St Petersburg and Helsinki

[emsny]

In July/August we'll be traveling to St Petersburg and would be grateful for restaurant recommendations. We're interested principally in Russian food - Thai we can eat at home! My wife speaks fluent Russian, so menu and staff language issues don't apply. On the way home we are to spend a couple of days in Helsinki - any ideas there?

Many thanks, all.

[Boo]

So glad that you posted, I was about to post my own query on Helsinki, since we'll be there in July as well. I haven't been to Helsinki in 5 years, so I'm interested to see if there is anything new. One of my favorites is Kappeli, an upscale cafe in a lovely Art Nouveau building on Esplanadi. It has an outdoor terrace which is so enjoyable on a summer evening for a drink and people watching.

[pdycaico]

I was in Helsinki last week and dined at Kappeli. It is a beautiful site but the food was not the best. Unfortunately I was only able to dine in Helsinki for the one day. My best meals were out of Helsinki. I liked Russo in Vantaa and Alexandra Cafe in Lapeenranta. I hope to go to St Petersburg on my next trip to Helsinki in May so I would appreciate any advice that you might have as well as any advice for really great places in Helsinki.

[Boo]

I have to agree that the food, while acceptable, was not really stellar at Kappeli (which is why I recommended it for drinks). Can you give some more info on Russo? We'll be in Vantaa for a night, most likely, so I'm really interested to know more. Thank you!

[Culinista]

Food at Kappeli is bad. Just drink there.

Unfortunately, you can say this for too many places in Helsinki.

For nicer Finnish dining, try Nokka or Sundman's Krog (the informal restaurant beneath the one-star Sundman's). The Helsinki Menu at restaurants around town usually showcase Finnish food at good prices.

If you are here during crayfish season, I HIGHLY recommend getting a reservation for a crayfish dinner at one of the summer restaurants on the islands. This alone is worth the trip to the far far North. (The season goes from mid-July to sometime mid-September. Expect about 6-8 euros per crayfish, exact number must be ordered in advance. 6-8 crayfish is about normal per person, followed by a light main course. Reservations essential during the season.) NJK, the old yacht club, is my first choice, followed by Saarkanlinna (in an old fortress) and Saari. You have to find the restaurant's private dock and signal the launch to get picked up. Prepare to see a lot of partying Finns. It's traditional to accompany each crayfish with a shot of schnapps, but you could end up like my husband, arm in arm with a stranger named Ollie, singing John Denver songs. Personally, I'd stick to champagne.

Lappi is looks like a Disney theme restaurant, but you should go there to try Lappish specialties like air-dried reindeer, glow fried whitefish, reindeer stew, snow grouse, etc.

Most of the top-rated restaurants are too expensive to be a good value for visitors (George, Chez Dominique, etc). Palace Grill is just bad. The only exception would be Savoy, which has only OK food at exorbitant prices, but it's a must for architecture buffs. The Aalto designed interior is classic and hasn't changed much since the 30s. It also has a great terrace view over the esplanade. Noora, the young but gifted sommelier, is terrific. If you can't get there, the Aalto-designed (and rather boring) Accademica bookstore next to Stockmann has a second-floor cafe and a good selection of foregn books and press.

CK Brasserie in the Kamp Hotel has a decent brunch, but Toolonranta behind the Opera House is better and has a nice view of the lake.

I live directly in front of the Temppeliaukio Rock Church-my favorite sightseeing spot. If I'm home, I'll give you a tour of our parking garage, which is in the vast nuclear fallout shelter built under the church.

Some of the best restaurants in Helsinki unfortunately do not serve Finnish food. For the record, I like Demo for Italian, Farouge for outstanding Lebanese, Saslik for Russian, and Raku-ya for Japanese. Mecca and Teatteri are good for fashionable grazing. Avoid Tex-Mex, Indian, and any other spicy cuisine in Helsinki unless you want to be severely disappointed.

Lunch is often a much better deal than dinner. Kosmos has a 3-course, 20 euro menu.

For lunch spots in shopping areas, try Cafe Ekberg on Bulevardi, the terrace deli at Teatteri, Cafe Esplanad across the street from Teatteri, Cafe Strindberg (nice upstairs lounge for drinks or relaxing). The market square has fish and produce vendors in the mornings and afternoons, and you can get open faced sandwiches or grilled fish. The sushi bar in the old covered market hall has Nordic fish sushi sometimes (ahven, pike perch, whitefish, etc). Finns love ice cream and sausages from street kiosks.

Some only-in-Finland spots: Zetor, a tractor-filled restaurant run by the singer from the Leningrad Cowboys; Sea Horse, a Finnish pub restaurant with old-fashioned food; and the Arctic Bar, permanently -5C. The bar on top of the Torni Hotel is an interesting place for evening drinks, but it's an old hotel and hard to figure out which elevator to take to get there.

Havis Amanda, the premiere seafood restaurant, has closed and reincarnated in another location as the more informal Havis. I haven't tried it yet. There is also Sasso and Fishmarket, both new. I'll try them soon, along with the bohemian classic, Elite.

Edited April 6, 2005 by Culinista (log)

[Culinista]

And to get in the Finnish mood, I suggest seeing Aki Kaurismaki's "Drifting Clouds" before coming. It's about a married couple, a tram driver and a headwaiter, who fall on hard times during the 1990s depression and find new hope by opening a restaurant. I'd love to figure out which restaurants were used as the sets. Kaurismaki used to run restaurants and a B&B in the country, but I think most of them have changed ownership.

[Nanna R]

I was in St. Petersburg over Easter and dined at the Old Custom House on Vasilievsky Island with a Russian and an Icelander who has lived in the city for many years. Both proclaimed it their favorite restaurant. The food was very good, European/French (except the very Russian caviar and blini). Located in an 18th century vaulted cellar, quite roomy and cozy. Probably rather expensive but my menu did not have any prices.

I had lunch at Demidov on 14 Naberezhnaya Reki Fontanki - salad and a very good soup. I understand they plce an emphasis on authenticity and prepare all their dishes from very old Russian recipes. I also had a light lunch at Valhall on Nevsky Prospekt - supposedly a mixture of Russian and Scandinavian cooking but I didn't notice a great deal of Scandinavian influence there, although there were some Viking-style decorations. The soup was good, though; the vodka even better.

I had a quick meal at Propaganda on 40 Nabereznaya Reki - Soviet-themed restaurant with a mixture of Russian and international cooking. I ordered a Georgian tabaka chicken, which was quite OK but I've had better.

For inexpensive and quick Russian food, my hosts recommended the chain Yolki Palki, which has recently opened its first restaurant on Nevsky Prospect, but I didn't have time to go there.

[Boo]

Culinista, thank you for your very helpful post. Where is Sea Horse? Sounds like place my spouse would like.

[Culinista]

Sea Horse is at Kapteeninkatu 11, in a quiet area. (+358 9 628 169). It dates from 1934. Saslik, the romantic Russian restaurant, is in the same neighborhood.

I'll warn you that most Finns would be appalled that I mention it, because they think it's too unrefined for foreigners. Frankly, I think a lot of our sophisticated Finnish friends are kind of embarrassed by it and concerned you might see Finns drinking and having a good time.

I was there over Easter weekend, and it was very homey and completely untouched by modern food trends, with a very classic 1930s modern feel to the interior. Portions are very hearty, honestly prepared, and unapologetically traditional without romanticism. Of course, this sort of food hardly ever has the angels singing in the clouds, but you probably will not see a single tourist there. We had the herring platter to share, the Finnish meatballs in gravy, 2 pepper steaks, and a kind of sailor's hash. (4 people in our group.) Definitely a place for beer as opposed to wine. Maybe because of the holiday, it was quiet. Prices are very low compared to the "nice" restaurants. I hear it can get smoky sometimes, but it was no problem when we went.

Alcoholism in Finland is a big issue. The state Alko monopoly controls all alcohol sales, and beer and wine is quite expensive. (I once saw a Turning Leaf chardonnay for 25 euros!!) However, so is everything else, so you'll hardly notice.

I'd recommend picking up a copy of "Helsinki This Week" by Helsinki Expert, available at the tourist info center. It has everything you need to know about events, shopping, and restaurants. The website is www.helsinkithisweek.fi

Tervetuola!

[Boo]

Thank you, it sounds exactly like a place we would look for. My spouse speaks fluent Finnish (Finnish parents) and we go there to see his family, not really as tourists, so we like out of the way places to eat. I think we will make an exception and go to Zetor, however, as our little boy will love the tractors! Thank you for your help, I'm going to print out your post and take it with us.

[Culinista]

Have a great time!

A friend just treated me to lunch at Sasso, the new Italian restaurant my foodie friend Pertti insists is just like in Italy. (He owns part of an Italian winery, so he should know something about Italian food.)

However, I had a less favorable first impression after trying the halibut, which was obviously roused from a long deep freeze and deglazed with salty commercial jus and some kind of purply red wine. This went over cauliflower risotto, which I can't imagine any Italian doing. (17e)

My husband is going to Sasso tonight for dinner. Maybe he'll have better luck.

[pdycaico]

I have to agree that the food, while acceptable, was not really stellar at Kappeli (which is why I recommended it for drinks).  Can you give some more info on Russo?  We'll be in Vantaa for a night, most likely, so I'm really interested to know more.  Thank you!

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Vantaa is a really small town and I found Russo just by chance. I could not tell you the street name. They have a fabulous smoked salmon bruschetta and a very good tomato soup. I was there traveling on business with three colleagues two weeks ago and we ate there a few times. Not terribly elegant, but good food.