The story of the oldest continuously operating café in Tallinn and probably in all of Estonia dates back to 1864. The interior on the ground floor, which has remained almost unchanged for more than a century, makes Maiasmokk Café unique.
In the historical atmosphere of the café you can enjoy on-the-spot or take-away fresh pastries and confectionery created from natural ingredients and delicious handmade sweets. Everything is made on site.
Gift card
You can purchase gift cards worth 10 euros and 50 euros from the Maiasmokk Café.
The gift card is valid at the Maiasmokk Café for 6 months from the date of issue.
Event planning
The cosy historic interior of Maiasmokk Café is suitable for holding both smaller and larger events: seminars, meetings, birthdays, receptions, dinners and Christmas parties. The two floors of Maiasmokk Café can hold events for up to 200 people.
The halls on the first floor can accommodate larger events with up to 75 people.
All rooms have a Wi-Fi connection, and it is possible to order catering. You can also spice up such gatherings with our marzipan painting workshop.
Booking the Otto Kubo Room or the Stude Room is €20 per hour and €130 per day.
The Otto Kubo Room offers a comfortable and cosy historical atmosphere for up to 5 guests. Comfortable armchairs and sofas and a cosy historical atmosphere make for memorable and inspiring get-togethers.
A great opportunity to get out of your usual office environment, get comfortable and let your ideas flow.
Georg Stude room The room named after Georg Stude is perfect for organising seminars, business meetings and training events.
The room has a table for 10 people and a screen.
History of the oldest Café in Estonia
Café Maiasmokk is considered to have been established in 1864, although already in 1806 there was a small bakery and a shop at the same location. In 1864 the house was owned along with its business by a Baltic German confectioner Georg Stude. He also bought a large house on the corner of Pühavaimu and Pikk and built them into a single building as we see it today. Renovations made it possible to expand production and build a better selling space. As in the past, one could still place an order for delicious cakes and coffee from the table.
Georg Stude’s marzipan products were the ones that earned the best reputation. During the second half of the 19th century they delivered marzipan also to the Russian imperial family and its court.
The café obtained its luxurious look, which has been preserved until today, in 1913. Even more so than rust-colored wooden display cases and counters with bronze ornaments, the exceptional glass ceiling with paintings catches the eye of the customers.
The Soviet occupation caused the nationalization of Georg Stude’s business and it was incorporated with other confectioneries in 1941. As a result of several mergings it became later a part of what we know as Orkla Estonia ltd.
That is how the production of Georg Stude’s marzipan and handmade confections made it to the confectionery called Kalev. But the production of his tarts and cakes continued in it’s former location on Pikk street.
The café is called Maiasmokk since 1984.
In 1997 Maiasmokk OÜ was registered and seven years later Kalev ltd acquired the majority share of the company. In 2007 the production of marzipan figures made its way back to the historical premises of café Maiasmokk and it is located there to this day.
In the end of 2010 Kalev ltd purchased the historical building of café Maiasmokk from the city of Tallinn at an auction. As of today Maiasmokk OÜ is the subsidiary of Orkla Estonia ltd.
The history of the café on the first floor
The first floor of the building was once the apartment of the company’s owner Georg Stude and his family. These rooms have later been used for various purposes. For example, from 1947 to 1952, some of the rooms housed the editorial offices of the women’s magazine Eesti Naine. In the 1980s, there was a very popular restaurant here. It was so busy that people often had to pull a few strings to get a table.
Sustainability
At Café Maiasmokk, we honor our long history, but we also care deeply about the future. For years, we have been organizing our activities to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The guidelines of the Orkla group and the Green Key standards, which we strive to meet, have helped us stay on course. Today, our efforts have paid off, and we are proud to say that we have received the Green Key certification.
In practice, this means that we follow a long list of recommendations that make our activities less burdensome on the environment and offer our guests more environmentally friendly choices. For example, we use a lot of local raw materials and products, offer plant-based foods and work to increase their selection, provide clean and high-quality tap water, map food waste, and look for ways to reduce it. But there are many other activities as well.
Green Key is a leading standard that recognizes the environmentally friendly and sustainable operations of tourism businesses, catering establishments, and conference centers. The label gives visitors confidence that the company is committed to reducing its environmental impact and creating a better tomorrow for all of us.
