12.08.2025
Something is happening in Kohila on August 16th that even gourmets in New York or Paris, let alone those in Tallinn, should immediately mark in red in their notebooks. On this day, the small Estonian town will prove that it has been completely unjustifiably left out of Michelin restaurant recommendations: the doors will open 18 carefully designed courtyard cafes and one of them comes straight from the future: the Rail Baltica station café will open its doors for one day!
This station café does not officially exist yet, the site of the future station is currently a busy square – the construction of the international high-speed railway is already underway. But on August 16, a pop-up station café will open in front of the municipal hall (Vabaduse 1), where the aroma of hot pancakes will mingle with even hotter questions, to which employees of Rail Baltic Estonia and the construction company Verston will answer. They already know how the construction is going and when the train will finally stop at the new Kohila station. This is a rare opportunity to get a taste of the future!
And once the initial hunger for information and, of course, the hunger for pancakes has been quenched, the visitor discovers that Kohila is actually a passionate and multi-layered capital of garden cafes, and has been for years. Not only the town itself - there is also a gourmet trail stretching towards Hageri and Aespa, where home chefs serve visitors artisanal lemonades, grilled dishes and cakes, the recipes of which have been kept a family secret.
One of the most legendary destinations is Tarvis'te Lounge, run by Rauno Tarvis. Rauno is a man who puts on a leather apron one day a year and becomes a Michelin-starred chef in a courtyard. His burgers and handmade fries forced people to fast last year so that they could still eat what came from the grill. In the end, people also bought some to take home for the evening so that they could eat after a short break. Rauno takes things seriously – he doesn't have to spend any more time recruiting relatives this year, but the first planning meeting was held two weeks ago, and a few days before that, a rehearsal dinner for friends will be held to fine-tune the flavors. So far, all the income from previous years has been invested in building an outdoor kitchen – the final touches will probably be put on after this year's Cafe Day. Team Buildingoven, so I would actually like to mark the 2026 Kohila Yard Day on my calendar.
Although the event is known as Kohila Yard Day, don't let the word day fool you. For some, it's the middle of the night, for others, it's early morning, and the day starts with a sunrise concert and breakfast at the TOHI Distillery yard (Viljandi mnt 43), located in an idyllic river bend in Kohila. The cafe opens at 6:30 a.m. and stays open until noon. Other home cooks usually open their yards at 10, 11, or 12.
At the end of the day, when most people have already packed up their kitchenware, the door to the Pilgrim's Buffet opens – and nowhere else than in Kohila Church (Viljandi mnt 1). Climbing the bell tower after dessert is not mandatory, but anyone who has tried it will understand that the view from the top makes all tastes better.
Everyone simply likes the rhythm of this day: at the beginning, coffee, music, and sunrise wake you up, in the middle, burgers, Mexican dishes, and homemade pastries mix, and in between, discussions take place about the future of Kohila.
Right in front of the municipal building, where the Rail Baltica station café is located, a space will be set up for an exchange of ideas at 13 p.m. The topic will be how in five years a train service could start from Kohila, connecting it to Tallinn and Pärnu, and from there to the whole of Europe. This is a revolution in the sense of a small place – as if someone were to give you the key to the bigger world and say: the door is the municipality, come in. The mayor of the municipality, entrepreneurs and railway developers will exchange ideas.
Kohila Yard Day is therefore actually more than a food and yard festival. It is a geographical thought exercise that proves that gourmet and good ideas can be born anywhere.
Come eat a pancake and find out what's happening at the Rail Baltica construction site! Together with the construction company Verston, we will share the latest information and answer questions in a friendly café atmosphere. The station café is open from 11:00 to 15:00 in the green area of Vabaduse 1 in Kohila.
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