Restoran Hõlm — Restaurant in Tartu linn

This was my third time to try this restaurant. From the previous times, I remember that the tartare was always good and the pasta was always overcooked. Having to want to try the pasta again, because I only come to Estonia during summer, and miss the forest mushrooms, I kindly asked the chef to cook the pasta al dente. The waiter came back saying they can't accomodate such request as the chef said they boil their pasta IN ADVANCE. I mean, I lacked words at that point. They said they will do their best and I didn't want to cause more fuss and went ahead with the pasta order. Of course, it arrived extremely overcooked. The flavours were nice though. I would be mortified if I were the chef and had to admit that they don't cook pasta to order at a Michelin-starred restaurant.? It really only takes a couple of minutes. I honestly can't understand the positive reviews... maybe they didn't...

Likely the best fine-dining experience Tartu has to offer in 2021.

10/10 atmosphere and ambient sound management. the music was quiet, however the sounds from kitchen (which was rather close) or other nearby tables was barely noticable all dishes and their ingredients were thoroughly explained as they arrived. definitely felt taken care of by the waiters throughout the visit solid drinks list with a wide range of every category. personally very pleased with the whiskey selection +- the portions are rather large, so in case of a 3-course meal, I would suggest leaving some room for the dessert. I definitely overate. being in the heart of Tartu, the parking options are likely to be limited

PS: some photo angles of the dishes are suboptimal, e.g. the lamb definitely looked more pleasant from my side (photo was taken from...

Visited in Sep 2025

Holm is one of the 3 restaurants in Tartu which is recommended by the Michelin guide (as of Sep 2025). Therefore decided to have a dinner here during my trip to Tartu.

The restaurant has 2 entrances - you can enter it from the hotel side as well as the park side. The menu of the restaurant comprises an a-la-carte menu and a tasting menu. I went with the tasting menu which comprises 5 courses (excl the petit fours). On top of that, there were additional courses like the amuse bouche, the bread course and a palate cleanser dish. Each individual course was quite nice with good quality cooking and solid ingredients/produce. The reason for giving a 4/5 and not a 5/5 is that the beef main course was a bit too salty for my liking.

All in all, a good restaurant to visit if you’re in...