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English-language teaching in Estonia
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Guest Post: Alex Kesa Reviews Hell Hunt

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Editor's note: Alex Kesa is a Tallinn-based student, who contributed this review of Hell Hunt, one of the city's most popular and best-known bars. In his spare time, Alex also helps Serve The City Tallinn, an organisation that, among other noble initiatives, runs a weekly Sunday soup kitchen in Kopli for needy individuals and families. Check out their Facebook page and sign up if you can spare a couple of hours on your weekend. You won't be sorry you did.

Hell Hunt seems from some of its decorations to have a preoccupation with totalitarian regimes, but if you don't take it too seriously, you are in for a pretty comfy and fun experience. 20th century propaganda posters over the walls, and the menu, with human heads cut out and wolf heads pasted instead; clearly they are just trying to follow the "in your face" path. And, as expected, that choice returns the results expected - the place is fairly popular among locals and tourists, in fact, it has been running successfully for the past 20 years. Hell Hunt offers a warm, cozy atmosphere. The service is top, the meals are prepared quickly, and the waitresses will make anyone’s day with their perfect smiles (always present).

However, a couple of nice décor touches and good service is not what puts the "great" into "great restaurant". It is the appearance that makes people want to come, but it's the food that makes them want to stay. Judging from the only meal I had there, they should really work on that last part. Hell Hunt would pass as a pub with flying colours - the "Drinks" section takes up most of their menu space, with a huge chunk of it reserved for "Beers", and the prices for the many alcoholic beverages they have are quite pleasing (with the price of beer averaging at around 2.90 euro, unlike the 5.75 euro price tag at pubs located on Raekoja plats). The food selection, though, is quite poor with only a couple of pages covering everything they had.

A really old photo from localyte.com, which I had to reproduce purely for the curiosity value.

I had to decide between Pasta with Chicken and Chilli-Teriyaki Sauce (4.50 euro/6.20 euro) and Red Curry Chicken with Rice (7.80 euro). I just really love chicken. As my friend was paying, I decided to go with the latter. I cannot say I regret my choice, but neither can I say the quality was restaurant-worthy. The dish was prepared very quickly, in less than 10 minutes, but it wasn't quite what I expected it to be. The rice was completely tasteless and there just was not enough sauce to fix that. The chicken, on the other hand, was near-perfect, not undercooked, not overcooked, but right in the golden mean. The curry might have been a bit less sour, and a bit softer. Overall, it was a mediocre-to-fairly-good meal. But it certainly did not make me want to come back.

However, if you are looking for a place to raid for that desperately needed fix after a long week of hard work - go for it. You will find everything you need here to get you right on your feet (figuratively speaking) or kick you down and cause temporary amnesia (literally). Perfect for a nice Friday evening with your friends. Or a Monday night if you're the kind that likes to start the week with a positive adventurous note.

Hell Hunt, Pikk 39, Tallinn, https://www.facebook.com/hellhunt