Other restaurants in Finland
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Klippan
There’s no better way to appreciate Helsinki’s seaside location than by heading out to the myriad of island restaurants. The most famous is the stylish, spired Klippan, which is set in a villa on Luoto island, and famous for society weddings and crayfish parties.
reviewed
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Kenkävero
Kenkävero is a design shop and an art centre picturesquely set in a lovely vicarage building 1km east of the centre. The cafe still feels like an elegant drawing room and you half expect the vicar himself to bring in tea and cucumber sandwiches. Instead there’s a much praised lunch buffet that pulls out all the stops.
reviewed
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Bodega Salud
Though no budget bargain, this Tampere favourite is enduringly popular for its cosy atmosphere and good salad, fruit and cheese bar (included with main courses). It styles itself as Spanish and certainly does a decent paella, but most dishes have a distinctly Finnish feel, with salmon, reindeer and creamy sauces all present and tasty. More adventurous are snails, gnu steak and Rocky Mountain oysters. You get a certificate if you eat the latter – shellfish are scarce in Colorado, but rams have been heard bleating in countertenor tones.
reviewed
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Pankkil
A welcome Ivalo arrival, this former bank building has been lovingly converted into a stylish restaurant, with plenty of natural light and wooden slat screens dividing the tables. The mistranslated menu gives few clues, but dishes such as ‘Master of Cheese’s Bovine’ don’t disappoint, and several reindeer dishes, including liver, are on offer. Out the back are excellent apartments (2-/4-/6-person apartments €80/100/160) that are exceedingly modern, spacious and comfortable; some have their own sauna.
reviewed
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Musta Lammas
One of Finland’s best restaurants, the ‘black sheep’ has a golden fleece. Set in an enchantingly romantic brick-vaulted space, it offers delicious gourmet mains with Finnish ingredients and French flair. Roast reindeer with morel mushrooms was one of the highlights when we last visited, but the €32 vegetarian menu also caught our eye. The standard wine list is OK, but get the credit card out for some of the handwritten choices, which include some of the world’s finest reds.
reviewed
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Nili
Evoking a Lapland atmosphere with reindeer skins, Sámi music and cosy wooden cladding, this main-street restaurant has no problem pulling in the tourist crowd. Reindeer features heavily on the menu, but whitefish, char and salmon argue a fishy case too. The dishes are well presented and the service good, but the quality isn’t quite there to make it a classic, and the portions aren’t quite big enough for it to be a local favourite. Nevertheless, a sound option.
reviewed
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Svenska Klubben 5th Floor Restaurant
It’s often tough to spot the menu that’s at street level and points the way up to this excellent Scandinavian (yes, we know it’s not technically Finnish) eatery. If you can, get a ‘cabinet’ (small room for groups) that is decked out in Nordic minimalism. You can nosh down on the likes of whitefish with pickled lime, or roasted duck breast sweetened with cognac cream. Three-course lunches are consistently delicious and set menus have several choices.
reviewed
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Kaamasen Kievari
Kaamasen Kievari is a legendary roadhouse a few kilometres north of the Sevettijärvi turn-off and 5km south of the Karigasniemi crossing. It has a cafe, petrol station and hard-drinking bar with pool table, as well as an excellent restaurant serving local dishes such as salmon, whitefish and a top reindeer steak with herb potatoes. They also have rooms and cabins (HI-affiliated), but Jokitörmä, 1km to the south, is better.
reviewed
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Matala
One of a clutch of upmarket restaurants around the kauppatori, this consistently delivers on food, service and, of course, location; outside seating puts you in the middle of things but the awning affords you a little privacy. There are various degustation menus (€48 to €83) using typical northern Finnish ingredients; delicious Arctic char, or veal sweetbreads with globe artichoke are examples from the regularly overhauled à la carte menu.
reviewed
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Tori
Buzzing with a bohemian crowd and recognisable by the vinyl record on the door, this is the city’s anytime favourite. The decor is snappily revamped in 1950s interior kitsch, complete with period fittings, while the menu runs to beetroot-and-blue-cheese pasta, and a reinvention of meatballs with a brandy sauce. Breakfast is a build-your-own adventure or go for the porridge, while lunch sandwiches are good for the cash-strapped.
reviewed
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Café Delicato
At the cornerstone of Helsinki’s Little Italy (OK, it’s really just this place and a restaurant across the road), this deli makes an ideal ciabatta grab. You have to make the tough choices between fresh fillings like olives, gravadlax with spring onion and dill, or gutsy salami and Roma tomatoes, but otherwise there couldn’t be a better Italian job in town. There’s also authentic strong coffee plus a selection of slices.
reviewed
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Juuri
Who has time to sample every Finnish dish and risk having a plate of yuck to finish? Juuri’s sapas (Suomi tapas) gives you a chance to sample the classic in tiny portions, such as lingonberry marinated salmon on slivers of maltbread, or cabbage leaves stuffed with crayfish. The mains aren’t bad either and include grilled wild-boar ribs and raspberry-marinated Arctic char, which stay true to Finnish roots.
reviewed
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Savotta
A little too themed for some tastes, this representation of a logger’s mess hall does traditional Finnish working food. Waitresses in peasant tops bring karjalanpiirakka (rice-filled savoury pastry) starters before moving on to meaty fare such as elk, bear stew or the Forest Foreman’s Plate, which is served in a skillet with much flourish. If you enter into the spirit of it, it’s a good night out.
reviewed
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Teatteriravintola Tillikka
In the Tampere Theatre, this old-style restaurant has classically elegant decor and views over the Tammerkoski. The outdoor tables are popular for buffet lunches, while the evening choices include smoked moose on a tasty appetiser platter for two, and traditional Finnish mains. The building also has a bar-cafe with a great terrace on the main square, perfect for catching the evening sun.
reviewed
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Finlaysonin Palatsi
This grand centenarian residence behind the Finlayson centre has gardens and grounds and houses a classy restaurant offering elaborate dishes with classically Finnish ingredients such as pike-perch with crayfish sauce. The relaxing terrace (open noon to 9pm Monday, 11am to midnight Tueday to Friday, noon to midnight Saturday, 2pm to 9pm Sunday) has meals plus a range of cheaper snacks.
reviewed
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Café Bönan
Something of an oasis in a desert of meat and fish, this vegetarian place does healthy salad buffets such as fresh beans with couscous, to be washed down with an organic elderflower drink. Plus it’s sourced from ethical producers so it’s total guilt-free dining. The evenings sometimes feature laid-back DJ sets. It also hosts the occasional Indian Night, with good curry options.
reviewed
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Kosmos
Designed by Alvar Aalto, this place could qualify as an institution on that fact alone, but the Hellenic sculpture and artsy associations lift it to another level. The Finnish antipasto (including smoked reindeer and Baltic herring) is the ideal start before moving on to meaty mains such as Russian chicken breast served with roe and sauerkraut, and lamb kidneys with pilaf.
reviewed
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Bossa
When winter is getting you down, this place with its lipstick-red interior, bright mosaic and mojitos can whisk you off to the warmer climes of Brazil. Film-maker Mika Kaurismäki brings some of his new home country back to his countrymen with dishes like a coconut-heavy fish stew and roasted lamb chops. Sunday boasts a ‘sambalounas’ with dancing added to the menu.
reviewed
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Henri’x
You’ll need to catch a free ferry out to this refined little island restaurant that feels a world away from the rugged granite island it perches on. The cane marine interior oozes comfort and the menu is hearty sailor fare including a rib-sticking potato and sausage stew. As it’s in the port, you can expect yacht rock and a boat-shoed crowd to match.
reviewed
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Olo
A relative newcomer on the fine-dining scene, Olo is refreshingly unpretentious with a dining room of muted greys and whites. The menu is playful with a saddle of lamb sauced with Madeira and forest mushrooms or tender piglet. All meals come with house-baked breads (try the fruity malt) and the wine list is broad enough to appeal to all palettes.
reviewed
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Café Bisketti
This top double-sided spot transforms itself throughout the day. Think twice before getting that pastry with your morning coffee; they’re enormous, and might not leave room for lunch, when soup, salad, coffee and a pastry are €6.30, and only €7.80 with a tasty hot dish. In the evenings, the terrace is a decent spot for a people-watching beer.
reviewed
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Tuulensuu
The best of a range of gastropubs that have recently sprouted, this corner spot has a fine range of beers and wines, as well as a lengthy port and cigar menu. The food is lovingly prepared and features staples like liver and schnitzel as well as more elaborate plates like duck comfit. Even the bar snacks are gourmet: fresh-roasted almonds.
reviewed
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Kauppayhtiö
Rovaniemi’s most personable cafe, this is an oddball collection of retro curios with a coffee and gasoline theme and colourful plastic tables. All the knick-knacks are purportedly for sale here, but it’s the espresso machine, outdoor seating, salads, sundaes and bohemian Lapland crowd that keep the place ticking. The coffee is bottomless.
reviewed
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Veganissimo
A short stroll from the station brings you to this pleasing new vegan restaurant with smart contemporary decor and good vibes. Lunch (€7 to €9) is a bargain, with delicious salads; evenings offer a quieter ambience, with dishes like paella, seitan fillet and big burgers available, as well as various tapas-sized portions and organic wines.
reviewed
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À La Carte
Tornio’s best restaurant is in the Kaupunginhotelli and its elegant upmarket decor, quality food and this town’s lack of other options more than make up for scatty service and an uninspiring name. Dishes come generously proportioned and handsomely presented, with tasty smoked salmon and tender meats. Various ‘Lapp menus’ cost €27 to €48.
reviewed