This is already something of a classic: the Lapland-themed restaurant has been operating for over 30 years on Annankatu in central Helsinki. Stepping inside feels like arriving at a cabin in the woods. The natural materials used in the d\u00e9cor immediately transport you to another world \u2013 you could easily imagine yourself in Lapland.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re greeted straight away by the bar, where a staff member welcomes guests dressed in Lapland-appropriate attire. Near the bar stand massive wooden tables with chunky log stools; you can just as easily drop in for a drink here.<\/p>\n
A waiter leads us down a winding corridor deeper into the restaurant. Colourful rag rugs line the floor all the way to the table, while Finnish schlager music hums in the background.<\/p>\n
My companion is originally from Lapland, so I ask what he thinks of a themed restaurant like this. He says he\u2019s simply glad that, right in the middle of Helsinki, there\u2019s a place where you can tap into a proper Lapland atmosphere. Only the Northern Lights are missing from the night sky.<\/p>\n
To start, we order a sharing platter for two (\u20ac56) featuring a selection of Lapland delicacies. When it arrives, we realise it includes even more than promised on the menu \u2013 a pleasant surprise. The platter includes salmon tartare, roe, cured reindeer, dried reindeer meat, wild mushroom salad, smoked vendace, salmon spread, pickles, elk tartare, and squeaky Northern cheese with cloudberries. A few slices of rye bread and flatbread with a knob of butter are served alongside.<\/p>\n
The sharing platter\u00a0packed\u00a0with Lapland flavours is a must\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Lapland cuisine isn\u2019t familiar to you, this sharing platter is an absolute must. The waiter mentions that it\u2019s also available as a single portion. Quite literally, Lapland on a plate.<\/p>\n
My personal favourites from the starters\u00a0are the salmon tartare, the cured reindeer and the elk tartare. I hadn\u2019t eaten elk in years, so it feels pleasantly exotic.<\/p>\n
As my companion tastes the mushroom salad, he says it\u2019s just like the one his grandmother used to make for Christmas. Memories of a Lapland childhood home come rolling back through flavour alone.<\/p>\n
It takes a while to work our way through the starters \u2013 it\u2019s a generous portion. We begin to wonder how we\u2019ll manage the mains at all. Both of us give the starters five stars.<\/p>\n
For mains, we order saut\u00e9ed reindeer (\u20ac36) and pan-fried vendace (\u20ac23), both served with mashed potatoes. After the vibrant starters, the dishes feel slightly underwhelming.<\/p>\n
The mash could have used more flavour, and the vendace needed a generous pinch of salt. The reindeer, however, is tender and well-seasoned, without any unnecessary fuss. It tastes distinctly of reindeer, which is exactly the point.<\/p>\n
The saut\u00e9ed reindeer earns a solid four stars \u2013 but next time, I\u2019ll have my vendace in summer at the Market Square.<\/p>\n
Atmosphere A small slice of Lapland in the heart of Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Food Carefully prepared traditional Finnish cuisine with a northern emphasis.<\/p>\n
Drinks You can also pop in just for drinks and soak up the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
Time Out tip You\u2019ll get a proper taste of northern flavours from the substantial starter platter alone, so if you\u2019re looking to save money, consider skipping the main course altogether.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is already something of a classic: the Lapland-themed restaurant has been operating for over 30 years on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20269,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[2618,158,113,4672,2617],"class_list":{"0":"post-20268","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-helsinki","8":"tag-categories-restaurants","9":"tag-finland","10":"tag-helsinki","11":"tag-more-recommended","12":"tag-restaurants"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}