Can one exceptional Chef change this state of affairs?

I'm of course referring to Mr.Markus Maulavirta and his American style restaurant Filmitahti at the Klaus K hotel. Knowing his style, all dishes are sure to be of carefully selected and organic local ingredients.

I�m planning to host a dinner there in January and would be interested in opinions about the place. Has anyone tried the reindeer ribs or entrecote there?

Maulavirta controls three restaurants in Hotel Klaus K.
Filmit�hti (Film Star) is like Planet Hollywood, Toscanini is Italian trattoria and Ilmatar is for fine dining.

Thanks for the info. My primary interest would be to try his take on steak. And to see how the combo of local first rate ingredients and kitsch American dishes and interior works.

I wont eat Italian in Helsinki restaurants apart of Villetta if someone doesn't convince me otherwise and for Finnish fine dining have longstanding favourites like Karljohan, Savoy and Lehtovaara.

Saw all the posts about "high end" Finnish cuisine...is there a "low end" one?
I did stop by a couple of the "high end"-labeled places--Lappi, Somi/Soni-something (can't recall), etc., but it looked like you were paying more there for "atmosphere" than food. I walked past PLENTY of budget burger- and Asian places...had a hard time finding a "budget" Finnish place. But, I did absolutely LOVE that city, and will go back again, so thought I'd start the research early .

I did find a locals tavern called U.Kaleva that had that really tasty drink special w/ Finnish Vodka & Ligonberries, and some great Estonian ales.

There are a few, but you'll have to hunt them out. Two personal favorites cribbed from Wikitravel:

* Kahvila Suomi, Pursimiehenkatu 12, tel. +358-9-657422. Huge portions of no-nonsense Finnish food like meatballs and mashed potatoes, which explains the dock workers that crowd here at lunchtime. The Japanese tourists, on the other hand, come because the cult hit movie ''Kamome Shokudo'' was filmed here! Most mains under 10e, including salad bar, drink and coffee. Open Mon-Fri 7 AM to 6 PM.
* VPK, Albertinkatu 29, web. Run by the Volunteer Fire Brigade, this restaurant serves a daily changing buffet of hearty Finnish fare in a cafeteria straight from the 1950s, complete with grim portraits of moustached Hosemasters staring down at you. Pea soup and pancakes on Thursday are particularly popular. 7.70e per head, open weekdays from 11 AM to 3 PM only.

The real low end of Finnish food can be tasted at any Fazer-Amica, Sodexho or whatever cafeteria (you can find one in most major office buildings).

Fine, but not fine dining, restaurants in Helsinki are e.g. Salve, Seahorse (aka "sikala" = pig barn) and Manala. All have been mentioned earlier (with addresses etc.).

A view shared by the Guide Michelin who provided Demo one of their coveted stars in the 2007 European Cities edition. Another restaurant mentioned in this thread, Postres got a favourable mention and seems on it's way to the stars as well.

Quite an interesting article in The Times on the rise of Finnish/Scandinavian cuisine at Helsinki restaurants in the footsteps of the culinary revolution in Britain.

http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/tol/...cle1493852.ece

With 82 messages in this thread, I can't believe no-one has mentioned KYNSILAUKKA, in Frederikinkatu. Granted, it's not for everyone -- all the dishes on the menu involve garlic! We haven't been there recently, but from '92 to '02 we went at least once or twice a year and were never disappointed. I always liked the little chalkboard in front, updated daily, which says (paraphrase) 'Since we opened on xx.xx.19xx, we have used X kilos of garlic'. It was fun to watch 'X' increase from one visit to the next; I wonder what it is today? Damn, I'm making myself hungry -- we need to go back there!

cheers,

Henry

On the positive side, Kynsilaukka has been a beacon in the empty sea over many Christmas hols when most hotels and restaurants in Helsinki remain closed. I guess they still employ the "open 365 days" policy.

But on the other hand, the interior is in worse and worse wear, service on the sloppy side and the food mediocre at most. I know this used to be different but they seem to count on the old reputation.

Of the steak restaurants mentioned earlier in this thread, the Johan Ludwig in the SAS Royal hotel recently underwent refurbishment and re-opened with the revealing name/slogan Grill It!

From May it's morel season again and it might be worthwhile to ask on availability at the better Helsinki eateries. That poisonous mushroom turned delicacy through careful preparation is present in many forms in local cooking: soups, stews, pies, sauces...

Got to agree with mosburger here; Kynsilaukka (the name, by the way, is an old Finnish expression meaning garlic) is very hard to recommend -- a tired one-trick pony at best.

On the bright side of things, there is a new, relatively inexpensive pasta place in town. Don Corleone is located on the basement floor of the Kamppi shopping centre and their pastas are very, very good. The place is small and crowded and the decor is a bit clunky, but you get a great bang for your buck.

Now, if we only got a decent Vietnamese place here (had fabulous Vietnamese in NYC last week), and some modern Indian (went to Amaya in London some time ago, just great), I'd be a happy man.

Cheers,
T.

My latest Helsinki stint in a culinary perspective:

Great fish and seafood sandwiches at lunchtime in the Old Market Hall at the E.Eriksson store. Had an open river crayfish one with cocktail sauce. Just watch out for the overtly aggressive seagulls who try their best to snatch your food.

There will be a high class Italian opening soon in a central location. Could this finally mean Helsinki gets a decent eatery a'll Italia? Haven�t really been impressed with the present offerings apart from the scruffy Villetta.

The newish Bali-Hai in the trendy Punavuori district has a lot of urban charm on a summer day. The dishes resemble upgraded Helsinki school lunches and once they manage to provide some shade for lunchtime terrace customers it's an almost perfect lunch meeting spot with friends.

And the Helsinki Dining Guide is proud to present: Two withdrawals and two openings

Yume has unfortunately lost it's founding Japanese chef and is now run by a Finnish - Filipino combo. I'd be cautious before heading out to dinner. Also Markus Maulavirta, the slow food guru in charge of the restaurants at Hotel Klaus K has decided to move to Lapland to promote reindeer meat and his former eateries will be outsourced to a group of investors.

On the other hand, the man behind Chez Dominique, Hans Valimaki is opening a largish bistro & deli opposite the main entrance of Stockmann. Should be good with take away promised. Another Michelin starred restaurant, Demo, is also expanding into bistro territory at the former Via restaurant just next door to Helsinki Design Centre.

I second the warning... Yume's offerings have definitively gone downhill. Kamijukkoku-san left in April supposedly after disagreements with Palace Restaurants' management. A rumor said that he moved to Copenhagen to work at Ebisu (Terence Conran's fairly new restaurant) -- can anyone verify this? Haven't been to CPH for ages...

Many other chefs have also deserted restaurants operated by Palace lately.

Another ethnic vibe coming to Helsinki. Filmmaker Mika Kaurismaki, after 15 years of residence in Brazil, is opening a Brazil/Latino themed restaurant called Bossa in November. The restaurant which is co-owned by a Brazlilian musician will have both bar and dining sections, Brazilian food and drinks and latino live music weekly.

And it's that time of year again...Let's see what's on offer.

Elite, a traditional haunt for artists, journos, politicians and everyone else, is offering a trad style buffet from Dec 10th at lunchtime. Think cold fish starters, meat cuts, winter salads, Christmasy entrees and a dessert buffet.

Havis, specialized in local fish, is offering a wide variety of cold fish starters and several fish entrees includng the (in)famous Lutefisk Very happy to see a good selection of my favourite Austrian wines on their list.

Saaga is offering Christmas dishes from Lapland with a focus on reindeer and arctic fish.

Rivoli, the grand old lady of the Helsinki fine dining scene (like her proprietor) offers an upscale Christmas menu with French and Mediterranean touches.