SOO

The story

SOO Restaurant at Maidla Nature Resort – Rapla, Estonia – Michelin Recommended Modern Cuisine

Where history meets the table

SOO occupies the restored Servants’ House of Maidla Manor, a 15th-century estate in rural Raplamaa. The dining room feels like a private home — warm, softly lit, with just enough ceremony to signal that what follows is deliberate. The restaurant is part of the larger Maidla Nature Resort, a project that gently layers contemporary comfort onto centuries of Estonian manor history.

Eight courses, one arc

The menu is built around what is at its peak in the Estonian landscape. Each of the eight courses follows the four seasons, making the experience as much about timing as about taste. The kitchen works with high-quality regional ingredients, but it is not afraid to pull in flavours from further afield — the result is modern cuisine that feels local without being parochial.

The kitchen operates on a zero-waste principle: off-cuts become powders and garnishes, spent wine becomes sauce, leftover fruit becomes jams and cocktail fusions. That philosophy is not a footnote; it shows up in the complexity of the dishes.

In the glass

Wine and cocktails are treated with the same seriousness as the food. The list draws from classic regions and lesser-known producers, always with an eye for the surprising. House-made infusions and a range of Estonian spirits give the drinks a local signature. Both alcohol and alcohol-free pairings are available, each designed to deepen the progression of the meal without overshadowing it.

Recognition

SOO’s disciplined, original approach has earned it a Michelin Recommended distinction in 2026 — a quiet nod that the team’s commitment to seasonality, craft, and sustainability is being noticed far beyond Estonia.