Just a quick note on a visit to Helsinki, in the event anyone else is looking through Travel for ideas.
I’m here for a quick overnight, so not overly detailed. Hotel was → https://www.hotelhaven.fi/ and was 270 euros a night. Hotel itself was good, but the rooms were fantastic. If you’ve travelled extensively around Europe (especially Scandinavia) you know that the beds generally suck and designed for 5’6" 97lb people - I’m pretty sure I slept on a camping bed in the Skandic Anglais in Stockholm Wed night. This place was much better, was more of a suite than a hotel room and a clear recommendation if you’re in the area. It’s also a short walk from a cool outdoor saltwater pool, which half my team crashed before we went into the office → https://www.allasseapool.com/front-page.html
Dinner was at http://www.shelter.fi and another strong recommendation. Hit my sweet-spot, which is higher-end brasserie/farm-to-table type places with a strong beverage program. Food was spot on (I tried reindeer, of course, and lamb) and we had a couple of bottles of 07 La Piane Boca, which was spot on.
Sounds a bit like a Trip Advisor hype-article, I know. That said, nothing else was listed for Helsinki aside from a “should I go to Copenhagen or Helsinki” thread. Will post some thoughts there next week.
Wish I could give you more help with Stockholm, aside from “run to Akkurat immediately” if you’re a beer fan, especially on the aged gueuze/bourbon-barrel side. Nowhere near fine dining, but their beer cellar list is deeper than most restaurants wine lists. The older part of the city is very beautiful at night.
By the time I found that thread the OP had already decided to not do Helsinki. That being said, most lists right now would include restaurants like Ask, Grön, Vinkkeli, Olo and BasBas (not open on Saturdays). A lot of first time visitors go to Juuri (which also has a great wine bar, Latva) and most seem to enjoy the experience tremendously as they offer quite fun modern day versions of classic dishes and some interesting wines. I would also recommend Muru for a good wine list and casual high quality food and Passio if you do not mind the short wine list (their own import). For me the top place for wine (depth, quality and very low mark-ups) has been Smyg but according to their website they are renovating and closed for now. If one is looking for a unique experience that is perhaps not the best QPR out there then concept restaurant Finnjävel is still open for 203 days.
One of the long time favorites of local wine geeks is Carelia and their wine list that is bursting with European classics, often at very good prices (for example admittedly very young 2013 Raveneau Blanchot at 125 €). The food is typical classic brasserie fare but suits the wine list well and this time a year everything with mushrooms is highly recommended. Other places for wine-oriented travellers are Roster and Grotesk as the mark-ups are the best in the city and both lists full of very nice stuff. For superb lunch my favorite place, although a bit outside the city center, is Gastro Café Kallio.
Thanks for the post! I’ll likely be back early next year and, god willing, with a bit of flexibility to choose my own places. Definitely enjoyed the visit, although commuting to Espoo was not exciting
Just got back last week. In Norway, we did Bergen/Sognefjord/Flam Railway and Alesund/Geirangerfjord(rented a car in Alesund and drove to Hellesyet which I highly recommend). No great food recs in Bergen or Alesund. We weren’t impressed. If you’re flying into Bergen, I recommend loading up on decent wine in the duty free store. It’s super expensive at restaurants and the options aren’t anything special. All of this being said, it’s the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited without a doubt.
Copenhagen - dinner at Relae was fantastic. We did the tasting with pairings because I knew virtually no wines on the list. They were all natural and very obscure. We loved the wines they paired with dinner though. Great service and vibe.
Stockholm - meals at Sturehof (seafood and an amazing wine list), Babette (newish and trendy pizza spot with a top notch wine list interestingly), Akkurat (surprisingly good food), and Urban Deli (great lunch spot).
