Restaurant Pegasus — Restaurant in Tallinn

Pegasus came so well recomended across numerous websites that I was really looking forward to it, and after a week of outstanding food and service, my wife and I came here for our final meal. Unfortunately, honestly a bit disappointing.

We arrived around 8. It was gone 8.20 by the time anyone came to take an order, including for drinks, and with no bread/olives or whatever on the table we just sat getting hungry despite them not actually being too full and despite several attempts of mine to catch the attention of the waiting staff.

In this time we heard a group of Americans demand service, which initially I'd thought of as a cliche rude American thing but as time went by it seemed possibly more and more justified.

It had been recommended as Estonian food but the small menu (photo) seemed relatively standard worldwide fair, albeit with a distinct Eastern European twist. There were only a couple of options that really seemed to be to be fairly uniquely Estonian or Baltic.

Ordered 2 starters, 2 mains*, 2 drinks and 2 waters. *Including flank steak, with no question of how I'd like it, although to be fair flank isn't a cut that gives that much leeway. (Photo)

Drinks (not water) arrived within about 10 mins of ordering (so 30 mins roughly sat without anything, although my wife's tea arrived a little sooner than my beer but was pure hot water until she'd let it sit and brew).

At 8.50, still no food, they apologised for the wait and offered us bread "while we waited" (photo attached) which would have been very welcome except literally just a moment after the bread arrived, I'd just spread one with the butter, lightly sprinkled with salt crystals, looking forward to a bite, when I was interrupted by our starters arriving.

During this time, a couple were sat after us, ordered before us and served before us. Benefit of the doubt I suspect they may have been regulars who knew the menu. That said, (for context I run bars/restaurants) whilst I may try to give regulars some special treatment, you shouldn't really be seen to do so, especially when service is lacking elsewhere, and there was another couple who were sat before us who I heard complaining they'd not had food yet, and we were served before them.

I had the 'Grilled octopus' which was served cold, which seemed a little odd, certainly unexpected, if I order something grilled I'm expecting a hot dish, but I guess like a tourist could be surprised that in a 'roast beef sandwich' in the UK the beef will not be hot, so I'll let it pass, and it was tasty.

Around this point I re-ordered the water, they offered sparkling, gas or tap, we took tap water and a while later it arrived.

The food, to be fair, was fantastic. My wife's fish soup was great (and hot as expected!).

Steak, havng nit asked my preference, came kinda medium/well done, which seemed surprising as the liver (photo) was almost blue, although that was no bad thing, as literally melted in the mouth and tasted incredible

When my beer ran, out once again it took ages to get the attention of staff for another, and they brought the wrong one (we didnt open it) and, quickly remedied, but the beer menu wasn't that extensive. The replacement did not appear on the bill when the waiter suggested I check it, to be fair to them, but actually that seemed an odd choice as apart from sending back one unopened beer for another we hadn't voiced any real complants to the staff.

By the time we'd finished, the couple who'd been there longer had finally been served their mains, whilst several couples or groups had come and gone within the time we'd spent there.

When the bill arrived despite the one beer missing, I was shocked to see tap water was on it, and charged for! (unlike other places we'd been to, so not just a standard custom of Estonia).

All in all, enjoyable good food, but only okay service and I certainly wouldn't rate it as highly vs the rest of the other great dining options in Tallinn, as many...

4.5 stars Pegasus is a trendy New Nordic restaurant transforming Nordic ingredients and flavors into creative dishes. The modern, elegant atmosphere is a world away from the kitschy medieval stuff found in the nearby Town Hall Square. We started with their homemade rye bread, which included beer, butter, and nuts/seeds, and this combination of ingredients gave the bread a crispy, caramelized exterior and a super buttery, decadent interior.

My favorite item on the menu was the Snacks to Share, a platter with three kinds of homemade crisps, three dips, an arugula/beetroot salad, and an Estonian truffle cheese. The dips included smoked paprika aioli, spinach hummus, and smoked fish spread; and the selection of crisps included one made of nuts/seeds, a white flatbread with black sesame seeds, and a long, rectangular, brown flatbread flavored with dill (my favorite). All of these items were beautifully plated on a wooden board and made for quite a colorful spread.

For my entree, the 60 degrees Celsius Lamb was a lamb loin cooked rare, sliced and served over a half roasted eggplant topped with tomato sauce, pickled beets, and smoked yogurt. While the lamb was beautifully cooked and had a nice gamey flavor, the tomato sauce was overpowering and overwhelmed all the other flavors. We also got a side of Truffled Cauliflower, which was a bowl of cauliflower rice in a rich, decadent truffle cream sauce, all topped with fried onions on top.

Overall, the food here was beautifully presented, though just decent in flavor and execution. The prices were on the expensive side, though the design-focused atmosphere was beautiful, and the service was super friendly...

Had a simple early dinner/late lunch with a friend, so we both got just a dish and a side. Stuck with the complimentary rosemary tap water as the drink.

In short, especially considering the price to value ratio, the restaurant fell a bit short for me. The food wasn't terrible, but for the price, I would've expected a bigger portion and better flavours/quality.

I ordered the eggplant, and my friend got the marinated chicken. I got the asparagus for my side, and my friend got the cauliflower. The eggplant dish looked a bit boring but tasted nice, though a bit monotonous over the course of the full dish. The asparagus was decent but a bit under seasoned. It definitely would've benefited from a bit more salt. It would've been good to have some exciting side element to the eggplant dish and maybe have it be a tiny bit more food for the cost, though the price wasn't too egregious here.

For the chicken dish, however, the plate looked sparse, mostly due to the chicken piece being so small. It was not as small as a chicken tenderloin, but it looked like it was half a breast you'd normally expect. I would've been very disappointed for what I paid. The cauliflower side turned out to be cauliflower rice. It was a pleasant surprise, my friend really liked it, but I found it a tad watery.

The bonus of this place is its location and staff/service, which was...