HelsinkiEats
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If I had to compile a list of top 50 restaurants in Finland, I'd definitely include Natura to the list. Natura serves food from fresh ingredients in simple approach without compromising on quality. This restaurant serves 4, 7 and 9 cuisine menus that won't fail you. I was joined for this dinner by Jussi Siltanen, one of the key figures behind world-famous IT subcontractor Reaktor. Reaktor has been able to reinvent themselves many times, building and shaping new services while helping its corporate customers push to new frontiers with digital services. Jussi Siltanen is amazing company for a dinner, so you'll enjoy the conversation for sure. Dinner equally of highest quality. If you'll need great restaurant in Helsinki, without feeling too stressed about how to be and what to wear, this is one of the places I'd highly recommend. Service is to the point, kind and food is amazing without complications.
Indian food is the perfect comfort food. Deli Rasoi, is one of them Indian restaurants in Helsinki that will put you back together, irrelevant to your previous mood. Everything on the menu is delish, and you can just unwind and relax with the spices. Tugberk Duman is my guest for this episode. Tugberk is unquestionably one of the though leaders in (corporate) innovation in Finland, so naturally our thoughts in this episode focuses mostly on the topic on "where's the next opportunity". I enjoyed meeting Tugberk and hearing how he has processed living in Finland and working for Future. Dinner was very good, I'd call this restaurant something that you can count on to make you feel good.
Not many places was as frequently recommended as the Mikko Utter located in about drive away from Helsinki, in the tiny city of Lohja. Mikko Utter is special in many ways, as it is service, cooking and everything by one man (Mikko himself) for 8 people (max seating). Mikko imports his wines and sources the ingredients locally, and as the amount of recommendations would suggest - the food was amazing. With me joining Mikko Utter was my long term colleague, an amazing wine enthusiast and a great person - Kaj Hege Häggman. I really loved the conversation and now after moving away from Helsinki, I certainly missed hearing his voice while editing this. Hege has been living in US while working for Nokia and Gaming companies, and we discuss in this episode that perspective on food. For the Dinner, we all 8 in the restaurant got the food at the same time, with common introductions. Everything was fresh, seasonal and tasty. I'd call this restaurant something that every foodie should explore at least once in Finland.
Pamela restaurant on bulevardi of Helsinki is a great place to chill with friends. When we visited it was nearly exclusively female visitors, but I can confirm that as a male, you're allowed to eat well too. Together with me in this Episode at Pamela is Sonja Heikkiä, who despite her young age has managed to see the world as an opinion leader on the future of mobility and transportation. We discuss how the future is shaping up to be and how to manage yourself when giving a public talk or appearance in television. For the Dinner, we had vegetarian food, although the alternatives for meat-eaters were delicious too. I'd call this restaurant a great option in case you want to meet with friends with chill atmosphere, without any pressure.
Katmandu Bar was something totally unexpected, it located between Hakaniemi and Kallio, and it serves the best Momos from Nepalese kitchen. Join me and Bhavya Omkar (she runs the Naumaste instagram account) in this trip down the Indian/Nepalese food conversation. The menu available in Katmandu Bar is simple and delicious. It is hard to compare this to "fine dining" restaurants so often reviewed in this blog, but then again, why not? We did go with everything on menu, which was basically Samosas and Momas. Conversation on the other hand, focused on southern Indian delish: Masala Dosa (no, this restaurant does not serve them). You have to try this restaurant out. Perfect bar food, but served with a warm Nepalese street food hug.
Green Hippo (Cafè) has been operative for 3 years now in Punavuori. As it is expanding to another core-demographically hot spot for it, namely Kallio, I decided to give this place more love and love it deserves. Together with me in Green Hippo was William von der Pahlen, one of the hosts of Futucast (absolutely amazing podcast), the host of podcast for Slush and obviously one of the founders of Green Hippo. Rarely is putting together a podcast as easy as it was here. I've come to love Green Hippo for its excellent brunch menu during Sundays, but this time with William, we went for the evening meal combo (alcohol + main course for roughly 25 euros). Due to the popular demand of the dish, I couldn't escape from the gravity of taking a bite at the absolutely delicious Avocado pasta. It is impossible not to recommend this gem at either of the locations, Wolt, Punavuori or Kallio. Please join the episode to hear more about how Green Hippo came about and how it has been concepted.
Asian Noodles Bar is a recent entry to Helsinki's food scene. This place offers a wide variety of Asian food, including Baos (which are delish and fresh), but is to be known for its range of great noodles and soups. I visited this restaurant for launch together with Emily Thuy Le, whom has somewhat expertise and perspective on great Asian food. Emily is a street photographer, and is a part of community in capital area that is putting together displays - but also has lived in Helsinki for the same (roughly 10 months?) time as I have. So it was interesting to catch up and hear how she sees Helsinki. We had Noodle soup and all three kinds of Baos (beef, pork and tofu). Baos were tasty and fresh, Noodle soup with duck was properly cooked - and tasty. I would definitely recommend this place for anyone wanting to explore Noodles further. Located in Frederikinkatu (near Iso Roobertin katu) it is well accessible for anyone. Please join the episode to hear about the background on Baos and Asian food.
During this Season 2, I'm still going out with people I know - or people who have volunteered to get to know me over a dinner. This time, we don't have a list per se, but just places that people like or love in Helsinki. Luis Orozco is a colleague from many adventures and was kind enough to show me this spectacular establishment in Teurastamo (also in Kallio, and Kamppi). Lopez y Lopez is a fine taqueria, and definitely serves the best Mexican food I've had. It serves Tacos and Enchiladas, and might I say - the proper way. Tacos, are not supposed to be hard shell corn overloads, but soft and delish, just like they make them in Lopez y Lopez. Please join the episode to hear about the background on Chili and Tortillas. This is a place I've become regular in since the recording of the episode. Highly recommended!
Given that the restaurants all were so amazing, I though that the best way to summarize my experience was to give awards in different categories of eating. HERE'S WHAT I FOUND TO BE THE BEST PLACES: BEST RESTAURANT - PALACE __ __ BEST EXPERIENCE - ORA __ __ BEST ATMOSPHERE - BASBAS __ __ BEST SUSTAINABLE - NOLLA __ __ BEST VEGAN - YES YES YES __ __ BEST FOR FRIENDS - WINO __ __ BEST FOR A DATE - PLEIN __ __ BEST FOR A BUSINESS MEETING - OLO __ __ MOST UNDERESTIMATED - SPIS __ __ BEST ITALIAN CUISINE - RAGU __ __ BEST ASIAN CUISINE - FARANG __ __ BEST FINNISH CUISINE - KULTA KITCHEN __ __ BEST TIME MACHINE: KOSMOS __ __ For more details, please refer to the episode in the podcast. After eating out in all the places I have, I’d go as far as suggesting the following ranking out of the restaurants already ranked in top 50 (I think there’s several that should be included outside the list….). ANYWAY, HERE GOES: 1. Palace 2. Ora 3. Inari 4. Grön 5. Olo 6. Basbas 7. Kulta Kitchen 8. Ragu 9. Spis 10. Nokka Thank you all my guests and restaurants, and to readers/listeners for this great experience, I had a blast :) Onwards to Season 2.
Restaurant Palace is an experience. The venue is beautiful, the service is not like anywhere else in Finland and the food.. will be one of the best dinners in your lifetime. There is no more appropriate way to close Season 1 of HelsinkiEats than by visiting the #1 restaurant in Finland, Palace Restaurant. Together with me joining this final episode and dinner at Palace is Antti Suikkari, my dear friend and co-worker from the past. Antti has been fiddling with digital everything for a good amount of time (20 years?) and has a perspective on what great dinner is like. This episode was natural for me to join with Antti, as he was largely one of the key reasons I ended up doing this tour (and felt inspired to capture my amusings). When going for a dinner in Palace, you'll enjoy the menu, which obviously can be altered to suit allergies and preferences. But trust me, you'll want it. Our menu was of the make 12.4, which I have no clue what that stands for. All I can say is that the 12-13 courses of food where all amazing, one better than the previous one. For the sake of brevity, I'll be satisfied at saying that Amoush-Bouch with Wagu (grade 5) was nowhere near the top 5 of the menu, even if I said after the bite sized delicacy - that it had to be the best mouthful of food during 2020. It was, but not for long. After this 3,5 hour dinner, it is clear that this IS the best restaurant experience you can have in Finland. It is undoubtedly the best experience I've had in Northern Europe and definitely competes with my summer break experience of Ana Ros cuisine in Hisa Francko (Slovenia). This place is highly recommended for anyone that can afford a bit higher ticket for a dinner, and wants their minds to be blown in a good way.
Kulta Kitchèn is an exception to the rule, it is a restaurant located in one of the best hotels in Helsinki (Lapland Hotels Boulevard), but ... unlike the hotel restaurants usually, this one is really really good. I'm joined in this episode with Lassi Kurkijärvi, a well merited innovator now working as the CEO of Proof Oy, a company that is designing decision making. Designing decisions is a new thing, a term that is coined by Lassi and his team to describe how the world needs better tools for pushing through important things in any organization. During the course of the meal we'll cover what this means in detail. Our meal was the surprise menu, which unsurprisingly was finished of with Reindeer as the main course. To support this obvious choice, we got to enjoy Kuha (whitefish), which definitely was amazing and never fails. All in all, the menu was well balanced, tasty and spoke volumes of Finnish cuisine. Kulta Kitchén is placed to 32nd location in Top 50 list, which really felt originally as too high number for a restaurant sitting in downstairs of a Hotel. However, after going through this menu, I'd say that this deserves to be closer to top 10 of the entire Finnish food scene, definitely low 20s. It was amazing. This place is highly recommended for anyone seeking to eat traditional Finnish food in a fine dine setting.
Nolla (zero in Finnish) is the 29th episode of HelsinkiEats, and it certainly lives up to the promise by being one of the original zero waste Restaurants in the world. The concept of sustainability has obviously gained momentum around the world for the right reasons, but I do have to say that I have not really paid too much attention to the fact before "growing up". Now, can a Fine Dining restaurant be sustainable and deliver great food? Yes. Absolutely. In this episode, I get to hang out with my old work buddy, Timo Valtonen whom I consider to be the specialist for "let's do a really difficult project that requires managing complexity and people". Together during my years at OP Financial Group, we got to be a part of a great product launch called DriveNow. This restaurant is ranked high up on the list of Top 50 restaurants. In fact, it sits firmly at the position 19 - which is only right, I think. We enjoyed a menu from the Ala Carte, by selecting a starter, main and desert from the list. Together with the menu, we picked beers from Mamu brewing (a microbrewery operating together with Nolla). Both the food and the drinks were amazing. My picks from the menu were Beef Tartar, Roasted Cabbage and Corn-icecream goodness. This restaurant served food that is amazing and guilt-free. I'd recommend this for anyone enjoying a company of a friend or a date, and willing to do his/her part in protecting the environment. You'll hear one of the chefs share his view on the Nolla before the conversation with Timo begins.
In episode number 28 we fine dine restaurant called Gaijin (stranger in Japanese). This restaurant was founded by Tomi Björk back in the day, and has been listed spontaneously as favourite place by many of the people I ask for their favourite places to go out in Helsinki. This episode features the CEO of Demos Helsinki, Juha Leppänen. Demos Helsinki is a world leader consulting agency and think tank for governments and cities who are looking for ways to do things better. I really enjoyed this dine out with Juha so much as I got to talk through all my future scenarios, that I almost forgot to enjoy the food. The food was very enjoyable though, even if this restaurant has fallen down to position 45 in restaurants Top 50 list. During our visit, we had a fresh menu list, from which opted a Vegan line-up called Sapporo. Sapporo menu served the following dishes: AKAMISO PUMPKIN ‘TACO’ KALE & CARAMELIZED ONION `GYOZA´ SMOKED LOCAL TOFU, CORN & WAKAME TEMPURA OF THE DAY & YUZU GRILLED CELERIAC SKEWER & KIMCHI BUTTER PAN FRIED SILKEN TOFU & MUSHROOM X.O ROASTED CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER & KOMBU GOHAN RIISI LIQUORICE & LEMON MOCHI Out of the menu, we really enjoyed the Kimchi butter Skewere most. Over all, it needs to be said that the vegan menu really worked nicely and we did not miss a bit of Fish or Meat. This serves a as a great reminder that you can do sustainable without compromising on the quality of food. Gaijin probably is a bit low on the Top 50, as it is at 45, but then again, it feels okay after going through all the options in Helsinki. Gaijin comes highly recommended for anyone who wants to organize a party or a good dinner that is well organized.
Episode number 27 is very special, because of the guest and the food. Me and Jaakko Impiö (one of the voting chefs on Top 50 restaurant list) join forces to eat out at Ragu, italian-inspired fine dining restaurant. Even though Jaakko's father and me have worked together, we would have never ever met with Jaakko unless it would have been for this pod/blog. I'm grateful that Jaakko introduced himself to me, because I learned so much about what happens behind the scenes to prepare a dinner like this. Jaakko is a great cook that has worked in some of world's famous places, including Mirazur (Michelin***) and other Finnish great restaurants (Palace, etc). Now Jaakko shares some of his recipes via Platform http://platform.pro/ and @tastery.foods https://www.instagram.com/tastery.foods/. The restaurant is not really high up the charts, but I have to say, it delivered big time during the night we were dining out. It is ranked at 39th of Top 50, but I feel it deserves way higher - somewhere in the Top 20 for sure. We had the 4 course surprise menu, which had the most amazing deer and dessert. Together with the wine package, we got to enjoy amazing food and wine - in an affordable price point. This restaurant will be something that I'll most definitely visit again, but overall our joint recommendation was that this will be great for anyone who appreciates fine dining and/or Italian food. Highly recommend. One of the members of the Ragu team will share her short story on the Ragu in the episode.
Restaurant number 26 that I visit, is unapologetically been standing in Skatta (Katajanokka) for over 15 years. It still does the same thing, offers great finnish food made from locally sourced ingredients. In this episode I get to know to Perttu Nihti from Basware, who serves as the Chief Product Officer in the company. We get to talk a bit about Basware in the episode, but it is one of the most used expense management systems out there. Learn more about Basware from http://www.basware.com Due to the role of Perttu, we end up having a fruitful conversation around the topic of product management - one of the favourite disciplines I've had the privilege of doing during my career. This place is ranked 26th on the Top 50 restaurants in Finland list and I think that serves it well. Food is flawless, tasty and beautifully placed on the table. In fact, I might recommend a higher position for this restaurant - because it really was an enjoyable experience. We went for the menu, where the main course was Duck that was relatively recently captured - and that definitely was the highlight of the beautiful menu we enjoyed. I'd definitely make this as one of the alternatives when considering to answer the age old question: "What should I eat in Finland to get a good idea of what it is Finnish food like?" One of the cooks will share his perspective on the story in the episode.
Episode number 25 took place in Restaurant Nude, the relaxed street food inspired fine dining place just off the Bulevardi. I'm joined in this episode to a hearty conversation on corporate innovation with Teemu Mäkitalo, one of the founders of Avanto Ventures. We cover the ins and outs of the topic with Teemu to an extensive detail, so if you are in to corporates innovating, I think this episode definitely serves you well. Nude, the restaurant, is at the 42nd location of the Top 50 restaurant list, although I do have to say that this compares and competes well with other chill fine dining places like Hello Stranger in my books. We went for the Nude menu which had Kimchi dim sums, Tacos, Peura (game meat?) and sweet dessert including Kanelipulla (kinda the ultimate Finnish streetfood, no?). This was super good street-food inspired, reasonably priced and top value. Anyone looking to a night out with a chill environment without feeling the pressure of atmosphere will have a great time here. The chef shares his story for this restaurant at the beginning of Episode. I hope you like this one as much as we did!
Penelope Restaurant is located right below one of the startup centers of Helsinki, Epicenter. Penelope is a great escape from the daily grind to a world that is warm and welcoming, like the Tapas places you’ve come to love in Spain. Together with me sharing the plates in Penelope for this episode is Udo Szabo, a multi-talent t-shaped persona with startup and corporate war stories under his belt. Today (post-Apple) Udo is running the product management in Yousician, the world-famous guitar tuning / learning game app maker. Udo and I go at length at what makes Apple the most amazing company, and what is required to make great products. Even if you are not into nerding, you might get kicks out of the conversation that we share over beers and medium-sized plates. This restaurant works so that you can choose between small (one or two bites), medium (about twice as large) and large plates (kinda the size of a main course normally). All the food we had was amazing, but to tell you the truth, the conversation got me lost of all we had. At least we did Boccarons, Scallops and something great. My favourite of the dishes probably was the sweet and salty caramel goodness served as dessert. Penelope is located on the Top 50 restaurants list position number 40, but I did like it more than that. Would I want to go back here? Absolutely. Do I understand why this place has such a low rating in TableOnline? I don’t. This place is highly recommended for a good relaxed meal out with a friend, posse or your colleagues.
Episode number twenty-three (23) of HelsinkiEats takes place in the unique restaurant in the center of Helsinki, Kosmos. This cozy restaurant is not messing around, everything is honest and straightforward from menu to decor. I was joined by Tuomas Jomppanen, the CTO of Talented. Talented is an amazing growth company that helps individuals of software industry land the best jobs in the market. The unique proposition of Talented is really working as the fast growth proves. If you need great software skills for any position between a CTO and a (senior) engineer, Talented is one of the companies you might want to reach out (find out more: http://talented.fi). This traditonal restaurant is ranked at position 37. in the Top 50 restaurant. Based on the food alone, this pretty much where it should be. But that is not really the point at all, I feel. Menu we had gave a few options, but we kinda picked our favourites. To accompany the menu of fish and meat, I took a beer, just like you should do here. So while this dinner was not fancy pants fine dining, it was definitely about experience that is deep in the 1980s. Food was good, but not really for vegan-friendly menu. The chocolate cake was amazing. This place is a landmark and it is very difficult to compare to anything else on this list really. Come for the atmosphere, stay for the hearty food.
What can I tell you? When the food and company is amazing, this podcast is amazing. In this episode we're visiting yet another Michelin starred restaurant, Olo. Kimmo Timonen, the founder of Adventure Club joins for this culinary feast and insightful conversation ranging from everything in restaurant scene in Helsinki to sustainable innovations in startup-land. Olo sits firmly at number 4 of the Top 50 list and I can imagine that being a rationale rating. Personally, I enjoyed every bite that was artfully and carefully prepared, delicious and beautiful was the theme in this tasting menu that was "autumn" themed. 10+ courses made sure that we did not starve at all, but really had great time. This will be one of the restaurants I will likely return to, despite the feedback that Olo may deliver variable quality. Special mention goes out to the sommelier who pitched his side hustle (probably part of the restaurants offering anyway) so that I could get the wine I loved so much during the dinner. This one is highly recommended for anyone who hasn't visited it. You should.
This episode takes place in an amazing Michelin star gem of Helsinki, Ora. This restaurant by Sasu Laukkonen and his super talented team is changing the way restaurants work, to a lot better, I should say. Mårten Janson joins me in this episode to have a conversation about how boards and companies work (or should work). Mårten has an impressive CV in building companies and now he runs a small scale VC with high-level hands-on involvement called “No Asshole Company”. Ora, the restaurant is ranked at 9th position of the Top 50 list, … but I do want to say that this belongs far higher up. Maybe it was because of the new concept, but this is top 3 restaurant for me. Now the new concept? Felt like being in a concert or show: the food was served one course at a time, to everyone at once and Sasu went through them all. After 14 courses or so of pure perfection and great stories, I was sold. I can’t really go to the details, but the symphony on your palette was just heartwarming. Really really good experience, even if we never anticipated to be sitting there for 4 hours and 30 minutes. This is highly recommended for anyone who wants more than food when going out to dine. Definitely an experience to repeat. You’ll also hear a quick comment between each meal from Sasu during the podcast episode.
Episode number 20 takes place in Vinkkeli, which is run by former talent from Savoy - and it shows - this fine dining cuisine with Nordic inspiration delivers great value at position 6 of top 50. I was joined to this dinner by Esa Nettamo, the managing director and chief design officer at Digitalist, the brand-design-development agency that has been renewing itself during the past few years with great leaps. Talking with Esa is always enjoyable and this dinner was no exception. During the dinner we covered our mutual favourite topics like remote work, design and innovation as well as transformation to create digital services to replace physical ones. Vinkkeli provides an amazing dinner. Being put on top 10 position and the recommendations I've heard for Vinkkeli left me expecting for more personally, but I do have to say that the food was really really good. We enjoyed the tasting menu of 4 courses, which took us from mushroom soup to duck parfait salad and then onwards to tasty meat delicacy finally topped with desert to die for. This is an awesome venue for anyone taking a special someone out, whether for business or pleasure. Dining room is intimate and suitable for couples and small groups. To learn more about Digitalist offering, please visit https://digitalist.global
This is a different sort of episode - a mini-episode actually. I did this dinner with my good friend and former boss, Masa Peura, but due to circumstances this didn't turn out in to an audible podcast track. Instead, here's my monologue explaining why you want to eat here. To put it it simply: Gastro Cafe Kallio is a great venue, amazing food and a blast for a night out with friends. We were privilege with a menu of good escargot and shrimp soup for starter, fish for main and Eton Mess for dessert. This mini-episode will leave you short from the experience, but I do highly recommend visiting this establishment that has made it to 29th position of the Top 50 list. I'd say 29 is pretty much at the right place at the moment. Great good, great experience.
Episode 18 took place in Ultima, which is standing at the position 17 of top 50 restaurants. Ultima normally is a fine dining kitchen which serves vertically farmed food, but now due to the covid-19 it was turned upside down as the Italian food “Fiasco? By Ultima”. I was joined to this dinner by Minna Pulkkinen of Microsoft. She has been a great support over the years when Microsoft innovation has been needed to be unleashed. What surprised me was that she had depths of knowledge about Italian food from her experiences with the local kitchens around Italy. Microsoft is an amazing company, with a wealth of successful products in the portfolio. Microsoft keeps renewing itself time and time again, as has been demonstrated by the amazing growth of Teams and Azure (especially during Covid-19). The dinner itself was enjoyed as it should have been, based on the Chef’s recommendation. In this 5 course menu, we had a classic Burrata, Truffle pasta (yes, actual truffle), Lamb and sweet cake with ice cream. The pasta with Truffle was especially delicious. I do love the determination of Henry Alen that made this place the great Italian experience that it was. Also, the venue is pretty unique, which always adds up to the atmosphere. I for one am looking forward to revisiting this place once it is doing vertically farmed food as well. You’ll also hear a quick comment from Henry Alen in the podcast episode.
For this episode of HelsinkiEats the pod heads to the familiar Farang for a perfect supper of Thai comfort food in fine dining format. Farang has been around forever, but still moves the taste buds just as vividly with the classic dishes. I was joined to this dinner by Antti Akonniemi (of Kisko labs fame) in Farang. He was no stranger to this place either, as he reported having had a meal there pretty steadily once per year. Antti is a professional comedian, podcast host and an overall fun person to be with so, needless to say, making this episode was entertaining and fun. Farang, the restaurant is ranked at 38th position of the Top 50 list, which to me, feels like just about right. Farang is solid, great food and it serves something unique that is easily a craving after a few bites.. But then again, it is not very surprising after all these years. We went with the classics - splitting the sweet and delicious pork cuisine and soft shell crabs. These two are cornerstones of my great memories in Farang and are not to be ignored. Farang surely serves many other great dishes too, but these are the best. The best. This is an awesome venue for anyone who has not had proper Thai food obviously, but it is also the perfect vibe for a friends’ night out or milestone dinner with a larger family. You’ll also hear a quick comment from the restaurant manager in the podcast episode.
Savoy is a classic, a culinary gem in Helsinki that is now under new head chef delivering spectacular dishes on plate. In this episode, I’m joined by Markus Sarja who is an entrepreneur to the core and has been starting up companies in a series. I’ve been privileged enough to see him build up OP Kevytyrittäjä while working under OP Lab few years back. Markus covers the benefits and reasons behind making the product in detail while we dine in this posh environment. Savoy feels like straight out of a 60s movie and everything around the atmosphere, starting from the location and ending with the ingredients on the plate screams out loud prestige. This is a unique experience amongst the restaurant scene in Helsinki simply because of being modern and antique (in a good way ofc) at the same time. Menu we enjoyed here was the Savoy tasting menu, which had high quality dishes like Foie Gras, Angler fish, Grilled Cabbage and amazing blackberry sweetness as dessert. Savoy is entitled to 26th position at Restaurants Top 50, but probably with this show case, does actually rank a tiny bit higher - closer to Top 10, if you ask me. I’m sure I will visit this place again, just because it takes me way back to good old times. To read more about becoming entrepreneur in Finland, checkout OP Kevytyrittäjä from here: http://op-kevytyrittaja.fi http://op-kevytyrittaja.fi/
Pastis was the second restaurant established by Henri Alen and company, and it is located in the Iso Roobertinkatu, in a peaceful, yet central part of Helsinki. Pastis is ranked 34 of the Top 50 restaurants list, although it has every ingredient to be higher up. The restaurant is cozy, bistroesque, the food is amazing and the wine pairings work like a charm. For this visit, I had a chance to eat out with Marjaana Toiminen from Ellun Kanat. She has an amazing resume and history in working with leadership positions in companies going through big transformations. Due to her deep expertise, it is no wonder she is now doing consulting with strategic foresight and thinking. Ellun Kanat is a unique agency that helps companies think differently and see new angles to make the best of the transformation pressure they are facing with digitalization or any other threats. Their services include communications, strategic thinking and culture development amongst many other things. You can find more info about Ellun Kanat and their services from www.ellunkanat.fi http://www.ellunkanat.fi/. We had two courses in this restaurant, I ate a beef tartar (as I’ve done now on several occasions) and then a great main course made from Zucchini flowers. The food was great and served without a fault, so no wonder so many people recommend this alongside Muru, the sister restaurant of Pastis. After a great meal it was easy to agree that Pastis is the place for slow dining where you enjoy the conversation, e.g. when hosting friendly parties (birthdays, anniversaries or otherwise). This venue is intimate and relaxed, while the food is impeccable. Henri Alen shares a few words about the founding story of Pastis at the beginning of the episode.
In this episode, we’re a restaurant called Hello Stranger which is built into a classic nightclub spot very close to the central railway station. This relatively new place is known for cocktails and relaxed atmosphere, but I have to say, the food delivered nicely. In Hello Stranger, I was joined in this episode with Jaakko Vilèn who is one of the few very original Helsinki natives I’ve had in my show, which naturally made the things interesting. My previous guests have had interesting stories about their reasons to move into Helsinki, but Jaakko had perspective on why to come back after spending some years abroad. Jaakko works now for nCino, which is an interesting story in itself, both from how to get recruited during Corona point of view, but as a company too. nCino makes digital banking solutions (my sweet spot, I do admit) the right way, up in the clouds, modular and simple to integrate. This company is still in its early days of a journey that will last decades, I feel. Menu we enjoyed here was the Hello Stranger tasting menu, which had a really colorful starter with shrimp, simple Miso soup along with an amazing main course of fish and desert (creme brulee with coffee). The plates were so beautiful and tasty, nothing was left to be desired. While Hello Stranger restaurant has been around only a while, it is made a dent in the Top 50 list. Now it is sitting at 35th position, but I guarantee it is going upwards. To read more about Jaakko’s employer and potential jobs he and them are poting in Nordics, head over to https://www.ncino.com/ Personally, I’d rank this as one of the restaurants I’ll be visiting and enjoy because of the venue, food and vibes. Loved it. Ps. I should warn you that this episode talks about Rugby. With all its traditions, it is one of the most interesting sports - rough and classic, just like Hello Stranger.
Next restaurant in the HelsinkiEats agenda was the famous Michelin star kitchen of Demo. Demo has been for years one of the original fine dining places in Helsinki and is known for pushing the limits. Demo provides a daily changing surprise menu, which can be 5 to 7 courses with wine pairing served with them. Of course, the menu begins with surprise from the kitchen and ends with petit fours. We went to Demo together with Ondrej Spala, a startup co-founder at Northern Grips, who moved to Helsinki to complete his studies from Czech republic. Ondrej was a great company as we got to share and compare travel experiences while enjoying the fine 5 courses delivered. Northern Grips, the startup Ondrej is bootstrapping with his friend, is trying to save lives as they are producing an adhesive friction layer for shoes to prevent slipping during autumn and winter. From the standpoint of innovation in insurance companies, this naturally was interesting to see. We got to demo the spikeless shoe extensions on a piece of ice while we were eating and I got to say, it was impressive. Food served was impressive too, the dishes followed one another with perfect execution and use of local and fresh ingredients. We agreed that this great dinner would be worthwhile for anyone looking to upgrade their experience of eating out in a restaurant. Michelin star really guarantees a certain level of quality, as was exhibited again by this visit. Personally, I’d rank this easily in the top 10 of Finnish restaurants. Highly recommended. You’ll also hear a quick comment from the sous chef about Demo history and story. Ps. if you’ll want to stay safe during the upcoming winter, you better stock up them spineless friction adhesives by Northern Grips at: https://northerngrips.com/
Restaurant number 12 HelsinkiEats visits is Spis, a restaurant near Punavuori that I really had no clue about in advance. Obviously all the restaurants in top 50 list are great, but it is experiences like this that make you really happy - having no expectations is the best way to make yourself happy about the outcome. Spis is at position 44, but I dare say, it deserves to be higher up on the chart. Timo Kemppainen (currently helping Lexly) took the time to enjoy the restaurants 6 course tasting menu with me, and I must say, it was really amazing to see Timo after a while. Spis made enjoying to food very easy as they started with amuse-bouche and ended with petit four. We took the six course menu and a recommendation for the wine, and none of the dishes let us down. In the menu, there were soup with al dente veggies (peas, carrots etc), a cold salad with cucumber and rye bread, duck (amazing dish this was!), sous vide made salmon, and finally veal in two ways for the main course. This all was topped and mixed with intermediate courses cleansing the palette and finishing of with home made ice cream. Did you know that Tove Jansson used to live in this building? Yes. One of them dishes was inspired by Moomins (haha, loved it). This is something that every Finn willing to explore something better should go to. The food is simple, rooted in Finnish culture, but very very well made. I’d rather recommend this than Gaijin or Farang (and I do like them too). So, this is for everyone. Great cost/value, absolutely. You’ll also hear a quick comment from the Chef of Spis, Antero Aurivuo. Ps. Lexly just announced that they are live in Finland for some legal documents we all could use. Why not give it a spin at http://lexly.fi http://lexly.fi/
11th restaurant of HelsinkiEats podcast was Sikke’s, which is located in Tehtaankatu, not too far from the Punavuori and Eira hoods. Not really sure what part of town this is, but as Sikke Sumari, one of the owners explained - this has been in restaurant use since 1930s. Sikke’s is (as Sikke Sumari explains) a “Kuppila”, a good old fashioned restaurant that serves good food. I had the pleasure to eat here with Harri Nieminen, a colleague from the past, who has pushed forward as a service designer (currently as director in Kuudes Kerros). He is one of those people who has great taste, which makes him really good in what he does. Kuudes Kerros offers a range of service design, interior design, brand design etc related services - basically anything you might need for your design needs. This great Kuppila didn’t let us down, it gave us good options to go easy on meats, while letting us still have great experience. Menu was basically 3 courses and we ended up choosing very different compilations, except for a side dish of Feta cheese with cucumber, which we shared. I had beef tartar (somehow, it is difficult for me to avoid it), risotto (with italian pork) and pavlova. Harri enjoyed seasonal vegetables, broccoli and fruity delish as a desert. Food was not failing one bit, it was simple and traditional food made fresh with some seasoning and novel methods. Clearly, you don’t need to make this complicated to make it tasty and complicated. I’d recommend this for either a good dinner out with family, friends or a spouse-to-be. The interior and experience alone is worth spending time and relaxing in here. Service was great and we felt welcome in this restaurant. You’ll also hear a quick comment from the other co-owners of Sikke’s, the one and only Sikke Sumari.
