The Baltic Islands offer a variety of food menus for the traveller, which have been influenced by the many cultures that inhabit the islands. Some of the restaurants there are gaining good reputations thanks to the Internet that enables reviewers to post their thoughts.

All of these restaurants have had good reviews from people who have actually eaten there. The Baltic Travel Company offers well-organised and enjoyable trips to the Baltic islands and surrounding areas where you can sample great local cuisine.

Gastmahl des Meeres, Sassnitz, Rugen

Serves fresh seafood with a great view, where you can sit in the window of the restaurant and watch the fishing boats come in with the night catch. The restaurant offers a wonderful breakfast buffet as well as generous well-cooked and well-presented main courses. It is recommended to book in advance to make sure of a table.

Restaurant Peppersack, Talinn, Estonia

This is a medieval-themed restaurant situated in an old building. This child friendly restaurant with costumed staff, offers a different dining experience which can include themed entertainment. The food is delicious, the beer is great and the service is prompt. This is a popular restaurant at a reasonable price.

Stockpot, Latvia

A well-reviewed little restaurant which is Latvia’s best kept secret, but not for much longer. It is a bistro-style restaurant with food which is from an eclectic mix of countries, including Mexican, Thai, Moroccan and Asian cuisine. The meals are prepared with quality ingredients and the restaurant offers a great dining experience.

The Kryp In Stockholm

http://www.restaurangkrypin.nu/in-english.html

This is a small restaurant in the old town (about 30 covers) which offers hearty meals such as reindeer, soup and crayfish. It is a popular restaurant, so it is advisable to book, although it is possible to turn up and get a cancellation.  This restaurant offers excellent service and great food which includes genuine Swedish dishes.

Werner Cafe-Lounge in Tartu, Estonia

http://www.werner.ee/

There are a lot of great places to eat in Estonia, but one of the most highly recommended is the Werner Cafe-Lounge. It offers coffee and mouth-watering cakes on the ground floor and restaurant food above. This cafe is recommended whether you are looking for a meal to try the local cuisine, or just a mid-morning stop-off point on your sightseeing tour.

Cuisine from the Baltic Islands is traditionally influenced by the climate and position of the island. The temperatures are cooler due to their position in the Northern Hemisphere and certain fruit and vegetables are only available when in season. The diet is rich in fish and root vegetables. Scandinavian foods are hearty and filling, perfect after a good morning’s hike in the mountain air.

Here are some foods you might like to try while travelling abroad with the Baltic Travel Company.

Pickled Herrings

In Sweden, you may wish to try inlagd sill or pickled herrings. Pickling is a traditional form of preservation of food and these herrings are pickled in a marinade of sugar, onion and vinegar.

Open Sandwiches

In Denmark, open sandwiches are a local delicacy. Sol over Gudhjem is an open sandwich using traditional dark rye bread which is topped with smoked herring, raw egg yolk and capers. Many of the open sandwiches use fish, herbs, sour cream and salad.

Borscht

Borscht is a staple part of many Eastern and Central European diets. It is a soup with a main ingredient of beets which can be served hot or cold. The cold soup is made from young beets, chopped and boiled, milk, yogurt or sour cream is stirred in, and raw chopped vegetables such as cucumbers or radishes. Dill is added to give the soup flavour as well as chopped boiled eggs. The finished soup is bright pink in colour. Hot borscht contains vegetables such as potatoes, carrots and spinach as well as beets. It may also contain meat. Although it can be served as a meal, it is more often offered as an appetiser with a piece of dark rye bread on the side.

Salt-Cured Raw Fish

Finnish cuisine is less sweet than some of the other Scandinavian countries and they have a real taste for pickles. One Finnish dish which would be worth trying for the simplicity of it is salt-cured raw fish. The fresh fish can be herring, mackerel, salmon or white fish which is cured with a salt and sugar herb mixture, wrapped and cured for three days. It is served on dark rye bread with fresh dill.

The Baltic Travel Company offer great value trips to all the countries in the Baltic Sea.

The Baltic islands include islands belonging to Sweden, Finland, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania. It is the world’s largest archipelago, or land mass of islands. The local cuisine is often based on fish served in many different forms including smoked, pickled and salt-cured.

Meat Dishes

The meat served is usually pork. Lamb is expensive and cows are more often used for dairy products, so pork is served as sausages, ground meatballs or as meat on its own. In Bornholme, Denmark, families tend to eat a main meal at night which will consist of a single course. This will usually involve meat and vegetables. A traditional Danish dish is meatballs made from pork or pork and venison in curry sauce with apple and celery, served with a rice and cucumber salad.

Seafood

Aland in Finland serves seafood or meaty Scandinavian Baltic herring which can be cooked in a variety of ways. The fish is tasty when it has been marinated in spices. Barbecued fish is also very popular. Finnish people use a lot of wholegrain products and foraged ingredients such as mushrooms and berries. They also catch and cook crayfish fresh from the rivers.

Smoked Trout and Beet Salad

The former Soviet countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have a lot of Russian traditions in their cooking. Traditional Estonian cooking uses different versions of beet salads. One such dish is created using smoked trout salad with marinated beets, greens and fresh horseradish cream.

Ice Cream

Oland in Sweden offers ice cream at Oland’s Glass which is considered one of the best places to buy ice cream. Among the more unusual flavours is salty liquorice. Traditionally ice cream is made using Nordic fruits and berries, natural ingredients and milk from Jersey cows.  For a sweeter flavour, try strawberry sorbet or yogurt ice cream with roasted hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds.