In the beginning of this month a long awaited 5th floor in Kamppi shopping mall got a huge facelift or shall I say a complete makeover?! Everybody was waiting for many months to see the final reveal of “Kortteli”. After years of having a dull, not well used space with a ton of potential it finally got completely redesigned and the space got filled with a so called food block.
Croatian gastronomic scene grew tremendously in the past 2-3 years and many already “established” restaurants such as previously written about Pelegrini, took their service, food philosophy and presentation to a whole new level that meet the worldwide standards of fine dining.
Unfortunately, there’re still way too many tourist traps, restaurants with endless menus which are always very convincing about freshness and quality of their food… That is until you’ll possibly fall for it, order your food and that’s where the romance will stop because you’ll realise that food is not freshly made, fish wasn’t caught “this morning” and most of the owners and restaurant managers couldn’t care less about what people are going to eat, as long as the portions are huge, prices are low and endless pasta, pizza and meat prepped in million ways with the grande finale of pancakes for the dessert are on the menu, tourists and locals will keep on returning.
On the other hand, there are people who are world travelers, people who are true foodies, people who don’t see food just as a fuel and who are taking a visit to restaurant equal to a mini trip to another “world” which will give you an amazing experience that you’ll gladly share with your certain special someone, family or business partners. Food is more than just a gas for your body, food is the best and most hedonistic way to enjoy your life, socialise… Food is a cultural thing and just like with fashion, I take a very sophisticated approach to it and see the whole picture, from how much love, time and effort it’s needed to just start a restaurant, all the way to how much nerves, smarts and once again appreciation for food and believing in what you’re doing is needed to present you with only ONE plate of perfectly homemade pasta with the best truffles and a glass of white wine specific only for the a certain part of the country or region…
This was the case with a charming restaurant in the middle of Zadar’s old town known as Poluotok among the locals. Pasta & svasta is the name you should mark down if you’ll be visiting Croatian coast this Summer since it’s worth taking a small d-tour even if you’re not planning to stay in Zadar.
Pasta & svasta opened it’s doors about two years ago, back in Spring of 2014 by it’s masterminds and true foodies Mr.Ivan and his lovely wife Ivana. Ever since the opening, Mr. Ivan, together in collaboration and agreement with his kitchen staff have been creating a wonderful crossover kitchen of traditional Croatian food/ cuisine presented with a modern twist. Whilst the authenticity of taste is “spot on”, the presentation is far from traditionally known in Italian/ Mediterranean restaurants. No big portions of everything and anything on the plate, but carefully presented, simple but bursting with the taste dishes are about to blow you off if you haven’t or have tried this cuisine before.
Just when I thought that I can’t be impressed by “yet another” bruschetta, pasta, etc. I was completely proven wrong. Mr. Ivan, who has a phd in costumer service and hospitality is very strong driven restaurant owner, meaning that he has a clear vision of what he wants to offer to his costumers who come from all over the world. One of the most surprising facts is that his restaurant has a Kosher food certification which is to me “unheard” of in this part of the country. He is the only one who has such certificate on Croatian side of Adriatic coast and that def. sets Pasta & svasta highly apart from any other restaurant nearby.
As a starter, we were presented by a home wine, bubbly Krauthaker sauvignon which comes from a certain vineyard in Istria of which Mr. Ivan is being part owner. Warm, crunchy and perfectly salty bruschetta with marinated sardines on the bed of arugula were divine “appetite opener” for everything that was about to follow up.
For the, so called 1st plate we were served home made, wonderfully al dente tagliatelle with hand de-shelled prawns in tomato sauce with big slices of truffles. I must say that I was having a very high expectations for this dish because I’ve been told by the owners that if I ever try this same dish somewhere else, it must taste the way it did at Pasta & svasta or better if possible but def. nothing less than what I was about to taste. Only one bite was already enough to understand what they meant, it was a perfect marriage between al dente pasta, sourness of tomato sauce and taste of the sea via the most delicious prawns I have ever tried anywhere. To top it all off, the truffles were like eating pure gold, absolutely prime ones, straight from Istria which is famous all over the world as the region for some of the best truffles.
We drank perfectly matched white wine, Galic chardonnay with our 1st plate.
2nd plate was slow roasted lamb with baked potatoes and pancetta. The meat is slowly roasted for many hours on a low temperature. This is one very traditional dish known to be prepped in Dalmatian households for generations, but the sophisticated and the most delicious version ever has been right this dish at Pasta & svasta. This is very manly dish which is perfect for all of the meat lovers. The meat was so soft that it’s been falling off the bone as you start to “dig into it” and it was beautifully matched with the crispy pancetta and aromatic potatoes. To maximise the ultimate experience of this dish, we drank red wine Skaramuca Plavac mali premium .
By this point of our dinner, we have already become great buddies with our hosts, Mr. Ivan was happy to see that his food philosophy was understood and appreciated, so we have already made agreements to come and visit him again sometime soon to try couple of more dish-gems that he has hiding up his sleeve. 🙂
No ending of any dinner is good without something sweet, so we couldn’t resist the calling of deconstructed cheesecake with berry sauce and warm, melty goodness of chocolate suffle! Yum!
It was one of the best traditional, Mediterranean food experiences I’ve had in a long time. Without any doubt, I’ll be back again to Pasta & svasta. 🙂
*This collaboration has been made in agreement with Pasta&svasta. All of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Mr. Ivan and Mrs. Ivana for the warm welcome and for making this collaboration possible.
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
Situated in a small bay of Zecevo, between cities Primosten and Rogoznica, Hotel Life is an ultimate destination for a private getaway from all of the noises and rush of the city life. While the hotel is perfectly tucked away and has one of the most beautiful sea views I’ve ever witnessed in my life, it is still only a short car or bike ride to either of two mentioned cities in which you can get anything you might need, some souvenirs as well as visit some heritage places such as church of Our Lady Of Mercy, chapel of St. Rocco, metal museum/ shop – crafts and souvenirs made out of different metal parts. Very nearby are famous Babich fields where the best wines come from. You can take a tour of Babich vineyards and learn more about the vinery and how the wine is being made.
While in Rogoznica, you can discover some more architectural gems, big marina and as well a natural phenomenon, salt lake called “Dragon’s Eye”.
Hotel has it’s private indoor and outdoor pools, but one of the most “raw” and untouched beaches with the clearest sea is right in front of the hotel.
Besides vicinity of many amazing and traditional restaurants in Primosten and Rogoznica, Hotel Life has it’s own restaurant which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. For lunch and dinner you can choose whichever dishes you like from their a-la carte menu. Menu is traditional, based on authentic Dalmatian cuisine with a bit of modern twist.
Hotel Life is a 4 stars, family run business and a lot of care and thought has been put into decoration of the hotel, esp. it’s bedrooms. I loved the fact that all of the rooms were very spacious, modern and had some of my favourite beauty products by Rituals as their toiletries. Rooms are varying from superior room with a sea view to the Presidential apartment of 90m2 which could be a perfect honeymoon suite for instance. 🙂
If you wish to have a relaxing and pampering day at the hotel, it’s very much possible by visiting it’s Finnish sauna or Turkish steam bath as well as taking a massage at the Spa.
One thing which I was very impressed with that all of the staff was very welcoming, pleasant, fully skilled and has met all of my wishes and needs. As somebody who has travelled a lot and have stayed in many different hotels, I find it very important to be happy with your accommodation and hotel’s service. When you’re on a holiday, you want to feel relaxed, safe and welcomed and that is how I felt staying at Hotel Life.
*This post has been made in collaboration with Hotel Life, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Tatjana for this collaboration!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
Did you already hear or read that Croatia is this year’s number 1 Summer destination? Croatia has one of the most beautiful, old and filled with life and heritage cities in the South of Europe. If you’re looking for a perfect “one person” kind of adventure or for a romantic honeymoon destination or maybe a fun holiday spot for a whole family, Croatia should be your 1st choice! I promise, if you do pick Croatia as this Summer’s destination, you won’t be disappointed. 🙂
Sea is crystal clear, the nature is breathtaking, sun is shining “non stop”, locals are cheerful and very welcoming of tourists, restaurants and hotels are plenty to choose from, beaches are perfect for a whole day fun, there’re endless excursions which are tailored to show you all the best hot spots as well as some hidden gems. Some of the best Summer music festivals are being held in Croatia too such as Ultra and IN music festival, just to name two of them!
If you wish to visit a small, picturesque and very special city in the middle of Adriatic coast, then look no further, Sibenik will impress you with it’s enchanting narrow, cobble stone streets, wonderful architecture and breathtaking sea views. One of the biggest attractions, cathedral of St. Jacobs which is under protection of UNESCO is def. worth taking a long and thorough look at from the inside as well as on the outside. Besides interesting cathedral, churches, city hall, etc. worth mentioning are fortresses and palaces of Sibenik. One such, Marenci palace is the hero of today’s post. 🙂
Marenci palace used to be one of knight’s palaces, dating from 15th century. It’s complete renovation started back in 2014. and once, long forgotten and barely used palace, turned into a gorgeous, fairytale like hotel.
Hotel Life Palace opened it’s doors to public almost a year ago in the very heart of old town of Sibenik. It has 17 beautifully furnished bedrooms which are all decorated in 15th century vibe paying a tribute to Sibenik’s history and original “function” of the space.
Besides royalty like furnished bedrooms, this boutique hotel has a mini spa with jacuzzi, Finnish sauna and also a lovely cafe with a gorgeous summertime terrace. Cafe serves some of the best cakes you will try anywhere and you can also enjoy a great scoop of Carte D’or ice cream on the terrace. If you’re an early bird, make sure to catch a delicious and healthy breakfast too! 🙂 Starting this month, cafe will be also serving Tapas bites to satisfy some late evening munchie cravings.
Hotel’s walking vicinity to all of the main city’s attractions, shops and restaurants make it your ultimate choice for a hotel to stay at in Sibenik city!!
*This post was made in collaboration with Life Hotel Palace. All of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Ivana and Tatjana for making this collaboration possible.
*Photography by: Natali Karppinen
Good Friday morning everybody! I’m writing this post from the bed. I had an early start to this, already sunny day. The weather has been amazing in Croatia and I believe that over the weekend I shall go swimming in the sea, first time this Summer. 🙂
I had such a wonderful day yesterday spent half in Split and half of it in Sibenik on Taste the Mediterranean festival where some of the best European chefs ( one of them has a Michelin star ) were showing off their cooking skills and having a “face off” between two chefs from Morocco and two from France. I’m very much looking forward to attending the festival today and tomorrow too! To keep updated, stay on track with my Instagram feed -> HERE .
I also must mention that I’ve been enjoying ice creams and great Mediterranean cuisine through this whole trip and am in an absolute foodie heaven here! I will bring some more spots such as hotels and restaurants which I want to share with you and recommend them to you in case that some of you might be vacationing in Croatia this Summer. 🙂
What are your plans for the weekend? Besides taking my first swim in the sea and the food festival, I will visit city of Zadar for work and also meet bunch of friends that I can’t wait to catch up with.
Have a wonderful weekend everybody!
Here’re 5 favourite photos for this week from my Instagram feed:
Who could ever say that Mediterranean cuisine has anything to do with the Japanese one? Who could ever say that these two could be “mixed” and deliver the best of two worlds together in one place? Bota Sare made me believe that this is very much possible.
Oyster and sushi bar Bota Sare comes from a 40 years long family tradition of love for the sea food originating from their hometown Mali Ston. First fusion restaurant like this one was opened in Dubrovnik, followed by the one I’ve visited in Split. Ever since, Bota Sare has been the ultimate choice for many locals and tourists as a “must try” sushi place as well as a place where you get to try the best of traditional meals such as seafood risotto, octopus salad or mixed shells in Buzara sauce.
Bota Sare is tucked away in a small side street, just a short walk away from the most visited spot in Split – Splitska Riva, one of the most beautiful promenades that a sea side city can have. Thanks to the benefits of Split city being situated at the Adriatic sea coast, fish is caught fresh daily and that is something that you can make sure of – Bota Sare serves only the best of the quality produce and never make compromises. Oysters are also daily caught and shipped from Mali Ston to Split.
Menu is really interesting and “colourful” so it was a bit though to decide on what to choose from it, but since I’m a huge sushi lover, I had to take different nigiris, rolls and sashimi as starters and main course. Another two options were for more of a meat eaters, spring rolls stuffed with cream cheese and veggies as for the starter and beef teriyaki with rice as the main course.
Sushi rolls were great, especially a dragon roll, but the spotlight def. goes to the super fresh and delicious nigiris and spicy tuna tataki!
If you want to enjoy the unique crossover of Dalmatian vs. Japanese cuisine, make sure to stop by Bota Sare and let the kind and skilful staff welcome you with the plates full of goodness for all of the true seafood lovers.
*This post has been made in collaboration with Bota Sare restaurant, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Antonella Sare for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
It’s time to introduce you to one of the newest jewels on the Helsinki’s culinary scene and that is Bystro! Bystro are celebrating Russian traditional kitchen with an accent on blinis which are thick, round pancakes usually topped with different kinds of sweet or salty toppings.
Bystro are proud to welcome you to taste Russian cuisine in the middle of Helsinki city center with an incredible sea view on the port of Helsinki and Old Market Hall. Bystro are offering a lot on their menu, there’s a wide selection of finest roes and caviars, as well as a great choice of vodkas, Russian beers, tea and house shots.
Besides the regular menu, the restaurant is serving a popular lunch on every working day from 11:30 to 15 and that’s a great time and “reason” to try the all you can eat blinis with different types of roe, homemade smetana, pickles, etc. as toppings.
Usually, Russian restaurants in Helsinki are quite on the pricy side, while Bystro are maybe having “shorter” menu and are more concentrated on blinis, the prices are very affordable for the quality and authenticity of the food that’s being served.
As starters, we have tried blinis with mushroom salad, pickles and salmon trout roe with homemade smetana. Hands down, these were the best blinis I ever ate in any restaurant. So far, only my moms and Russian grandma’s ones were the ultimate winners, but Bystro’s blinis came the closest to that perfection and definitely brought me back into my childhood while we were eating those delicious bites.
As warm, main courses, we had to go with the classics such as Borscht soup and Pelmenis. Borscht soup was served in a big bowl and could easily be shared between two people. It was a warm, rich with flavour and comforting soup. I ate it with the slice of rye bread and house made Adzika spread. I gave it 5 stars! 🙂
My companion ate Pelmenis stuffed with minced meat and topped with caramelised onions and smetana. Smetana is Bystro’s own and it’s just incredible, I couldn’t believe the taste, it was like no other smetana that we have tried before. Pelmenis were done perfectly, it’s such dish that requires a great chef not to mess it up, because it’s one of the staples of Russian kitchen and not everybody can turn this simple dish into a fine dining one. Top notch! Well done Bystro!
Finally, we have finished off our lunch with Syrnikis ( small pancakes filled with fresh cheese ) served with raspberry jam and whipped cream and quark mousse with sherbet and pomegranate. Wonderful desserts that brought me back to Summers spent at my grandparents’ Datcha and the taste of fresh berries that I used to pick with them as a child and make homemade jams from, later on.
As Russian born, I am more than happy to welcome a newcomer that serves authentic, unpretentious but wonderful, homemade cooking style Russian cuisine. Thank you Bystro for welcoming us, we will be back! 🙂
*This post was made in collaboration with Bystro Helsinki, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Annika for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
About 9 years ago, I came to visit Helsinki for the first time in my life and I was overwhelmed with how beautiful, different and somewhat mysterious this city was. I knew right there and then that I must come back to this city as soon as possible… I felt that there was just something calling my name and that 7 days spent in it were “not gonna cut it”, if you know what I mean.
Only about half a year after, I had my bags packed and I have moved to Helsinki. Ever since, I’ve been all the time learning and exploring more and more about Finnish culture, traditions, food, etc.
Let’s stay on that “food” part of exploring because today, I’m bringing you a new post from my cycle of “Visit Helsinki” posts in which I’m recommending you and presenting you the finest places in this city to stay at, dine at, go shopping, etc.
In the past 2-3 years, there’s been a boom of fine dining cuisine restaurants opening in Helsinki. It’s been very popular to have a restaurant serving Finnish food French style with a modern twist. While I’m not the biggest fan of such dining ( not that I dislike it either ), I’ve been constantly on the lookout for a restaurant that serves traditional Finnish food, the traditional way, so to say.
Savotta has it all my dear readers, the interior, the food and an overall warm vibe of a Finnish countryside. All of the waiters are dressed in typical “workers” old traditional clothes, interior is styled in “Finnish grandma’s house” and the food is hearty, delicious and as authentic as it can be.
If you want to enjoy the best of Finnish food dinner with your family or a partner while overlooking the majestic Tuomiokirkko ( White Cathedral ) and a Senate square, then Savotta is your ultimate destination! 🙂
For the starters we’ve opted to have a fish starter plate for two which consisted of: fish roll known as “kalakukko”, Carelian pastry with the egg butter, boiled and buttered new potatoes with dill, mushroom salad, salmon carpaccio cured with beetroot, marinated pickles, smoked pike with horseradish puree and baltic herring with sour cream and dill. Along with this came a small green salad and a bread basket.
Carelian pastry was one of the best ones I ever ate in Finland during my whole 9 years of living here, salmon carpaccio cured with beetroot was something completely new which I haven’t seen in other restaurants and it was one of my favourites from the starters too.
To be honest, all of this was so delicious and filling that even just eating this platter would have been enough for the two of us. Luckily, we came hungry and “food adventurous” so we were very excited to get our mains anyway.
One of the main courses was arctic char with kale, caramelised onions and baked carrots and potatoes. Alongside with it came a cucumber, dill and sour cream sauce. Everything was fitting so well together and even though it was a “simple” dish, it was explosive in richness of taste. Do I need to mention that the plate was empty really fast?! 😀
Another main course was reindeer meat with baked parsnip and mashed almond potatoes in a “sweet & sour” like sauce. Red wine gave the sweetness to it while cranberries gave it a crunch and sour kick. Wonderful, very traditional and perfectly made dish. Highly recommend it as a main course choice.
I don’t know how, but we did managed to squeeze in some desserts too! 😀 As per tradition, we went for Finnish style french toast with berries, vanilla and whipped cream and as per “modern” choice we went for Sisu ice cream with biscuit crumble, liquorice and berry sauce. I have one sentence to say: “God Lord of my sweet tooth, that was uber delicious!”
Savotta is proud to use only Finnish ingredients picked from the carefully selected small business suppliers. They’re also a part of wonderful, long lasting and one of a kind experience, restaurant chain A&S ravintolat so if you wish to check some of their other restaurants read my posts about Saslik and Saaga.
*This post has been made in collaboration with A&S ravintolat/ Savotta. All of the opinions are my own.
*Thanks to Miss Johanna Haataja for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
Growing up in Croatia and eating the finest of Mediterranean cuisine, including my mom’s and grandma’s impeccable cuisine, I was born to be a self-proclaimed foodie master! 😀 I’ve always loved good food and my standards to what tastes good have developed through the years, so by this age, if I’m eating at home, I make sure to buy only the high quality ingredients when cooking my lunches and dinners because I’d rather buy something bit more expensive in the food aisle and save on that 10th, unnecessary skirt for the Spring/ Summer “wardrobe refreshment”!
Yeah, I know, not so fashion thing of me to do. When I do go out for a lunch or dinner, I wanna go to places which deserve a dollar to be spent there… There’re way too many restaurants nowadays but not many do give what they ask you to pay for. Bummer, I know, so that’s why I’m more than happy to once again bring you an article from my cycle of “Visit Helsinki” posts in which I’m presenting you the best places to visit, dine at, hotels to stay at, etc. in case that you find yourself visiting my city this Summer perhaps! 🙂
If you are a local or somebody who’s living nearby, even better, then you get to test these places even sooner and share your experiences with me!
Going back to me growing up in Croatia, I have practically lived on an Italian food for a good amount of my life. I know how “the real” Italian food should taste and look like, so upon moving to Helsinki, Finland almost 9 years ago, I didn’t really have a chance to satisfy my Italian cuisine cravings. What was presented to me here as “Italian food” was a far cry from that. Ever since, I’ve been on a hunt for the real deal and I finally found it at Toscanini restaurant ran by a proper Italian chef! Hallelujah!! Pasta perfection here I come!
Toscanini restaurant is a “house restaurant” of a design hotel Klaus K which happens to be one of my favourite hotels ever. That’s how I came in “touch” with Toscanini for the first time about a year ago, by ordering in a room service for dinner. I remember thinking that my dinner was so delicious that I must pay a visit to this restaurant in person and not only via room service delivery.
I did it… Ok, a year later, but I still did it and guess what? The food is absolutely amazing and if I wasn’t looking outside the window on the Boulevard street and seeing the Finnish “Spring weather”, I would totally think that I’m in Italy, by the sea and any moment now Eros Ramazzotti songs will start blowing from the speakers. 😀
Besides weekly changing lunch menu, Toscanini are serving a full course, a-la carte menu in the evening times and over the weekend. There’s a little bit of everything for everybody and I’m so happy to see a menu which is not 3 meters long one with various pasta and pizza options, as it’s usually the case with all of the touristy versions of Italian restaurants I’m used to see around.
As starters we’ve opted for fish and seafood soup aka bouillabaisse flavoured with chilli and garlic bread and San Daniele ham cured for 18 months and a modern version of crispy bruschetta with Buffalo mozzarella cheese. The soup was one of the most delicious fish soups ever. I could “taste” the sea, it was so fresh and a perfect starter for a fish lover like me while ham + mozzarella might have looked like a simple combo but the explosion of tastes was incredible.
Main courses were perfect follow ups to starters – fresh spaghetti chittarra with oyster mushrooms and crispy Parmesan cheese and fresh rigatoni pasta with juniper flavoured hare ragu.
My mushroom pasta was so simple, but perfectly creamy and satisfying perfection of mushroom and cheese taste while the hare ragu made in red wine and tomato sauce was cooked to perfection and had a wonderfully balanced and rich taste. I don’t have to mention that both pastas were cooked al dente, which is also something I had problems with finding in Helsinki.
To complete the already successful Italian feast, we couldn’t pass on classics like Tiramisu which is truly the best one in this city and Citrus semifreddo with chocolate cake and berries. We loved every single spoonful and left back home with smiling faces and dreams of Italy.
*This post has been made in collaboration with Toscanini restaurant, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you to Miss Sissi E. for making this collaboration happen.
*Photography by Natali K. photography
Sunday is made of “foodie dreams” as I bring you a new post from my series of “Visit Helsinki” posts in which I’ve been recommending you a special, must visit places in the city, from restaurants and hotels to spas and shops. I’m very happy to present you Bryggeri Helsinki- that has just been voted the beer restaurant of the year! Their house beer Weizen was chosen the best beer at Helsinki beer festival and their brewing master comes from Germany… Only these facts were enough to “lure” me into deciding to visit this gem on Helsinki’s food scene.
As you could have already concluded, Bryggeri Helsinki is a beer brewery/ restaurant. Even though food is as important and a lot of love and effort is put into each dish, they’re not complete without the main “thing” in Bryggeri Helsinki and that is beer. Besides home favourites and produced on spot beers, this restaurant has the biggest and best beer selection from local Finnish small breweries.
Speaking with the head chef and a master in pairing beers with the dishes from the menu, I got to know that they’re very dedicated to their work and lots of attention is put into matching dishes with the beers, so each dish which we were presented was accompanied by the fitting beer.
I have never seen this kind of concept before, because usually when you go out to the restaurants they might offer you a menu and a matching wines to go with it, but to match beer that wonderfully works with the food was something completely new and exciting.
Interior of the restaurant is kept minimalistic and the main star of the space are big brewing tanks which are impressive. Last time I saw something similar was in Prague, so to find something like that in Helsinki felt as if I was on a mini adventure learning about a whole new scene that I didn’t know existed in my town. 🙂
Bryggeri Helsinki is also very environment aware as they have started a co-operation with gas company Gasum, meaning that during the production/ brewing of their beer they’ll use biogas, renewable energy and resulting waste will be put into use/ production again.
Bryggeri Helsinki are very set on using locally produced, in season produce. Besides the a-la carte menu, they’re also serving lunch during the working weekdays.
For the starters we were presented with baked pumpkin, Finnish goat’s milk cheese and pomegranate salad along with the selection of starters of salmon gravlax ( Pils beer ), marinated mussels ( Weizen beer ), pork terrine ( Roggenfest beer ) and lightly salted beef ( India pale ale – english style beer ). Both starters came with the matching beers. It was very impressive that each bite from the selection of starters was presented with it’s matching beer. Beers def. brought up every bite to life and gave a complete taste satisfaction. Salad worked perfectly with Citra – extra pale ale, very American style beer, one of customer favourites too.
We were excited about the main course as we were tasting two completely different dishes. I had a vegetarian option of lentil koftas, smoked yoghurt, orzo pasta, spinach and roasted cashew which was very Indian inspired dish and one of the best ( and most satisfying ) vegetarian dishes I’ve found in Helsinki. The dish was paired with sweeter and soft, Summer popular beer, fruity Rose.
The other main course was slow (overnight) cooked red deer entrecôte with mushroom risotto and brussel sprouts. Risotto worked wonderfully with the meat which was juicy, tender and perfectly flavoured. Adding a matching beer to it ( ESB – extra special bitter beer, English style beer ), brought the whole, already great taste experience to a whole new level.
Even though we were quite full, we couldn’t pass on a dessert so we went for a lemon pie and raspberry sorbet which were outstanding! So worth “unbuttoning” our pants and making space for this sweet tooth bomb as it was the most delicious lemon pie ever! I felt the taste of Summer in my mouth. 🙂
I hope that I have convinced you to visit this amazing restaurant if you’re living in Helsinki or will be visiting my city in the near future. If you want to spend a buck or two more and having a unique experience, then Bryggeri Helsinki is so worth it!
*This post has been made in collaboration with restaurant and brewery Bryggery Helsinki, all of the opinions are my own.
*Thank you Ali Suviala for making this collaboration possible!
*Photography by: Natali K. photography
