Charming simplicity

Another restaurant with Italian cuisine, like there aren’t enough in Estonia? Maybe there aren’t, because Pompei is a completely unique restaurant. This is first manifested in the milieu, as upon entering you first see the open kitchen and immediately after sitting at the table a panoramic view out of the restaurant’s two-story-high windows.

The uniqueness continues on the menu. Here you will find hot and cold ”small dishes”, which, according to the waiter, are half portions of food, alongside full potions of pastas and a couple of hot dishes. If you come here by yourself, you might want to take this with a grain of salt. People don’t tend to come here alone and the chef is rather generous with these half portions. 

The half portion dishes are very simple and laconic. Fresh tomatoes are served with only olive oil and basil. Fresh potatoes with kefir and pickles. An old-school housewife wouldn’t want to put such simple dishes on the table. Alas Pompeii is not an old-school restaurant but a fresh breeze for the stagnant Tartu food scene. Pompei is a restaurant for taking time out of a busy day, where food is usually nibbled on as a side to wine, longer than usual in restaurants. The ingredients in solo roles pull their weight, making Pompei very charming in all its simplicity.