Address: Narva mnt 10, Tallinn
Website: http://www.kohviknarva.ee/
Style: Estonian, Eastern European
Price: $
This one was actually quite accidental and I wasn't really planning on buying more sweets until eating the ones from my previous trip, but I really can't complain. On my "scenic" (I was following Lonely Planet's walking tour of Tallinn and this was supposed to be Soviet-era leg) tour of scorching Tallinn, I was walking past this little, unassuming cafe and then this whiff of freshly baked sweet yeast goods just came at me. It was so strong, so delicious (seriously, I don't know what it is, but not enough bakeries smell like freshly baked goodies anymore!) that I retraced my steps and ended up in front of Kohvik Narva or, rather, the Kohvik Narva, which seems to have gotten a (international) reputation of serving classic tastes of the USSR. I can't say I found anything overly dated about their sweet cheese or nut buns and traditional cheesecake (the one I love so much XD): you'll find similar if not the same things in Eastern European bakeries on location and here as well. Unlike other people online, I wasn't here for my dose of Soviet nostalgia, but it was enough for me to smell the aroma coming from the door... and to see the line of people that actually went out the door as well! That is always my sign that I *have* to check this place out!
And I did. ^^ Once you make it to the front, there are baskets behind the window showing off various individual sweet buns, almost all dusted with vanilla sugar and stuffed with either nuts, sweet cheese, cinnamon or fruit, and a few slab cakes (cheesecake and a fruit-topped cake is what I remember) sold by weight. The prices are ridiculously cheap: buns are around 50 cents and per weight items were something like 4 euros per kilo (!). I thought at first it was simply coming from Finland that made the prices so amazing, but compared to the places in and around Old Town (alas, I didn't have enough time to wander farther and explore bakeries in the non-tourist zone, though I probably went farther than most do) this place is Cheap; yes, with a capital C. I continued on my subsequent Cake Tour with this idea in my head that Tallinn has amazingly affordable baked goods and I was pretty disappointed in that sense. :/ Still: Kohvik Narva = eat your fill for under 1e!
So, with my extremely limited to nonexistent Estonian, I was eyeing what I knew to be the cinnamon twists and strawberry, I believe, sweet buns with crumble and sugar on top. Unfortunately, this place just keeps selling and selling, so it's no wonder they keep well, baking and baking -- the woman in front of me took the entire remaining basket (around 6) of fruit buns and I was at a loss of what to pick instead. Not fair. *pouts*Nonetheless, I did end up with what I call the cinnamon twists (45 cents each), a soft yeast folded with a generous amount of sticky cinnamon mass and dusted with, you guessed it, vanilla sugar. ;) I've had North American cinnamon buns, Scandinavian cinnamon buns and this was my first time trying the Eastern European variety.. and it was a pass! So soft, so cinnamon-y without being too sweet -- mmmm... I had one of these on a bench at Kadriorg Park (this was where the photos were taken! ^^) and got the powdered sugar all over me; oh, the memories! :)
So, not wanting just one thing, I settled for what I highly suspected to be a sweet cheese bun (60 cents) and I was right. It looked so nice though.. I say though, because I'm actually not that fond of sweet cheese in baked goods. It's a staple of Eastern European baking, so I suppose it was inevitable having to trying it eventually. ;D Actually, it was pretty good after all: the same deliciously fluffy dough folded over a surprisingly generous (for 60 cents) sweet cheese stuffing. Perhaps there was a little too much for my liking (and, alas, the heat had caused the powdered sugar to melt off this one -- it was so hot ;_;), but it was still fresh and tasty, and not a lot beats tasty baked goods fresh from the oven!Seeing as it's not too much off the beaten path for tourists (though, to be fair, I can't say I saw any in the area :/), this place is definitely worth the visit, especially when you're on a budget and you'd rather settle for some great home-style baking (versus the French-inspired creations of many places in Old Town)~! ^.^
Rating: ***1/2
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