I was invited there by a Finnish colleague a few years ago. The food was pleasant enough, but I mostly remember the price of the French wines, especially a Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame that was priced at the same level as in a French supermarket ... ^ Sadly, the accountants from my colleague's institution have removed this restaurant from the list of approved venues ...

Savoy is just across the park (1 min walk). Kosmos is about 5 min, Sea Horse and Kolme Kruunua 10-15 min by walking. Elite and Salve are still walkable, maybe 15-20 min. Lehtovaara is still a bit further away.

You can find the addresses (also shown on Google Maps) at
http://eat.fi/en/helsinki
(K�mp is at Pohjoisesplanadi 29)

Added: Public transportation is fairly efficient in Helsinki. Check out this journey planner:
http://beta.reittiopas.fi/en/

That must have been a pleasant surprise...And quite rare in northern Europe to find reasonable prices for quality wines.

But yes, Lehtovaara has a lot of Old World charm. At lunchtime, you get a gourmet buffet for an acceptable price so maybe convince your partners to head there for lunch instead. Sundays are especially nice and you get the habitues coming since decades.

Another classic restaurant with a loyal clientele and Sunday lunch buffet("buffet anglais") is the Rivoli downtown near the West Harbour. The lady who founded this gem and still owns it pioneered French cuisine and seafood in Helsinki.

For both, I'd do a reservation to make sure enough tables are available.

Went to the new fine dining place Luomo (www.luomo.fi) for dinner last night.

Run by two ex Chez Dominique guys (Jouni Toivanen who runs the kitchen and Mika Mattila who runs the front), Luomo aims to combine local ingredients with cutting edge cooking techniques (including molecular gastronomy). Given that the restaurant has only been open for six weeks or so and yesterday was their first day after the Summer holiday period, the effort was quite impressive.

We had the seven-course menu with recommended wines. Portions were sized just right and we did not feel gorged even after the petit fours.

The amuse-bouches was a tribute to Kauppatori (the main market place) and included meat pastry ice cream, a seagull bomb, and smoked herring. Rather interesting was also the "coffee" served with the amuse-bouches which was made from black olives.

First course was chantarelles served with boiled egg yolks, rucola, and parmesan coupled with a robust Crozes Hermitage white.

Next came a miniature crayfish party -- crayfish tails and crayfish icecrean, dill foam (which was amazingly good), akvavit jelly, and marinated toast crumbs. Quite appropriately, the crayfish was accompanied by a beer (a specialty beer developed by Adrian Ferran).

Next came palm heart filled with shredded goose, served with goose liver snow. This dish was served with a nice, crips German Riesling.

The fish course was an impeccably braised halibut with miso and japanese noodles, served with chilled sake.

Before the meat course, as blueberry granita and sorbet was served.

The meat course was lamb's neck (did not ask, but I suspect it was cooked sous vide) with Moroccan spices accompanied with a young (2006) Vosne-Romanee Premier Cru.

The two desserts were a strawberry assortment and a chocholate with caramelized onion. A Moser-Lenz Trockenbeerenauslese and a Tawny Port were served with the desserts. The strawberry dessert was excellent, while the chocholate being really the only letdown of the night.

Technically, all the dishes were impeccable. In some of the dishes, the chef might have been better off with a slighly more restrained approach to the different flavors, as some of the highlights of the night were a bit crowded by a few ingredients too many.

The seven-course menu cost 58 euros per head, which is a good value considering the quality. At 69 euros, the wine package seemed a bit expensive given the wine choices, though.

If Luomo can keep up this level of quality and innovation, I'd be very surprised if they do not get a Michelin star in short order, possibly even next year. With a little polish and smoothness that can only come with experience, we potentially have a second two-star place in town in Luomo in the next few years.

The ambition level of Luomo is certainly at least two-star; I do not recall a new restaurant in Finland that has aimed at this level of sophistication from the very start. Execution-wise Luomo is a solid one-star performer, which is quite an achievement for a brand new place.

Overall, Luomo is a very welcome addition to the Helsinki fine dining scene and a place that can at some point give Chez Dominique a run for its money.

Cheers,
T.

Dropped into Kahvila Suomi last Thursday, and was quite surprised to find that this former dock workers' lunch joint has clambered a bit upmarket ambiencewise: a few decorative curlicues, menus in cursive Finnish (translated versions available) and even souvenir T-shirts. Fortunately, the prices have only increased a bit, and portions are as huge as ever. We had the Jansson's temptation (a potato-and-anchovy casserole, 9 EUR) from the daily menu and the meatballs for the permanent menu (10.50 EUR) and while both were good, the meatballs were positively kick-... -- big, meaty, juicy, served with cream sauce, real mashed potatoes and a couple of veg. And, this being a Finnish lunch joint, all meals include non-alcoholic drinks and the salad bar. Strongly recommended ^ and I even picked up their Kekkonen T-shirt -- imagine a Che Guevara-style blue-and-white print of this:



While the location is a bit of walk from the city center, it's a pleasant enough stroll in the tony bits of the city, and it's within easy striking distance if you're going to eg. the Design Museum or Kaivopuisto Park.

I started reading this thread for nostalgic reasons and became engrossed. I spent 4 years in the early 80's commuting between Australia, Helsinki and Stuttgart on business and have very happy memories of my Helsinki times. Now, regarding this thread....
1/ I have no knowledge as to current restaurants but I must say that in the 80's the lunch buffet at the Helvetia was the best (at the time) I had ever eaten. I hope the hotel is still maintaining it's standards as it would be my reflexive choice as where I would stay when I return.
2/ An earlier poster sang the praises of a fried sausage & a beer after a sauna. I endorse this heartily, especially if it is at the museum/memorial to the 3 classic architects a few miles outside Helsinki. I was lucky enough to be taken there one night for a sauna and I will never forget how good the sausage (& beer) tasted and how my life flashed before my eyes as I jumped into the hole in the ice in the frozen lake.
3/ A little off thread, but in those days, the big hotels had night clubs (we would have called them dinner dances) and us visiting firemen were encouraged to ask the local ladies to dance (etc - grins). There was a lot of talk along the lines of - we live on bread & cheese for 6 days but on the 7th we get smashed. I presume that in this politically correct age this has changed.
4/ And finally, Stockmanns was (and hopefully still is) one of the finest department stores I've ever shopped in. They had a wonderful English language bookshop that had books in paperback that we (in Australia) had not had in hardcover.
I hope I get back to see Helsinki again real soon.
Thanks for the thread
Dave

You sure it was called Helvetia? Having lived all my life in Helsinki area I cannot recall a hotel by that name. Could it have been Hesperia? It just recently became Crowne Plaza so you are more likely to find your old favorite spot with that name. IF that is the one...

Heh, same thing here as well. I was there a few times in '07 and typically ate with my friends and their families. Impressions in general, from someone who went on FF miles and would not have dreamt of spending 50 euros on one dinner:

1. Hesburger isn't as good as McDonald's, but you do get those little packets of flavored salt that sort-of redeem it. Those are cool. McDonald's portions aren't as big as they are in the States.
2. Servings are tiny in most places, actually. I took to ordering 2 entrees sometimes...
3. Popcorn at Finn Kino, on the other hand, is the same size as it would be at a US theater.
4. Try salmiakki. You never know, you might get a taste for it. My Finnish friends were a bit disappointed that I liked it...
5. No restaurant there can compare to makkara (sausage) cooked over a wood fire by the lake. A lot of restaurants here can't compare to that, either.

But the one absolutely spectacular culinary experience of my time in Finland: Blueberry pie ice cream. Tastes exactly like Grandma's blueberry pie, but mixed into vanilla ice cream. You know how good ice cream is on blueberry pie, but I bet you've never had the two in one frozen delight before... I don't remember the brand name but we bought it in some little grocery shop. It wasn't particularly expensive but it left me wishing for a way to bring it back to the States.

http://tinyurl.com/FinnMichelin

cheers,

Henry

I know this doesn't really apply to restaurants.. but the best food I have had by far in Helsinki is home-cooked.

Try to befriend a Finn and have dinner at the home.. you wont regret it! It will taste better and be tons cheaper!

Chez Dominique was selected as the 23rd best restaurant in the world in the annual San Pellegrino awards (down two places). Their three course lunch is still only €29 - a heck of a deal.

The only Scandinavian restaurant to top CD was Noma in Copenhagen who got a historic #1. Congrats, Noma!

See full list at: http://bit.ly/aPtDLz

Cheers,
T.

Inspired by the recent news about Chez Dominique, I took my better half for a lunch there this past week. We had their normal three course lunch:

Amuse-bouche: pickled herring with a soft-boiled quail's egg and cucumber spaghetti -- a bite-sized explosion of taste.
Appetizer: beef carpaccio with dried capers and three parmesans (foam, icec cream, and very lighty grated). An inventive yet restrained version of a classic.
Main course: steamed pike-perch with pepper and herb crusting, spring vegetables and lobster sauce. Delicate tastes and textures, prepared to absolute perfection.
Dessert: Sesame & Nougat. Sesame sorbet and sesame seed chip with nougat/chocholate confectionery. Very good and balanced. Was slightly surprised by the texture of the sesame seed chip as it was very soft and treacly instead of crunchy as I had expected. Not sure if that was intentional or a flaw.
Petit fours: a financier biscuit with forest berries and a liquorice macaroni (which was �ber-delicious even though I normally do not like liquorice.

Over all, I am happy to report that the quality keeps going up at CD. There is slightly less gimmickry and more emphasis on ingredients and tastes. Preparation and presentation are still top notch and the three course lunch is a fantastic value at 29 euros.

The only caveat is the price of everything else. We had two glasses of champagne (Deutz basic cuvee) -- 22 euros a glass. Two coffees -- 6.5 euros per person (although coffee did come with very tasty petit fours).

To me, this remains the best high-end meal value in town.

Cheers,
T.

Sent an e-mail to a friend about Helsinki in which I added a few restaurant (and other) recommendations, thought I'd copy some parts here:

Let's start with a few restaurants, I'll give you a few of my favorites starting from more casual. One of my great favorites in Helsinki is Carelia, http://www.carelia.info/index_en.php, which is located on along tram line 4 about 5-10 minutes tram ride from downtown. Carelia is a casual brasserie with great food and an excellent wine cellar. Sundmans Krog http://www.royalravintolat.com/sundmansKrog/ is another casual favorite, Scandinavian food by harbor. For seafood I recommend Havis http://www.royalravintolat.com/havis/index_eng.asp which is situated next to Sundmans Krog.

For something little more upscale I also have a few recommendations. Some of these restaurants offer also great lunch deals. lower prices but same great experience. Helsinki's best restaurant (only with two Michelin stars) is Chez Dominique http://www.chezdominique.fi/home_cd2? . My other favorites are Carma http://www.carma.fi/indexeng.html, a small restaurant with fantastic food and service, Postres http://www.postres.fi which is bit bigger with a great location by the central esplande and naturally the more casual Demohttp://www.restaurantdemo.fi/. Nokka http://www.royalravintolat.com/nokka/index_e.asp is a more classic Finnish restaurant, like this one a lot too. On a beautiful Summer night restaurant S�rk�nlinna http://www.palacekamp.fi/in_english/...t_sarkanlinna/is another great choice, it's situated on a small island just south of Helsinki.

As you only have three days in Helsinki I wouldn't head outside Helsinki as there will be lots to see in Helsinki anyway. On a beautiful day take a 15 minute ferry ride to Suomenlinna http://www.suomenlinna.fi/en which is an old fortress island south of harbor. On morning head first to the old indoor market in Hakaniemi district http://www.hakaniemenkauppahalli.fi/...alli_flyer.pdf to buy food and then enjoy a nice picnic on Suomenlinna island. This indoor market hall is a treat in itself, I often walk there on Saturdays to buy food from smaller producers. A great place!

For something uniquely exotic and Finnish there's a common sauna in Kallio district http://www.kotiharjunsauna.fi/press/...na_web_eng.pdf . Exploring districts of Hakaniemi, Kallio and S�rn�inen (where I live) 2-3 kilometers northeast of downtown is a treat with a more down-to-earth feeling than the touristy business district. Punavuori area just west of downtown is marketed as "design district" http://www.designdistrict.fi/design_district with many cool shops and bars.

One of the Michelin-starred restaurants in Helsinki, Carma, is shutting down and the chef Markus Aremo will start a bistro-type restaurant La Table in the same place.

In the article in Kauppalehti, Aremo tells that he is not comfortable with the direction Carma has gone since the star (mainly style-wise) and wants to go back to basics with La Table.

I don't find this very surprising; in my opinion, Carma was clearly the least inspiring (and inspired) Michelin-starred place in town and will not be missed much. However, a good bistro is always a nice addition, as we sorely lack those.

Will try to report on La Table soon after it is opened.

Cheers,
T.