Great Scott's take on the best places to eat in Helsinki

[Hank W.]

OK, next door to Santa Fé (now no complaints on that decor)
http://www.ravintolaopas.net/grandegrill/

Grande Grill (apparently shares the owners with Santa Fe). The list has a good selection (not really for vegetarians) and I'd say the place is worth a visit.

[efahey]

Hrmm visisted the Grande Grill Saturday night with my fiance's family. Although I don't normally lean towards beef I decided to go for the Filet Mignon. It was...absolutely excellent. Probably some of the better meat that I have tasted here.

Everyone loved their meal. We had two Filet Mignons, a BBQ Sampler plate of some sort, Some BBQ steak type thing, and someone had chicken. The BBQ sauce was also suprisingly good. Although we spent our whole dinner staring at drunks who kept sitting outside the restaurant, the server was nicer the most and I'd rate the food at an 8/10. (atleast what we had)

Liz

[PeterF]

I decided to go for the Filet Mignon. Liz

Juts in case you wonder...

Question:

Please tell me exactly what filet mignon is. ?


Answer:

The term "filet mignon" is a French derivative, the literal meaning is small (mignon) bone-less meat (filet). Cut from the small end of the beef tenderloin.

Depending upon what part of the United States you're in, the tenderloin muscle of the cow or short loin, becomes Filet Mignon, Chateaubriand, Tournedos, Medallions, or Filet de Boeuf. Filet Mignon is also know as Tenderloin Steak (in fact most often I see it as Tenderloin Steak).

Filet Mignon or Tenderloin Steak is a cut of mea that is considered the king of steaks because of its tender, melt in the mouth texture. It comes from the small end of the tenderloin (called the short loin) which is found on the back rib cage of the animal. Because this area of the animal is not weight-bearing, the connective tissue is not toughened by exercise resulting in extremely tender meat. Filet mignon slices found in the market are generally one to two inches thick and two to three inches in diameter, but true mignons are no more than one inch in diameter and are taken from the tail end.

[mof]

Any score or points for Mecca ?

I am looking forward to eating there and trying the chef's table next week.

[url]http://www.mecca.fi/chefstable.asp?lang=en]Mecca[/url]

[deaddodo]

It should be good - do post what you were given!

I've had some of the smaller journeys, and a la carte. The food tends towards very rich, but the journeys are normally pretty well balanced. When I ordered a la carte, I actually couldn't finish the main course because it was so rich (chicken three ways).

[boO_fi]

kabuki restaurant - hands down the best japanese place in town.

Lapinlahdenkatu 12
Helsinki

[Shazzer]

kabuki restaurant - hands down the best japanese place in town.

What did you order there? Are the bento meals good? I noticed they had my favourite - Grilled mackerel and eel in teriyaki sauce. Will go there this weekend.

I tried making my own sushi yesterday! Just some simple sushi-maki and nigiri. They didn't look as delicate as the ones from the restaurants but turned out rather giant sized! My miso soup turned out excellent though (ahem)

[deojuvame]

Any score or points for Mecca ?

I am looking forward to eating there and trying the chef's table next week.

[url]http://www.mecca.fi/chefstable.asp?lang=en]Mecca[/url]

I went there. I liked it a lot. They did a really good job of matching wines to the courses.

And i second the Kabuki vote, don't even bother anywhere else. Make sure to take in the atmosphere of hockey gear/star wars stuff.

[Xochiquetzal]

And i second the Kabuki vote, don't even bother anywhere else. Make sure to take in the atmosphere of hockey gear/star wars stuff.

Look for the owner's blue Mercedes out front with the license plate Obi-1. Definitely a Star Wars fan. He was featured on last week's cooking show (I have blanked out on the name but it has the two young guys in it).

[hbcold]

The restaurant selection in Helsinki is improving, slowly but surely. 6 years ago, when I first visited Helsinki I found the selection to be simply sad. Nowadays, it has improved exponentially.

Kabuki is a decent sushi place - although the decor is utterly un-sushi-like.

Sante Fe has made me realize that the best Tex-Mex in Finland comes from my kitchen.

La Famiglia, which probably has one of the 2 best locations in the whole of Helsinki is plain awful. My chicken parmasean was hysterical, and served with mashed potatoes. But for some reason I have been there 3 times. I can't explain it.

For my money I like Tori and Limon and Via for lunch only.

[Hank W.]

Dunno, for Italian Papa Giovanni was supposedly good when it started.

[tuijatuulia]

"Sante Fe has made me realize that the best Tex-Mex in Finland comes from my kitchen. "

yes, santa fe is not like it used to be. it's almost like memphis or amarillo nowadays. i'd try colorado or the other tex-mex in korkeavuorenkatu, can't remember the name now..

[jenlynnf]

Can someone tell me where this other sticky for good and bad restaurants may be? I wanted to add something and do not know where to put it.
I will add it here anyway:
We went to Knossos for Greek food and were impressed compared to what we typically have stumbled across here. I would recommend the Moussaka, it was FANTASTIC!
Also, I guess it depends on your taste and where you may be from, but I thought Rodolfo's (however you spell it) was horrible and I would not go back, I make better Italian at home.
Has anyone ever heard of Tony's deli, a client of mine referred me and it is supposed to be good Italian.
I am big on sushi and have grown accustomed in US to eating only at the best places, is Kabuki even worth a try or should I just save my money and wait for the trip home???

[sammy]

We went to Knossos for Greek food and were impressed compared to what we typically have stumbled across here. I would recommend the Moussaka, it was FANTASTIC!

I also have only pleasant experiences from Knossos. Plus, one of the retsinas on their menu (comes in bottles that look more like they were designed for lemonade rather than wine) is super good!

That is, if you happen to like retsina

[therese]

Online restaurant index
http://www.ravintolaopas.net/fi/

Mecca - interesting food, funky atmosphere, but you need to dress up otherwise you will look very dowdy compared to all the models there.

Mai Thai, Annankatu - fantastic Thai restaurant, the panang curry is particularly good.

Namaskar, Bulevardi - best Indian in Helsinki. But it ain't cheap.

Benjam's Bistro, Dagmarinkatu - fantastic antipasto plate and great spaghetti. The closest to a cheap Italian trattoria in Finland.

Papa Giovanni, World Trade Centre - upmarket Italian. But it ain't THAT much better than Benjam's.

Farouge - Lebanese with starched tablecloths. The food was the best Lebanese in Finland - then again, there are many places in Surry Hills or Newtown in Sydney which are just as good at 30% the price.

Raffaelo - don't do it to yourself.

Via, Ludwiginkatu - great wine bar, although if the nice waitress suggests something ask the price BEFORE you find out its 15€ a glass. The spaghetti and the curry are OK, but the servings are small. But hey, you are here for the noisy groups and the atmosphere.

Kosmos - Russian influenced. Supposed to be amazing, but I wasn't that impressed. Recognised some major business people among the diners though.

Lautana, Lonrotinkatu - simple place to have a simple meal.

Zetor - yes its gimmicky and pricey, but big servings and surprisingly good food. The place to take mum and dad when they visit Finland.