Tuljak — Restaurant in Tallinn

While on vacation I decided to treat myself to a meal at Tuljak, which indeed is situated in a beautiful place with intriguing design and a good sea view.

If you come for tasty food, this is definitely the right place, although the dessert of all the three courses was the weakest link, but definitely enjoyable.

What was more bothersome was the very negative waiter experience my group of six people had. The very first request of us to simply bring a carafe of tab water for our first thirst-killer was answered with the literal sentence “We are a Michelin star restaurant, we don’t do tab water here”. Which was so baffling to us that the whole dinner started off on the wrong foot. It continued by the waiter then not remembering who ordered what food, not serving in a correct manner (which would be expected at a Michelin star restaurant), forgetting to take away unused wine glasses some of us didn’t need or parts of the dishes of my first course. Oh by the way - we googled on sight and the restaurant is only mentioned in the current Michelin guide but has no star rating - so the waiter just told us a complete lie to start with.

My main course was set down from the left, and about 30 centimeters to my right (how the waiter managed that I have no idea). The attitude was very unmotivated and unprofessionally “bro like” and belittling. The cider on the menu for example was not labeled as sweet, semi dry or dry so I asked the waiter what it is. He answered he thinks it is dry, but wouldn’t give me a definite answer. So we asked for the bottle, which was only labeled in Estonian and he just showed it to me and I couldn’t read it. My Estonian friend was so kind to translate and confirm it was semi dry.

The final Fiasko happened when asking for the bill. Because the waiter didn’t even ask if we wanted to split the bill or pay all together but left immediately with an “ok” only to return of course with the complete bill. We then asked if we could split it, of course knowing this would make him redo it, but since he didn’t ask in the first place … well … he could have just said he’d do it but he actually rolled his eyes, hesitated if he would actually want to do it. Then did it and of course didn’t manage to bill us the right things. Which is really surprising. In all Estonian places waiters did write down our orders with the table placements and it was never a problem to split bills correctly. But in this fancy restaurant it was an impossible task for our waiter.

Again - the food was really enjoyable and deserves 5 stars and totally saved the day - but for the prices and the overall appearance of the restaurant this waiter experience was horrible and hence I need to give 3 stars.

Just hope for not having A. for your waiter or that his attitude and...

I was really looking forward to trying Tuljak, especially since it’s mentioned by Michelin, but honestly, it didn’t live up to the hype. The food was pretty bland and lacked seasoning or any bold flavors. Most dishes felt safe and uninspired, like they hadn’t been properly tasted or tweaked before coming out. I also wish they had offered a tasting menu or a set 3- or 4-course option—something that would really show off the chef’s style and pair well with wine. Speaking of wine, the staff seemed clueless about the menu and didn’t offer any wine recommendations. There was no sommelier, which felt like a missed opportunity.

The service was a bit cold and unwelcoming. The waiters didn’t seem very knowledgeable or interested in explaining the dishes or making us feel comfortable. It was frustrating trying to get their attention, and the timing of the courses was all over the place.

On top of that, the atmosphere wasn’t great either. The music was way too loud, making it hard to have a conversation without shouting. The restaurant was noisy overall, and the tables were set way too high compared to the chairs—made me feel like a kid trying to reach the table, which was uncomfortable.

All in all, Tuljak looked nice and modern but didn’t deliver on taste, service, or vibe. Definitely not what I expected from a Michelin-recognized spot. Because of the bland food, poor service, and awkward atmosphere, I can’t recommend it. There are better places in Tallinn if you’re after a memorable...

Service was too slow. We waited 30min for the bill while the restaurant was half empty. We had to go to the front of house to request it and still waited. Same with food - you have to wait at least 30min between orderin, and between courses. Table next to us had exactly the same issue.

Food was well presented but otherwise nothing special. As a result the place felt extremely overpriced.

Bread course 4/5. The plate needs more bread. We wanted to finish all spreads but there was just a small piece of bread

Tiger prawns 3/5. Looks good, but tasted like something you get from a Chinese takeaway. Absolutely nothing special. Perhaps the sauce needs improving to add more flavour.

Steak Tartare 3/5. Extreme well presented, but no texture from meat or other ingredients and taste is very flat.

Lamb dumplings 4/5. They tasted very good. But for over 20 EUR for 5 dumplings you expect more

Seafood ravioli 3/5. I think there's a reason why ravioli is normally made with a puree. They use fish meat instead, which made the texture off. Taste fairly flat again, but the pasta was fresh

Half crescent chocolate cake 5/5. This was good, interesting taste and presentation. The cake was sweet and sour, mousse-y texture

We had a pleasure of sitting on the terrace, enjoying a nice view. Overall...