Would give this place zero stars if I could. Waited 12 minutes (timed it) from the time we sat down…read moreto the time someone even acknowledged our presence. Even taking our order the attitude was so poor as if we were a burden to be here. Were they busy? Sure . At least let us know someone will be with us shortly. Worst restaurant in town . Food was subpar if that. Don't waste your time or money.

Kosmos has been in the same place since 1924 if I remember correctly. That's a lot of history for a…read morerestaurant and tells you something about the success lasting for more than 90 years. Worth to check out! I reviewed another restaurant of the same style this week (Elite) and Kosmos goes to the same category as being CLASSIC and tasty. So if you want to get some traditional Finnish food you can't go wrong with Kosmos. Nice variation to your foodie hipster routines and getting back to basics and turning the clock back a few decades. Food: Dishes are CLASSIC Finnish restaurant dishes. Our table ordered a couple of different dishes. Two fish including some Finnish fish with prawns and lobster sauce. Which was excellent by the way! We also had the Chateaubriand with madeira sauce which was really good but not in a way I would have to have it every time. On the other hand the fish with lobster sauce and prawns would be my choice for the next time. Environment: Place looks like an old ballroom with large chandeliers and decorated wooden booths. The interior is so old that the restaurant doesn't look dated at all instead it's more historic. Went in with my parents (70+) and they really liked the old charm of the restaurant. Besides the beautiful decorated booths there are lot's of tables and also bigger tables to seat groups. You still probably want to make a reservation before hand. Service: Service was not the fastest maybe due to being Christmas party season in Finland still the restaurant wasn't packed. But Finns get quite demanding during Christmas party season when they are drunk and the company pays the check :) All in all service was good and CLASSIC. Waiters knew the list, beers and wines and could suggest you different choices to go with your dish. Price: Price wise I would say average. It's not "expensive" but it's not cheap. Taking into account the location it could be on the cheap side a bit. Also when going to any restaurant in Helsinki you'll end up paying around 30€ for a steak even if it would be rubbish. So all in all a historic restaurant in the center of everything and not that expensive. Food: 4/5 Environment: 4/5 Service: 4/5 Price: 4/5

Food was delicious. Atmosphere was great. Service was very kind. We ordered lots of food to share…read moreand enjoyed all of it. We tried multiple flavors of Long Drink at our table which were all yummy.

Very classy and beautifully decorated restaurant. Pleasant atmosphere and located right in the…read moreheart of Helsinki. Years ago we had mussels in garlic butter and French bread. It was good and worth the trip. This time my visit was rather interesting. My friends and I all had a salad from their lunch bar. It didn't offer as much variety as other lunch buffets around that area, but it was ok. Both of my friends ordered a waffle with deer mousse with pickled onions, Arugula, and salad. I opted for a baked potato with shrimp salad, green stuff, pickled onions, and tomato relish. Actually I liked my meal very much. The food presentation was beautiful on all three plates. I was happy because Belge had nice drink options including non-alcoholic wine. I had to order a small bottle of white vine, could not get only one tiny glass non-alcoholic. No problem, it was good wine but it did cost as much as my lunch. About the service. Both waffles were cold so the nice waitress did bring my friends warm waffles at their request. I had an issue with my salad plate from the buffet. The server apologized but did not offer to replace my salad. The next day I contacted the Restaurant Manager, not to complain, but to let her know what had happened. She was very professional and friendly and she understood my point of view. (Day before she had to leave early.) We had a great conversation about how the situation should have been handled. Maybe the waitress was new. Overall, I give the Manager and my meal five stars. Next time when visiting Helsinki I will go back.

Only here for a short visit during a cruise, but we had a table with no wait, staff was very…read morefriendly and the food was fantastic. If I'm ever back to Helsinki, I'll return here.

This was an amazing find in Helsinki. We arrived on a cruise ship and walked to town. We took an…read moreamazing boat ride and did some sightseeing. There were six of us and we were very hungry. Walked past Salutorget and saw the couch seating in the bar. We walked in and were greeted by Ari. He was a delight. He was the waiter and bartender. He made us the best Gin and Tonics of our trip. We had the burgers and they were fantastic along with the terrific potato fries. Ari made this meal one of the best off the ship meals we had on our 19 day trip. The food was great but his personality really added to our dining experience. I highly recommend Salutorget.

Arriving first day at Helsinki after a long flight. Looking for a light dinner with local…read moreflavours and found this place from Yelp. Very central location walking distance from many hotels and the main train station. As a traveler, I was somewhat surprised by how few "local" or old fashioned Finnish restaurants there are in the city center. Glad to have found this place. Although it is safe to assume that the menu items are not the kind of food that a Finnish grandma would cook for you, the menu does offer many dishes that feature local ingredients. I ordered two tapas/appertizer-sized items featuring salmon, wild boar and reindeer. The food was beautifully presented. The salmon was very fresh and flavourful. The wild boar was tender and not dried. Cured reindeer tasted very good (I wish they were a bit more generous on the reindeer. Only a tiny slice was served with my dish). The restaurant has most of the tables on the second level with big bright windows offering a good view of the busy street.

I had the lunch buffet. The selection is fine. Quality instead of quantity. The food itself was…read moreexcellent. And considering what you get for your money, this is really affordable. The place is cozy. Modern. A good vibe. I will be coming back for more.

What a disappointment…read more It started from the aperitif with ice cubes in my Noilly Prat, that's a faux-pas. I took the 2 "famous" specialities of the restaurant: the "vorshmack" (herring mashed with minced meat... and that was "interesting mix" but not tasty) and the duck "à la Savoy" that was a game duck, quite dry, stringy and with a faint taste of seaweed. It was not bad, but it was not good either: it was average without surprise or creativity. The best dish was the complimentary "amuse bouche". So at least there was a St-Julien 2eme Cru (at a ridiculous price like all the wine list)... So I thought but... the waiter came back that they did not have it. Wine list not updated. Great. Service and the table presentation was pretending without the correct etiquette. Interior outdated. The best was the view in fact.

Savoy is THE restaurant institution in Helsinki. Beautifully set on the roof tops of the city…read more Immaculate food experience that is always in season. Extensive wine list and lot's of educated opinions about the selection. Beautifully professional service at the highest level. Gorgeous Finnish design everywhere. Serious attitude about the clients and their needs. And still it manages to be somehow cosy. They also have a little garden on the roof top with bees and all. Savoy has its roots firmly in the history of the Finnish art and culture scene. Even now some of the most interesting events in the Finnish culture world happen here. This is the place for the power-business-lunch and here culture and business people meet each other over high pace lunch or more quiet drink. It is well suited for drama, but also for the late night dinners that are best kept in the shadows

Sinne is located just off the main streets, behind Forum (big shopping mall) and Torni hotel. The…read morespace is divided into two parts: the Deli, where you can just pop in for a bite and a glass, and the 'Garden room' with a bit more formal setting (still fairly relaxed). The Garden room is built in an inner yard with a glass roof, so the space has a lot of light and a nice airy feel. The decoration of the space is nothing special, but there is some green (plants) in the middle of the room which created a nice 'winter garden' feel. Nothing special was needed to make it cozy. The wine list is strong here and they have three sparkling wines by the glass (one regular sparkling and a champagne as well as something that rotates) as well as multiple other wines by the glass. Unfortunately the wine list only has a few of the wines by the glass listed and for the rest you need to ask the sommelier (who is often more interested in saying what he thinks you should drink rather than presenting all the options they have by the glass). The food has been good when I have been here. The food was also wonderful. I has nice glazed pork cheek with heart salad and Malmgård-emmer rice as well as excellent grilled asparagus with mushroom wild rice and pesto. The burger is also nice bit bot as good as some seem to think (and stand your ground to have it medium rare as their medium is too well done). They also have a classic dish if the month, when I tried it they served reindeer with mashed potatoes and lingon berries and that was also good. Food quality is good here and they have an excellent wine list. Service is usually attentive and while it is not cheap it still represents good value for money for the quality level delivered.

Casual and nice restaurant offering limited menu but with quality food. I was in a bit of a hurry,…read moreand luckily service was fast and good. I had the veal cheeks with seasonal root vegetables - the meat was tasty and tender.

Carelia is one of those places that has been where it is for a long time. It is an old apothecary…read moreturned restaurant almost 20 years ago located in my childhood neighborhood of Töölö. A popular venue among opera-goers and athletes as it is located near to the stadium and the Opera of course. I can't believe that this was the first time I visited as it for sure will not be my last. We were invited for dinner by an old friend of mine, who is also the sommelier of the restaurant. She had picked an aperitif for us, a bottle of Pierre Gimonet Oenophile Premiere Cru 2008. I peaked at the menu and noticed another Gimonet (Cuis1) only around 13 euros for a glass, that is a definitely a fair price here in the Nordics. For food (starters) we ordered the beef tartar and asparagus with Hollandaise accompanied by some semi-sweet Riesling. Both dishes were very good, but I must say the asparagus was perfect, a simple dish with no compromises. For mains we had the classic entrecote with Bernaise, fries and salad, and some tasty small chicken (why is it that the smallest are always the tastiest?). The meat was wonderful and made exactly like we ordered, medium rare (almost mooing). To accompany the mains the sommelier selected a nice Pinot Noir from Chambolle-Musigny. For dessert we shared a platter of cheese, the rhubarb sorbet with almond and rosemary sauce and the Tarte tatin. After the dinner things started getting "out of hand". I am not talking drunken wild, just that we ordered a great many wines for tasting (we ordered one glass of each and split them by four people). The staff were very friendly and understanding of our extensive wine tasting needs, so they arranged several glasses for everyone ans stayed to chat about the wine. We tried several Rieslings from Auslese and a Muscat de Rivesaltes Grand Guilhem. The Rieslings were served from beautiful Magnum bottles and tasted fresh and fruity. The Muscat was interesting with light notes of port wine but a very low alcohol content. A nice dessert wine. To end the evening, we moved to the bar (to get out of the way from hungry opera goers) and ordered another bottle of bubbly: Blanc de Blancs (2007) from Lilbert & Fills (awesome!). All in all Carelia is a beautiful restaurant. The wine list is awesome with closer to 30 different champagnes and prices are not a rip-off. Of course champagne is always quite pricey, but Carelia has clearly positioned its self as a place for wine-lovers, and most wine-geeks will stay home and drink from their own cellar if the restaurant aims to rob you blind. I must say I had similar feelings or reasonable pricing at Sinne Helsinki, so it seems like the Helsinki wine-scene is really starting to get on its feet. The food is nothing innovative (it does not aim to be), but it is classical dishes made extremely well. My salute to the kitchen! Last but not least, the sommelier at the place is really something, so if you visit, I recommend leaving your wine-adventure into her capable hands.

This is a nice brasserie that was near our hotel on Mannerheimintie. I went here once for dinner,…read moreonce for coffee, and it strikes me as a safe, reliable option--nothing will necessarily blow you away, but everything is good, and nothing will let you down either. The service is very good, and the atmosphere is pleasant. They've preserved some of the original decor from the original pharmacy that existed in the space since the 1920s, but the feel of the place is modern. (There is an actual Carelia drugstore around the corner on Runeberginkatu). We had the fish, the veal, and the steak frites, all of which were good. The only thing I'd say is that there are not a lot of options for vegetarians, but for a single meal, most people will still find a good choice. (Also, I didn't ask about it, so it's possible the chef would prepare an off-menu vegetarian option). They also had a nice sourdough bread, and I had an apple sorbet that tasted exactly like an apple. A little bit on the pricier side, but I think worth it if you are looking for a good meal in the area.

Lovely restaurant right by the sea. They have a big terrace as well. I ate delicious fish burger…read morewith dill fries. Nice location. I can warmly recommend.