuisine is the goal and you want the most credentialed version of it in Tallinn.
Yes, with the right expectations. It has the credentials , back-to-back Michelin Plates, strong peer reputation , to carry a celebratory meal. It is not the most theatrical or ambitious room in Tallinn (that would be NOA Chef's Hall or 180° by Matthias Diether), but for a couple or small group who want a polished Italian dinner without a tasting-menu commitment, it is a strong choice. Book dinner rather than lunch for the full occasion feel.
No tasting menu is confirmed in the available data. The Michelin Plate , rather than a star , suggests the kitchen is not primarily a tasting-menu destination; expect a strong à la carte or set-menu format instead. If a full tasting menu experience is the goal, NOA Chef's Hall is the more deliberate choice in Tallinn for that format.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gianni | Italian | €€€ | Easy |
| NOA | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | €€ | Unknown |
| 180° by Matthias Diether | Estonian Fusion | €€€€ | Unknown |
| NOA Chef’s Hall | Creative | €€€€ | Unknown |
| Tuljak | Modern Cuisine | €€ | Unknown |
| Lee | Asian Fusion, Asian Influences | €€ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Tallinn for this tier.
Dress toward the smarter end of your wardrobe. Gianni's €€€ pricing and back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024–2025) put it in a bracket where most diners arrive in business casual or better. Trainers and athleisure will read as underdressed; a jacket for dinner is a safe call.
Small groups of two to four are the natural fit for a restaurant at this price point and format. Larger parties should check the venue's official channels via their address at Jõe tn 4a to confirm availability and any private dining options, as capacity details are not publicly documented.
Specific menu items are not published in available sources, so ordering advice beyond format isn't possible here. At a Michelin Plate Italian at €€€, the pasta courses typically represent the kitchen's core argument — prioritise those over aperitivo-style starters if you're watching the bill.
Osteria il Cru is the closest Italian alternative, though it sits at a different price point and does not carry the same award recognition. For non-Italian fine dining in Tallinn, NOA and 180° by Matthias Diether are the reference-point options at a comparable or higher level.
Yes, with context. At €€€, Gianni is the only Italian restaurant in Tallinn with consecutive Michelin Plate recognition, which gives it a credibility floor its competitors lack. If you want a reliable, award-backed Italian dinner in Tallinn rather than a tasting-menu blowout, it justifies the spend.
It's a solid choice for a dinner that needs to feel considered without requiring a full tasting-menu commitment. The Michelin Plate status (2024 and 2025) signals consistent kitchen quality, which matters when the meal has to land. For a more theatrical occasion format, NOA or NOA Chef's Hall offer a stronger experiential arc.
Tasting menu availability and pricing are not confirmed in available sources. Before booking on that assumption, verify directly with the restaurant at Jõe tn 4a, Tallinn. If a tasting format is your priority, NOA Chef's Hall is the Tallinn option built specifically around that experience.
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