{"id":152811,"date":"2025-11-16T01:21:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T23:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/?p=152811"},"modified":"2025-11-09T15:29:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T13:29:38","slug":"nordic-flavours-with-asian-spices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/balticguide.ee\/en\/nordic-flavours-with-asian-spices\/","title":{"rendered":"Nordic Flavours with Asian Spices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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O2 is a new modern restaurant clearly aiming for Estonia\u2019s Michelin scene. Head chef Martin Meikas<\/b> has created both the interior and the menu, providing the foundations for the restaurant to rise to the top tier of Tallinn dining.<\/p>\n

The 60-seat O2 is located in a courtyard of the new Neutra Torn building, in a trendy area of central Tallinn. Nearby are major hotels such as Swiss\u00f4tel, Radisson Blu Sky, and Hilton.<\/p>\n

On Friday, the dining room was nearly full, indicating that diners have already discovered this venue, which only opened last summer.<\/p>\n

The interior is dark, with black and brown tones, and prominent use of wood in the flooring, some tables, and other surfaces. There are no tablecloths, creating a slightly dim, minimalist atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The restaurant\u2019s style is Nordic minimalist, modern, and stylish. Natural stone surfaces, live plants, and airy Asian-inspired wooden structures soften the overall effect.<\/p>\n

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The sommelier assists with wine selection from a wide range.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Service at O2 is excellent. The friendly server, Pille, explained the dishes expertly: \u201cOur bread and spreads are made in-house. We favour local produce and seasonal ingredients. If you want to experience all of our flavour offerings, I recommend the tasting menu.\u201d<\/p>\n

The menu is concise: five starters, five mains, and five desserts, alongside a tasting menu. Both fish and meat dishes are available.<\/p>\n

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Particular attention has been paid to the presentation of dishes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Traditional tartar with quail eggs and herbs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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The initial prawns, however, could have done with a little extra something. The dish was perhaps a little too \u201cordinary,\u201d though the presentation was impressive. O2 clearly puts significant effort into presentation. The delicate prawns could have used a touch more punch.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the tartar with quail eggs was a complete success. The raw meat dish had clear, strong flavours with an Asian twist. A subtle smokiness complemented the dish perfectly.<\/p>\n

Both main fish dishes were very good. The pike-perch and pike dish earned praise. The fish were cooked perfectly, allowing the flavours to shine. The trout dish was topped with roe; cabbage and a lightly smoky butter sauce created a melt-in-the-mouth texture from the otherwise lightly raw preparation.<\/p>\n

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O2 Restaurant<\/strong><\/a>, Maakri 23a (Neutra Torn), Tallinn<\/a><\/p>\n

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  O2 is a new modern restaurant clearly aiming for Estonia\u2019s Michelin scene. Head chef Martin Meikas has created both … Read more<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":152594,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[13625,22651,25683,26401,26402,26404],"class_list":["post-152811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurants","tag-food","tag-restaurants-in-tallinn","tag-gourmet-restaurants","tag-26401","tag-asian-food","tag-asian-fusion-cuisine"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t