JOYCE

As one of only two Michelin-guide restaurants in Tartu, this place truly stands out. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. Each dish is meticulously prepared with attention to detail. If you're in Tartu, this restaurant is a must-visit for food lovers seeking something truly special.

We ordered from the business lunch menu. I had pork belly which looked nice from the outside but was uneatable because of all the tough fat. My partner had portobello which lacked taste.

EDIT 2024: Wow this was a bad experience this year! Joyce is a Michelin recommended restaurant but this visit felt like a cheap diner! At first everything seemed okay, we were seated on the "second floor" and ordered our food. We were recommended the fresh bread selection. Three different breads and spreads. And then the saga began....our fresh bread slices were heated up in the microwave NEXT TO US. The microwave was 40cm from us and every other waitress used the same microwave to do the same for other clients.... No one informed us that we would be seated next to microwave! Very romantic dinner when microwave keeps whirring next to you :) The spreads were pretty good but those breads did not feel fresh. We have been to different restaurants many times, so we kind of know what feels fresh and what doesn't. So 7 euros for bread selection was not a good deal. Oh and we were not informed that those breads cost 7 euros, I was under the impression that the waitress was talking about the usual bread they serve before dinner. We ordered entrecote and venison. Both meats were beautifully cooked, nice medium-rare as they should be. Sauce and jus worked really nicely with meats. Parsley root next to the entrecote was well made and tasted good with beef. But those onion "baskets" with half cut raw tomatoes inside were little bit confusing and in my opinion didn't work great with other things on the plate (but that's just my opinion). Everything on the venison plate made better sense and worked well with each other. Sadly we didn't want to stay for dessert this time because of the microwave noise. We informed the waitress about the microwave noise afterwards and didn't get any remorse or apology from her....just "thanks for the feedback". PS! We were offered to choose between two tables on arrival. One on the second floor where we were meant to be seated and the second option was to be seated on the first floor but with time limit. But NO MENTION about the microwave! 2023 VISIT: Very cozy and warm place. Service was really nice. We ordered beef ribs and lamb. Lamb was really nicely cooked and all other components worked on that plate. Beef ribs were super soft and the sauce suited very well. To my surprise even the shallots were really tasty (and I usually don't like shallots!) Desserts were really tasty also. We had crumble and chocolate tartlette. Raspberry sorbet was spot on on that tartlette plate! Yes, the place is a little bit expensive and main dish sizes are not very big but you have to remember that this is a little bit high end place and you come to enjoy food here :)

The business lunch offered us an opportunity to try the food at Joyce at short notice. The restaurant located at the lobby of V Spa hotel has an exquisite setting and the service is personable and polished. Coming in for a late lunch, we almost had the entire place to ourselves except for another group. FOOD: There are some hits and misses. The European dishes shine while the Asian fusion dishes are best forgotten. 🔸️ DARK RYE BREAD ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔸️ ENTRECOTE ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Found also on the dinner menu, this was a good cut of beef. Evenly grilled, tasty and a satisfying plating with roasted potatoes, marinated cabbage and fragrant juniper sauce. 🔸️DESSERTS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent MEEKOOK (Honey cake) and SOOKOLAADI BROWNIE (Chocolate). The ice cream and sobert were great too. 🔸️LANSON CHAMPAGNE ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Semi dry, rich flavours. 🔸️ EARL GREY TEA ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔸️RAMEN with shiitake, kimchi, pak choi and pork belly ⭐⭐ Too much salty shouyu and an unbalanced broth with noodles that didn't taste like they paired well with the soup. Has the looks but it is expensive dish that did not satisfy. 🔸️ BAO with smoky pork belly, kimchi, hoisin sauce ⭐ Extremely hard, dry pork belly that is jerky-like. The use of kimchi and hoisin sauce with the steamed bao seems to be chasing popular ingredients. This is a dish of salt and spiciness overload with flavours that are each running in separate directions. The small serving also leaves one hungry.

Really enjoyed the atmosphere at this place, the veal tongue was my favourite dish. We had a good time there!

Very good place, there to go to eat. All food are done high level.

When a restaurants starter menu bottom price starts with 11€, 22-27€ mains, it builds expectations - those expectations were not fulfilled in any way. I ordered cod as main and honestly, it was the worst I've ever had. It was so stiff-tough and rubbery - it felt like I'm eating a car wheel. It was so so bad (and I was really hungry when we went there so one could expect that anything tastes good with such empty stomach). We ordered quail fillet (totally dry and mousse was covered with rotten dill mixed with fresh one - had to sort it manually), asparagus (asparagus itself was good quality (thank you nature) but the rest of food was okay - would have been excellent for 8€), eel ravioli (okay) and mini duck hamburgers for starters. These mini hamburgers were only dish worth its money. Additionally we had pork belly, filet mignon - not worth the price but edible. Plating was good for that price range, food looked tasty (clever trick). Seems like Chef Mihkel Manglus has invested some time to watch Netflix shows and takes real passion into that matter - I wish he would have the same passion about tastes and raw material quality and his team who makes that food by his recipes. I'm puzzled to understand such high review rating on this restaurant - I just don't understand how those, who have given this place high reviews - what did they actually rate... OR, Tartu's restaurants quality is bad in overall and in that certain formula, this restaurant is actually good? Well, if to keep international standards in mind, this restaurant does not meet them. Price/quality balance is so off. The waitress was very nice.

A modern shopping centre in the heart of the city plays host to this large, split-level brasserie with bold décor, a popular cocktail bar and a buzzy vibe. Attractively presented dishes mix local and Baltic influences: We found that the kitchen does not adds creative twists and flavours. Fish was tasteles, presentation was not as expected as described in MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View. Too petty!