How I miss Sunday afternoon having a pint of beer or two at the Sea Horse, a.k.a. Sikala. Their cabbage rolls were also some of the best I've ever had! Funny, the first time I went there (when smoking was permitted inside) I thought it was one of the most depressing places, where serious drinkers drink seriously, but then I realized the beauty of this iconic Helsinki institution and made it a regular place for me and my friends to drink when in Ullanlinna. Do they finally have waitresses that can speak English? Did they finally update the men's room in disrepair? (My grandmother, 82 at the time, said she liked the place since the ladies room was well kept.) All these things I'll have to find out on my next trip to Helsinki. read more

Very old style, traditional Finn meals. I enjoyed pan seared Herring, lots of food. Decent, a tad pricey. Very good service. read more

Sea Horse - Herring with potatoes - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

Terrible food taste, wait more than one hour for each dish. And service is poor, the environment is dirty there is a fly flying around the table all the time. read more

My review might be a little different.... we sat outside in the park at their bar/cafe little building. Not dinner in the restaurant . The people watching of the neighborhood coming and going and meeting there for drinks and chats was a welcome slice of real life inHelsinki. There was a lady who brought her elderly dog - along with a couch cushion for him to sleep on while she sat with her friends. It was so sweet that she didnt Want him to lay on the damp September ground. We had several beers from the friendly server and sat in the late afternoon sunshine. Lovely experience read more

Went for lunch, and the server greeted us with "I can give you the menus, but it's twice the price of the daily specials, which are listed in Finnish on the board, and I'll translate." They evidently include the salad bar and coffee. It was heavy food, but good. read more

One of the greats. I don't even like liver but theirs is sooo good. Great spot for celebrity spotting, too.

Came here for dinner and as soon as you enter they will charge you 2 Euro for hanging your jacket and they will not allow you to refuse. The menus come in multiple languages so it's easy to order. Wine menu is on the table. We ordered the snails with garlic butter, the reindeer filet and fries herring. The smaller order of the snails comes with 6 pieces and was actually quite delicious as it was smothered in garlic butter. The reindeer was extremely tender and the sauce complemented it very well. I did not like the raw onions in my mashed potatoes though. The herring was seasoned well and tasted great. Overall an excellent meal with large portions. If I find myself in the area again, I would gladly come back and try different dishes. read more

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Delicious Finnish food and amazing service. We had the herring sampler and the salmon soup (outstanding) to start. Then the perch, the reindeer and the schnitzel. Everything was delicious! read more

A Finnish friend brought me here after I requested traditional finnish food. There are reasonably priced lunch specials, but you can also order from the menu. I ordered the herring steaks with mashed potato and beets. Loved it. Prices are reasonable considering the quality. read more

Sea Horse - Steaks of Baltic Herrings (with blue cheese-red onion filling, mashed potatoes and pickled beetroot) - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

Wow the Baltic herring steaks!!!!!!! I recommend them with a vodka drink they call Schnapps read more

Sea Horse - Baltic herring steaks - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

Oh my God this place was a sooooooo good. I will go back to this place if I'm ever in Helsinki. Truly authentic food, great and friendly waitress too. I had the meatballs and my wife had the stuffed cabbage. The little berries with carmel sauce for desert was totally out of the ordinary but a nice change. The atmosphere was good and the place smelled awesome! Go there! read more

Sea Horse - Our meals. The meatballs and also the stuffed cabbage. The potatoes were awesome! - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

We were in town for a conference and hoping to enjoy some more traditional Finnish food. A local who was helping to coordinate the conference brought us here - a big group of us. We had a great service and the food was delicious!! I have a mushroom allergy, so they were kind enough to give me a different sauce with the salmon - the portion was huge (too big for me!!) and it was absolutely delicious. Others had herring steak, fried herring, and lord knows what else. The decor is rather kitschy with paintings of, well, seahorses, on the wall and one of the smallest women's bathroom I have ever been in in my life (and I'm a tiny person). I'd happily bring friends and colleagues here in the future. A great choice to experience Finnish food in a not so cheesy (hokey) environment. read more

First things first, their food is awesome. I had reindeer and cabbage rolls, and what actually surprised me the most was the quantity. Food actually got sent back, that *never* happens with me (modesty aside). One thing I didn't really get was the red lights on the windows, which just looked a bit tacky for such a good place. read more

Sea Horse - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

I love the Sea Horse and over the course of the pandemic, I have been missing it sorely. The atmosphere is casual and welcoming, with sense of "neighborliness" which gives one a real feeling of being in an authentic place with some history. Until travel restrictions got in the way, I have been going to Helsinki a few times a year for more than 20 years. Sea Horse is my traditional first night dinner, and sometimes also my last night dinner. The Baltic herring are great, but don't miss the mushroom soup, salmon soup, Wienerschnitzel, Scandinavian hash and Oscar´s sandwich. It's too much to try in just one visit. If you have room - which will not be easy - try the pancakes for dessert. If you are looking for a fancy, high end place, this is not it. But if you want to relax in a pleasant environment and enjoy some local delights, give it a try. read more

The food was good and the meals were pretty big, so you definitely get your stomach full. It was quite pricey, though, and you were asked to leave your jackets in a paid cloakroom. The service was very friendly and the ingredients used were of good quality. My friend happened to find a small piece of plastic in her meal (nothing too shocking, maybe just from the package or something) and when pointed that out, she got her meal free of charge. read more

Sea Horse - Sea horse's salmon sandwich - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

We ate here on our first night in Helsinki, and it was a perfect introduction to traditional Finnish food! The waitstaff were kind and helpful, and their English was quite good as well, and our waitress was kind enough to answer our questions about directions to our next destination. The menu is in Finnish, English, and Russian, so it's quite accessible. For starters, the mushroom soup was very delicate and creamy, and the snails were cooked in a delicious garlic and butter sauce (though they were a little chewier than I was expecting). We shared the meat cabbage rolls for a main course, and were delighted to find that they were served with a lingonberry sauce & some delicious mashed potatoes. Best of all was the Finnish 'squeaky cheese' we had for dessert, served with cloudberry jam and strawberries. The atmosphere is clean and unpretentious, and the food feels very genuine and home-cooked. The specialty drinks were a little pricey, but the Nordic Berry martini was quite good regardless (vodka and blueberry liqueur with cranberries). Price wise, it wasn't bad, especially for Helsinki standards. We spent around 60€ or so for 2 starters, a cocktail, main course, and dessert. Portions were generous (especially the soups!) but not overly big. We're only here for 5 nights, but we've already considered going back to try some more interesting Finnish delicacies! read more

Sea Horse - Finnish 'squeaky cheese' - a traditional dessert served with strawberries and cloudberry jam. Delicious! - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

There's only one potato preparation I cannot abide by and that's undercooked. Sadly, the vegetarian cabbage rolls I had last week at Sea Horse were gummy and included half-raw potatoes. I quite like cabbage rolls but this rendition did not work. My dining companion had the meatballs and pronounced them "flavorless." The bright spot was the mushroom soup. Almost sinfully creamy, I was glad to have had it to fill me up before I tucked into the cabbage rolls. Sea Horse came highly recommended but in my experience did not live up to the hype. read more

After an early evening stroll in Helsinki with my new travel companions, we came to this place after hearing about how popular it was. I got the Creamy Salmon Soup as my appetizer. The soup definitely had a nice creamy taste, and it was almost like eating Clam Chowder, but with generous chunks of salmon. The salmon portions were excellent. As for my main dish, I got the Steaks of Baltic Herrings, because I knew that herring is a popular fish eaten in Finland. I thought it was good, liked the crispiness of the fish on the outside. It came with mashed potatoes and beetroot. The beetroot was a pretty good complement to the mashed potatoes. As for dessert we shared some Finnish Pancakes with Strawberry Jam and Vanilla Ice Cream. The pancakes were also good, but with some cool ice cream, it tasted a lot better and had a nice sweetness. This dessert is a great choice if you think your stomach is not full enough. The service here was not bad, but we were too preoccupied talking about a lot of interesting things over the table that I didn't notice anything strange about the service. Expect to pay about €30+ for dinner, but you will get your stomach really full if you come here very hungry. Overall, if you are looking for a great dinner in Helsinki, this place is a great choice. I had a really full stomach after my dinner, and it was definitely one of the most enjoyable and tastiest group dinners I had in Europe so far. read more

Sea Horse - Salmon soup - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

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I came in search of traditional Finnish food after a long day trekking around Helsinki and Seahorse didn't disappoint. The interior looks like it has been unchanged for decades and the clientele was a mix of tourists and locals. I ordered the meatballs which were very similar to the Swedish equivalent. The wife had the grilled salmon which from the small sample I had tasted great. For dessert we shared Finnish pancakes which were served with jam and ice cream, an odd combination which worked really well. Overall it was a good meal, if I were to come back again, I would order the salmon though. read more

Long time classic Finnish restaurant in the beautiful Ullanlinna neighborhood of Helsinki serves up some classic dishes. Tried the reindeer with cranberry wine sauce and it was extremely tender and had a nice rich, but not gamey taste. It was served with creamy mashed potato and boiled veggies on the side. Wasn't too much of a fan of the grilled salmon but the morel sauce was nice. The friendly and attentive service will soften the blow of the hefty price tag at the end. Dinner for two looking at nearly €100 with beer but worth it. Do make a reservation seeing as it is popular with both locals and tourists. Recommended. read more

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Good atmosphere to have a small group dinner. Service was good and the food was served as the right temperature and right portion. Will definitely go back if I am nearby that area. read more

Sea Horse - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

Authentic Finnish restaurant. We had the Wild mushroom soup and Slightly salted beef starters, the mushroom-onion salad under the beef was very tasty. I had the Pike perch à la Mannerheim, it was nicely lightly breaded. The other meat dishes we tried were Pepper steak, Beef steak à la Sea Horse, and Scandinavian hash. All dishes were significant proportions. For dessert we ordered Frozen cranberries with hot caramel sauce and the Finnish pancakes with strawberry jam - oh heaven! read more

Sea Horse - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

This one of the most oldest restaurants in Helsinki. You can serve here very good Finnish food. I had schnitzel :) read more

Sea Horse - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

Sea Horse is a strange place. With a colourful history. For one, the name of the place comes from when visiting sailors would come here for hearty fare with humongous portions, and cheap alcohol. It hasn't changed that much since; for that reason, it has become legendary. For various reasons it's also super popular with Japanese tourists. We're a long way away from the days of the rowdy sailors, but on weekends especially it still gets a little rambunctious. The food is hearty, and very, very Finnish. It's the sort of place you need to go to with a Finnish friend, who will order for you and tell you exactly what they specialize in. I had the pytti pannu, a sort of Finnish hash -- traditionally made out of whatever you've got leftover in the fridge. Over here, it's a standard hash of potatoes, bacon, and a whole egg. Break the egg into the mash, and you've got an awesome hangover food. The warm sandwiches are good too. There's a lot to drink, a lot to eat, but you have to order the right things. If you're not sure, just ask the waiters, who are pretty friendly for such a traditionally Finnish place (that is usually grumpier). Bookings are necessary on Fridays and weekends. Coat service is 2 EUR, and they don't really tell you that but there's a tiny sign, so coat-veat emptor? read more

Sea Horse has a special place in my heart. And not just because I have always wanted one of my very own. This is the place I "met the family" on my first visit to Helsinki with my boyfriend and I suspect it is a huge part of why I fell in love with this city: Sea Horse is classic Finnish through and through: delicious simple food (try the fish or the steak), very friendly and efficient service, and a warm, old school vibe. Prices are really reasonable for Helsinki and the wine selection was good- and much needed for such an occasion. Such a sweet facade outside, and such a charming and family-like atmosphere inside. An instant classic and an instant favorite for this girl, who is far too used to modern and overly-done eateries of SF, NY, and LA in the US. read more

Pink light in the windows, curtains closed. Came here because Juuri did not have any place. When I came in I thought the place could use a redecoration, a group of Chinese tourists came in as well and there I was, thought to be trapped in a tourist trap. That was not true...real authentic Finnish food, had the beefsteak with pickels, creme freche and Fried onions. Really good! And the veggies and potatoes on the side are to die for. So get past the looks and try the food. You will love it! read more

Sea Horse - Beefsteack. Mmmm - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

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While making our first visit to Helsinki decided to make our first dinner traditional Finnish food & landed here at Sea Horse. Restaurant was very easy to find & well marked from the outside. We were immediately greeted by the coat check gentlemen who was very friendly & helpful & well worth the 2 Euros we gave him when retrieving our coats after a wonderful meal. The waitress who served us continued the warm & friendly service & we enjoyed practicing our very, very basic Finnish hello & thank you's with her. Now for the food the bread they put out was good & the fresh pitcher of water on the table was nice. My wife started with the wild mushroom soup & it was delicious, would definitely recommend. For the main course she ordered the stuffed cabbage which was completely different then what we both had seen before. Light on the rice in the stuffing, more meat & covered with a thick brown gravy, overall just fair, in other words try something else. I was torn between the fried perch & steak ala Sea Horse & went with the steak. Very good as it was a steak smothered in fried onions & again a rich brown gravy. Also it came with sautéed vegetables which were OK & home fried potatoes that were really good. For dessert we shared the Finnish pancakes with strawberry jam & ice cream that we both very much enjoyed. Overall not a great meal but a wonderful experience & glad we came! read more

Great local place. It's definitely a family place were you go more to have a very local experience than something touristic, I think we were probably the only foreigners in the room this evening. The place in itself isn't really decorated but nice enough. The food was great, I had the fried ham with potatoes and my dad had the fried herrings. He really loved his food, I liked it a lot too I would just have preferred it with a little (or a lot but that may come from the ham) less salt. The portion were huge ! The price are reasonable compared to most of the places in town. read more

While in Helsinki for the first time, I wanted to try some (somewhat) traditional Finnish food. I ordered the green salad and the meatballs with mashed potatoes and beets. It was fabulous! My server was polite and efficient, they had the menu in English, and the frozen cranberries with hot caramel for dessert were delightful. Will definitely be back here on my next trip to Finland. read more

Great food And great service i teiltä recommend this place! Nice atmosphere, great food with competitive pricing! Suosittelen tätä lämpimästi, edullinen hyvä ruoka ja upea palvelu ! read more

Excellent locale for some authentic Finnish meals sprinkled in with a variety of other dishes.

Came here with a conference group and appreciated the authentic Finnish ambience and food. But overall was not that impressed by the meal. Had the vorschmack to start, which was a good hearty dish, and then the crispy fried herring. I normally like herring, but this ended up with much of the herring flavor gone from frying process (I'm guessing). Plus there were far too many herrings on the plate--12 or so. Nothing awful, but not particularly memorable either. Probably works better for the Finnish cultural aspect. read more

Great Finnish food with a touch of upper class grace.

Cabbage rolls and meat balls were both great. Very "home cooking" like. Great service and food nicely presented. Everything was fresh, hot, and tasty. Classic Finnish dishes. Prices very reasonable. Definitely would return. read more

If I had a Finnish grandma, that's what I would imagine her cooking for me. Perfection in simplicity. Pure flavours and no sophisticated deco cover-ups. When you step in, it seems a little awkward the place, but then you see so many locals and amazing plates leaving the kitchen, so all doubts are immediately gone. Prices vary, from 15eur to 30eur per main. Menu also includes different starters, soups, sandwiches and of course desserts ( try local speciality frozen cranberries with hot caramel sauce). Definitely to recommend for those who is into home-like cooking. Delicious!!! read more

Sea Horse - Pike perch, horseradish and mashroom sauce, served with boiled potatoes - Scandinavian Near Me - Helsinki, 18

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wanting to try some "traditional" finnish food, we decided to have dinner here on a sunday night after reading other yelp reviews. very glad we ate here - the service and food were both delightful. what we tried: - creamy salmon soup: a lightly creamy broth with very tender salmon with a lot of dill. this was my favorite soup of the night - perfectly light and flavorful. - wild mushroom soup: this broth is more thick and creamy than the salmon soup - also very good. - creamy vegetable soup: this was a mix of squash/tomato soup with some bread. pretty good but i liked the other soups better. - cabbage rolls: basically a meatball wrapped in cabbage with some mashed potatoes and beet sauce. a bit on the sweet side because of the sauce, but the rolls were ok. - traditional finnish meatballs: served with gravy, mashed potatoes and beets. these were fabulous - would order again. - beef steak a la seahorse: nothing special. steak was well cooked, but you could probably find steak like this anywhere. we ordered this because they were out of the reindeer. - pike-perch a la mannerheim: this fish was fried perfectly! so flaky and lightly breaded. would order this again. - finnish pancakes: served with jam and a huge dollop of whipped cream and ice cream. a great dessert to end our meal but not a must-try. portions here are large and prices seemed a bit higher, but you get your money's worth. the restaurant itself has an older more traditional atmosphere. we had read reviews about how it cost money to check your coat at the door so we tried to keep our coats with us, but they made us check our coats anyways! all-in-all a satisfying meal on our last night in helsinki. read more

I went to eat lunch on an ordinary day - Sea Horse offered very frindly service and delicious food. The athmosphere was peaceful and authentic, just right for us who love Kaurismäki :-) I ordered from the lunch menu, herring of course. It was really good and tasty! read more

Great place, great service and amazing food! Also have the menus in 5 different languages. It's a must if your a traveler!

We were looking for a meal near our hotel on a Sunday night when lots of places were closed. Seahorse had great food for slightly higher than reasonable prices. We had the mushroom soup, green salad, and reindeer. The soup and reindeer were wonderful - highly tasty and satisfying. The green salad was a bit tired, with not quite ripe tomatoes and a fair amount of iceberg lettuce. The reindeer was served with a dish of mashed potatoes, which were also good, except for the raw onions inside that lent a crisp and biting feel. We ended up picking out the onions before each bite. Service was incredibly friendly, except the coat check guy. It turns out that it costs 2 euros for the coat check. We didn't realize this until we went to retrieve our jackets. When you enter the restaurant, there are a bunch of coatracks and a guy helping you put yours up. I think if we had realized it was a 2 euro charge we would have kept them with us. read more