The conflict drew renewed attention on election night last month, when Tallinn's municipal police were called on the Center Party's local election victory party at the bar.

As Center Party chair Mihhail Kõlvart prepared to give his speech, police asked staff to turn down the music. In the coat check, the scene played out like a comedy sketch: the owners pushed back while officers insisted.

For neighbors, it was just the latest episode in a yearlong struggle of stress, tears and sleepless nights.

Although Elo Selirand and Eero Kotli's home sits on one of Old Town's busiest party streets, the noise rarely reached inside. Except for the occasional art exhibition, the old movie theater next door had remained empty for years.

Selirand, a longtime resident of the building like Kotli, recalled that for a couple of years, a company held a New Year's Eve rave next door, and surrounding residents simply cleared out for the night. But the basic expectation of being able to sleep peacefully in their own homes has been tested ever since Manna La Roosa moved back into the space on Sauna tänav.

"At that point, it wasn't about fairness — what matters was that my grandchild could sleep," she said.

A 'quiet' restaurant

Ahead of its reopening, the bar's owner, 51-year-old businessman Sten-Erik Jantson — a member of the Center Party and a controversial figure linked to more than one past financial scandal — repeatedly assured neighbors it would be a "respectable and quiet" restaurant. They weren't convinced.

Noise from drilling and renovation already carried through the walls, and despite holding a city permit for a dining establishment, the bar was already marketing itself as a party venue.

On November 28 last year, just two days before Manna La Roosa's grand reopening, residents measured noise levels from the bar — and confirmed they exceeded the national limit of 30 decibels for sound entering a neighboring apartment. In Kotli's living room, levels averaged 34 decibels and peaked at 43.  

Two days later, the bar opened with a high-profile event, attended by celebrities and covered in glossy magazines. Neighbors braced for sleepless nights, and initially tried to be understanding. The club even offered affected families free hotel stays on weekends. But the parties kept coming, and tensions escalated.

Tallinn's municipal police became frequent visitors to Sauna tänav, and in desperation, Selirand even started keeping a video diary as neighbors say their lives turned into a nightmare.

"This was all completely surreal..." she recalled. "At one or three in the morning, the bass on the last songs [of the night] was cranked all the way up, and the walls would shake. And I just showed up there and said, 'Turn it down!'"

Not the first hotspot

Kotli described how the loud music next door makes even glass in his apartment vibrate — but the worst part is what you can feel.

"When you're lying in bed, those low frequencies travel through the building's structure, and you actually feel the thump all over your body," he said.

Tallinn Municipal Police Department chief Elari Kasemets said his officers have tried to respond, but their efforts were often dismissed.

"We did get signals from our officers that in some cases, communication with certain parties was difficult, but it just drags out the entire process," he added.

Tallinn's Old Town  is no stranger to nightlife conflicts. Past hotspots for trouble, like the intersection of Suur-Karja and Väike-Karja dubbed the "Bermuda Triangle," have drawn repeated police intervention. While stricter security and alcohol rules helped, businesses still found ways to bypass them.

Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) said the city has taken note of this kind of bad-faith behavior.

"You issue an order to one company," he said. "The next day, after another complaint, they tell you, 'Another company is operating here today. The company that was here yesterday isn't here today — I don't know who you're talking to.' And of course, it's all the same people."

According to ETV's "Pealtnägija," Manna La Roosa now employs a similar defense tactic.

Not technically hell anymore

Owner Sten-Erik Jantson declined to be interviewed on camera, but confirmed by phone and later in writing through his lawyer that their operations are fully compliant with the law and that noise is no longer an issue — a finding supported by a study they commissioned.

Attorney Leonid Glikmann confirmed that, following the study's recommendations, Manna La Roosa installed a 31-band graphic equalizer and volume limiter, added soundproofing, and notified municipal police of the updates, after which the case was closed.

Selirand, meanwhile, said Jantson was right that the noise issues had improved — but only technically. While life next door was "simply hell" at the start of the year, she said, now it's more like "an intermittently triggered anteroom of hell."

For her, this underscored that the problem at this point really comes down to decision-making.

"They're fully capable of operating without disturbing anyone," she emphasized. "Other times, they lose that ability. There's nothing more frustrating than constantly being on edge, knowing it could happen at any moment."

Just when it seemed the noise might be easing, Manna La Roosa's parties ramped up again with the first warm days in March. At the time, Selirand's six-month-old granddaughter was living in the apartment to stay close to medical care while recovering from major surgery.

"The only things this little girl needed were food and sleep," Selirand recalled. "We didn't know what treatment she would need next, so she had to rest as much as possible."

A firmer approach

Tallinn's municipal police chief said the city understood neighbors' frustration, while the mayor said officials had had enough of Old Town businesses sticking strictly to the letter of the law.

Until recently, enforcement focused on responding to complaints, but this spring the city took a tougher approach, warning that both businesses and building owners found skirting the rules would be fined.

Ossinovski said the city has a three-part cascade of interventions in place, and in practice has already produced positive results, including additional soundproofing at previously problematic venues.

Kasemets added that most Old Town entertainment venues do follow the law, adding that this culminated in an agreement signed by numerous venue representatives pledging to operate their venues responsibly.

Despite these efforts, city authorities said firmer enforcement was needed with Manna La Roosa. On May 6, the owner of the building, Baltplast AS, was issued an order by the city: use the space as a restaurant or face a €10,000 fine. The company is challenging the order in court, which could set a precedent.

Slow but steady

Ossinovski said the city is confident in its legal standing, stressing that it's the city's duty to protect residents' right to quiet at night. But he also warned locals to be patient.

"I have no doubt that with some of these bars, we'll have to take it all the way to the Supreme Court," the mayor acknowledged. "In any case, we're fully committed to fixing this, but it will take some time."

The noise saga on Sauna tänav has now stretched over a year, including new noise level measurements, four misdemeanor cases and nearly weekly visits by the police responding to noise complaints.

Residents remain skeptical but hope the city's tougher stance will yield results.

Club owner Sten-Erik Jantson, however, is awaiting the court's decision.

If the court rules that venues like his don't belong at such locations, he said, "then we'll wipe out this part of Tallinn's Old Town and leave it a ghost town."

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