LEHTIKUVA

Beer is considered the best summertime brewery beverage, with light lager being the top choice for a summer beer. Mineral water takes second place as the best summer drink. The popularity of hard seltzers, which secured third place, is rapidly growing. These findings come from a survey conducted by the Finnish Breweries Association and the Beverage Industry Association.

Running until August 27th, the Torikorttelit summer terrace, created by well-known restaurateurs Mikko Leisti from Sofia Helsinki, Ville Tikkanen from Valkoinen sali, and Sami Benamed from Via Tribunal and Son of a Punch, will offer a delightful array of food and drink concepts to visitors.

The restaurant concepts will feature high-quality seasonal ingredients, classic flavors, and the latest food trends.

A summer terrace for the restaurants of Torikorttelit will be built on the side of Senate Square in July. Photo: Camilla Bloom, Helsinki City Spaces Ltd.

The restaurant operators of Torikorttelit are joining forces to open a summer terrace on the side of Senate Square in July. The terrace will feature four different restaurant concepts, offering a variety of summer food and drink options. With a seating capacity of 410, the terrace aims to bring a vibrant atmosphere to the heart of Helsinki.

The initiative to establish the summer terrace on Senate Square has been met with enthusiasm from Torikorttelit's restaurant operators.

Miika Lönn, Hans Välimäki and Arto Rastas also run the restaurant on Kluuvikatu, Bistro Bardot.

Hans Välimäki and Arto Rastas, together with their team, are set to open two new restaurants in the heart of Helsinki in the autumn of 2023. The new Italian "bistro" and the British-inspired gastropub will emphasize seafood and game dishes. The Italian Bistro Gina will open its doors at Korkeavuorenkatu 34 in early September, serving customers from Monday to Saturday. Bistro Gina will be a casual and informal bistro-brasserie, serving seasonally inspired and high-quality Italian classics.

Restaurant Palace, located on the southern shore of Helsinki was chosen as Finland's best restaurant for the fourth consecutive time. Photo: Andres Teiss

Ravintola Palace in Helsinki has been named Finland's best restaurant for the fourth consecutive year. The restaurant industry professionals voted Palace as the winner of Finland's 50 Best Restaurants list. BasBas from Helsinki was ranked second, and Kaskis from Turku was third.

All of the top 10 restaurants on the list were located in Helsinki, including Bistro Bardot, Vinkkeli, Luovuus kukkii kaaoksesta, Savoy, Grön, Café Savoy, and Alexanderplats.

Dishes by Savotta restaurant.

It may be a surprise how exotic and varied the food in Helsinki can actually be. If you do end up taking a trip here, you will be umming and scratching your head on what cuisine to single out for yourself. But finding a great place to dine should not be a gamble, but an informed decision. Here are a few tips and suggestions to start with.

There is good news for those Helsinki residents who have missed the Lebanese restaurant Farouge. The owners have re-opened the legendary restaurant in a new location. The new Farouge located in Fabianinkatu 9 on the street level of Hotel Fabian is now much bigger and fancier, but with the same old warmth of service and quality food as before. 

Founders Viviane and Aki Kallio are well known to many of their regular customers from their old restaurant in Yrjön St. 

If you are a culinarist and always looking out for new and extraordinary tastes you are certainly familiar with Kobe beef. Named after the province in Japan where it originates from, the Kobe beef is from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle raised in that area according to strict rules set out by Kobe Beef Association.  In addition to geographical and strain restrictions, the meat must have a marbeling ratio of 6 and above and a quality score of 4 to 5 in order to be granted the  trademarked brand of Kobe Beef.

SINCE KORTTELI on the 5th floor of the Kamppi Shopping Center with its variety of restaurants opened over a year ago it has been hustling and bustling. One restaurant where you can be sure to often see a queue at the door is Hoku. The restaurant has 66 seats and the most coveted tables are the ones by the windows, overlooking Narinkkatori square and Helsinki’s center, the cathedral shining in brightest white in the background.

THERE IS no question, that sushi has taken hold in Finland, and especially in Helsinki. But things were a bit different back in 2015 when the first Luckiefun’s restaurant opened in Sörnäinen. Fast forward to February 2018, Luckiefun’s sushi buffet can now be found at three locations in Helsinki and at one in Vantaa.

The restaurant at Fredrikinkatu 49 in Helsinki’s centre is just about a year old by now. It looks modern and seems to follow the clean lines of Scandinavian design, incorporating a lot of wooden elements that add warmth to the room, while the aquarium adds to a pleasant atmosphere.