Kodu Baar

No Longer In Business

This was the strangest pub I visited in Tallinn but also one of (if not the) best, when it comes to exciting beer. But first a few words about the pub. You enter the pub through a low door, after having walked down the stairs from the pavement, finding yourself in a dark stone cellar with the bar on one side and a number of mismatching, low and well worn sofas, chairs and tables on the other, reminding me a student apartment. This is only fitting since the name "Kodu baar" means "home bar". The customers are young, in their 20s, and of an arty style. The bartenders were a bit older but of similar denomination, still friendly and accepting an old bloke like me. As for the beer, I was surprised and happy to discover they served Taako Pithla, the beer from Saaremaa, on draft. The other draft beers were more ordinary, such as Leffe Blond and Franziskaner Weissbier, but the pub had a well stocked fridge with excellent bottled beers from breweries such as De Molen and Schlenkerla. Strange but nice! Visited on 2013-06-30.

I didn’t remember the name of this place until browsing through the recent RB rating in Tallinn. Popped in here after enjoying a few with FatPhil around the corner. A really cool basement pub with a lively (but not too lively) crowd and a friendly and knowledgeable fellow manning the bar. You could do much worse than this spot.

Nice cellar bar with a relaxed atmosphere and a decent beer selection. Pihtla was great. Service was not always the best, but still a place well worth visiting.

This place has quite a history. I remember when it was Factory 47. Then Mexican restaurant took it over only to close it down after few years. Then came Juuksur and now Kodu. Not the biggest of place, but still with nice selection of beers. Pihtla on tap says it all.

Used to be known as Juuksuur, but under new ownership now and the new owners seem to be interested in stocking better beers than the previous owners. Brewdog, Pihtla and Malmgård are usually available and at good prices, especially the Pihtla, which is dangerously drinkable, so watch out!

I visited here with FatPhil and not much to add. Customers seem to be quite young, students, artists and such. We met some nice Swedish tourists even. Pihtla was in good condition and it is dirty cheap. Especially if you like beer places with character and underground feeling, this is the place to visit in Tallinn.

I’ve delayed entering this for several months, as I didn’t want to just enter it as my local pub, I wanted several different beer-related reasons. Given that this bar is closer to me than Hell Hunt only by about 30m, (they’re just around the corner from each other), the fact that I repeatedly go here rather than Hell Hunt (easily Estonia’s #2 beer pub) tells you that this place can hook a beer lover. It’s even battling Porgu for the #3 slot in Tallinn now. So, what were the special beer things that made me enter it here? Firstly, when they were very young, they asked for ideas what would be good, and almost jokingly I asked for Pihtla, thinking it was an almost unattainable target (see my Porgu review). Bingo - within 2 weeks they had it! Then when Huvila entered Estonia, thanks to James in Drink Baar/Shop, these guys (and gals) jumped on it immediately. BrewDog too. Finally, I managed to put them in touch with someone distributing one of Latvia’s best beers, and they jumped at the opportunity of being the first bar in Estonia to stock it, even beating Stockmann to it. So yes, they are serious about trying their best to get beers in, even if they are young and have few resources and limited storage space. Staff are wonderfully frendly. The bar itself is a lovely cellar bar, the former ’Juuksur’ underground haunt, and retains that dark cosy underground feel (with sofas that will absorb you). Live music several times a week, often free. Piped music very much in my vein - stoner rock is common. The hours are pretty good too, staying open until 4am most nights. Additionally, they have a great tea menu, for when you don’t need more alcohol in your system. E.g. 4 Pu-ehr teas at the last count. If it weren’t for that, my liver would be screwed...