Food, Lifestyle, My Work

Visit Helsinki: Bronda

June 29, 2016

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In my newest post of “Visit Helsinki” cycle of articles, I’m bringing you a full-on review of restaurant Bronda! I did write about this same restaurant a little bit less than a year ago and you can read about it here in case you’ve missed it.

Unlike the 1st time, this time around we’ve been testing out Bronda as a lunch spot and it’s set lunch menu with vegan options too. Even though, it’s not pointed out on Bronda’s website, they do serve vegetarian and vegan options as well as a set menu during lunchtime too. You can either call them in advance and pre-order your vegan/ vegetarian options or you can just walk in and let them surprise you. They’re very skilled personnel, in the kitchen as chefs and as a very friendly and quick service.

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Bronda was the latest restaurant to open in BW chain of restaurants by famous chefs Tomi Björck and Matti  Wikberg, but it’s nothing less popular or amazing as the rest of their restaurants. In fact, Bronda has become a regular, “must” lunch spot for many business people, younger population and as well for any real foodie lover looking for something more refined and interesting for lunch than a usual salad buffet or a quick sandwich run.

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Just like the first time, this time around I was so impressed by Bronda’s gorgeous, spacious and very bright interior. Massive balls (light bulbs) hanging from the ceiling, big windows and an attention to the detail on every table are definitely some of the biggest assets of this place, esp. knowing that Scandinavia is always deprived of sun and daylight, so if anywhere, at Bronda you do get that too. 🙂

Besides an amazing food, central location and overlooking the beautiful Esplanade park next door are more than enough reasons to book your table if you’re living in Helsinki, are visiting it or planning to visit it this Summer.

Bronda is very proud of their extensive wine list which comes from all over Europe ( Bronda’s food is a fusion/ mix of Italian, Spanish and central Europe cuisines ). Make sure to try the menu or at lest one dish paired with one of their wines.

As previously pointed out, we has a pleasure to test their Menu Esplanad with an addition of couple of vegan options and daily choice from the lunch menu of Hawaii burger and Banana cake as a dessert.

Bronda’s set lunch menus change seasonally, whilst regular lunch menu and daily specials change weekly. They also always make sure that there is great enough variety of dishes so it’s practically impossible not to find something to satisfy your tastebuds. 🙂

In case you’ve missed out on having lunch here and you don’t have time to wait for the dinner shift, you can anyways come in and sit by the bar, where you can relax by listening to some good lounge music, sip on a cocktail and have a bite of some small snacks and salads.

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Onto the lunch! To be honest, after so many restaurant reviews and not only Helsinki ones, I wasn’t sure if I can get so easily wooed and impressed, but I was very, VERY wrong, because Bronda’s lunch experience maximised my love for exploring food and different cuisines to a whole new level.

As an opening of the menu, we were served sashimi of white fish and prawn cocktail with apple and sorrel sauce. It was a very interesting combination, very Mediterranean like because of the aroma of the sauce and saltiness of minced olives. As a vegan option we got soft taco with cabbage, avocado cream and fried tofu. This was a very different take on taco than the ones I’m used to see around and since I’ve tried the best Mexican food in LA, it didn’t impress me as much, but it was def. a great vegan option.

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Then onto the exciting, the best beef tar-tar ever! It was a smoked beef tar-tar with horseradish cream, truffle flavoured egg yolk and mustard dashi sauce, served with squid ink cracker. If a person doesn’t even blink or speak a word while they eat a certain dish, then it means that they’re so impressed by the food that they’re eating that it’s even hard to explain what exactly makes that particular beef tar-tar better than any other. I guess that a lucky combo of truffles, quality meat and smoky taste are trio for the win!

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Next up came “greetings from the kitchen” with grilled broccoli, cauliflower, roasted almonds, faro and tahini sauce as a vegan option and breaded chicken with tomato and aioli sauces. Vegan option was light, very rich in flavour and I could have just kept on eating that and I would be happy, it was that good. Chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside and buttery soft on the inside. Also, both sauces worked well with it and I’d say that this is a perfect finger food. Just as was the next up coming baby back ribs in romesco sauce which are already a staple dish at Bronda and they can always be found on the menu.

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Our favourite ribs to this date are at Yume restaurant in Helsinki, but Bronda’s are being a huge competitor to those. For a change, it’s great that some of our favourite dishes are to be found in our own city, unlike previously, they were spaced out all over the world and we would get to taste them like once a year. 😀

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My vegan option were herb falafels in chimichurri sauce with roasted hazelnuts! I almost fell of my chair when tasting these little balls of perfection! 🙂 Hands down, those were the best falafels I’ve ever tried. I swear that I have even Lebanese friends which are pros in making falafels, but I’m sorry to break it to them that I found my favourites at Bronda. 😀 If you are a vegan or vegetarian – ORDER these asap!

Main courses were: roasted salmon with saffron mayonnaise, roasted sweet pepper vinaigrette and grilled slices of spring onion and Hawaii burger.

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Let’s start with the burger – what usually people find annoying when eating a more “fancy” burger is the fact that you need a cutlery to eat it, so the pleasure of eating it with hands is gone, which is not a bad thing, but when having a specific, picky foodie, it’s sometimes taking away from the total pleasure. Bronda’s burger was just perfect and most possibly the top one in whole Helsinki. Brioche bun was so soft, meat was made into a perfect patty, grilled slice of pineapple added that sweet kick and gave some more density to the burger. Bronda’s own ketchup worked wonderfully with the burger! It had a smokey, almost like wood burnt taste and no wonder that they’re very proud of it, because it’s def. a fantastic product which would work well with many other dishes too.

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My roasted salmon dish was simply TO DIE FOR! Seriously! I’m a huge salmon lover, I’ve been eating all sorts of variations of salmon in the past couple of years that I got down to getting impressed only by a perfectly made salmon nigiri but this dish made my respect and love for salmon get a whole facelift!

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Finally a dish that presents salmon in a Mediterranean way and so well bodied and rich in flavour dish. I couldn’t believe how much I loved every single bite! Def. a favourite on the menu!

Desserts were already tested tiramisu which was as perfect as I remembered it and a banana cake which was equally as delicious and was presented beautifully.

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All in all, I left Bronda with such a great feeling and fantastic taste in my mouth! Their lunch is worth every penny, so go and check it out.

*This post was made in collaboration with BW restaurants. All of the opinions are my own.

*Thank you to Miss Elina for welcoming us and making this collaboration possible!

*Photography by: Natali K photography

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65 Comments

  • Reply Trang Do June 29, 2016 at 8:35 AM

    Woww!! Delicious food!!! Yummmmyyy!!!
    Xoxo,
    Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:17 PM

      Thank you so much! :))

  • Reply Martabarcelonastyle June 29, 2016 at 10:39 AM

    That steak tartar looks delicious 🙂

    http://www.martabarcelonastyle.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:17 PM

      It got 10 points so yes, it’s as delicious in taste as it is on the photo!

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:16 PM

      It is! Def. worth checking out!

  • Reply Jo June 29, 2016 at 11:37 AM

    Well. I do not know about the rest of you. But I have gained 5cm at my waist just looking at, and reading about all those delicious edibles on the menue. Also, I love the spaciousness of Bronda. Well done, Natali.

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:16 PM

      Thank you Jo very much! Bronda didn’t disappoint in any way, in fact, it was even better than the first time around. 🙂

  • Reply Ashley June 29, 2016 at 1:57 PM

    This all looks and sounds so delicious! Those desserts— yum!!

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:15 PM

      Thank you so much Ashley! 🙂

  • Reply Tessa June 29, 2016 at 4:24 PM

    wow – this post just made me so hungry!

    XO Tessa
    http://www.travelwheretonext.com/blog

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:15 PM

      Thank you dear for stopping by and commenting! 🙂

  • Reply The Newsette June 29, 2016 at 4:26 PM

    Omg this food looks amazing. We’re already planning our dream trip to Helsinki, with those burgers on the itinerary, of course.

    xo,
    The Newsette
    http://www.thenewsette.com

  • Reply ivana split June 29, 2016 at 7:07 PM

    ja uvijek ogladnim kada gledam ove tvoje objave o hrani….fotografije su čarobne, a od svih jela najprije bi probala ovoga lososa s mediteranskim štihom…nema meni do ribe:)

    • Reply natali karppinen June 29, 2016 at 8:15 PM

      Heheheh! Hvala ti puno na ovako lijepim komplimentima. Sto se tice ribe, da, ja sam veliki ljubitelj ribe i ovaj losos je bio za svih 10 prstiju polizati. 😀

  • Reply Hadasah Love (Style to Love) June 29, 2016 at 8:27 PM

    Ahh these photos are amazing
    Much love, Hadasah
    http://www.styletolove.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 30, 2016 at 3:17 PM

      Thank you very much!

  • Reply Amy Arnold June 29, 2016 at 8:48 PM

    The lunch menu looks amazing! We are visiting CA soon, and I am excited to try some vegan options.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

    • Reply natali karppinen June 30, 2016 at 3:17 PM

      Thank you Amy! I can def. recommend you some spots in LA in case you wanna try some great vegan, Gracias Madre for instance is good and raved about but it’s not the only option.

  • Reply carmen June 29, 2016 at 9:33 PM

    Lunch spots are my favorite places to eat at when traveling. They’re fun & casual. Everything looks tasty. :]

    // ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲

    • Reply natali karppinen June 30, 2016 at 3:16 PM

      True! You don’t feel obliged to dress up or what not as it’s the case when visiting restaurants in the dinner time.

  • Reply Tamara June 29, 2016 at 10:30 PM

    Yum, everything looks so delicious!

    XoXo,

    Tamara – LoveofMode.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 30, 2016 at 3:15 PM

      Thank Tamara! It was a fabulous foodie experience!

  • Reply anika June 29, 2016 at 10:54 PM

    Everything looked so yummy! I feel like I couldn’t even finish all of it!

    xx theclosetchronicle.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 30, 2016 at 3:15 PM

      Thanks Anika, everything was amazing, but mind that these dishes were shared between two and we didn’t finish every single one of them.

  • Reply Toks June 30, 2016 at 2:14 AM

    Everything looks soooo delicious. xoxoxo

    https://www.toksblog.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen June 30, 2016 at 3:14 PM

      Thank you sweetie!

  • Reply milex June 30, 2016 at 4:30 AM

  • Reply sasha June 30, 2016 at 4:15 PM

    Yummy!!!!!!!!!!

    Have a great day!
    xoSE

    http://WWW.SASHAELIZABETH.COM
    https://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/XOSASHAELIZABETH

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:17 PM

      Tanks dear Sasha!

  • Reply The Leach Life June 30, 2016 at 7:40 PM

    Your photography is stunning! Food looks yummy!

    The Leach Life | theleachlife.com

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:17 PM

      Thank you so much on this compliment!

  • Reply Lindsey Simon June 30, 2016 at 8:42 PM

    This looks delicious, and your photos are incredible!

    Love, Lindsey
    https://thenomisniche.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:17 PM

      Thank you Lindsey very much!

  • Reply alice June 30, 2016 at 9:32 PM

    That’s so cool, love your style!

    Alice Cerea
    babywhatsup.com

  • Reply Kelsey Bang June 30, 2016 at 10:08 PM

    oh my! what beautiful food! it all looks so delicious!

    kelseybang.com

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:15 PM

      Thank you Kelsey! It was to die for!

  • Reply MIS June 30, 2016 at 10:41 PM

    Nice one

    http://www.CARECAVE.com

  • Reply jasna June 30, 2016 at 11:05 PM

    OMG that food looks delish wow! 🙂

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:14 PM

      Thank you Jasna!

  • Reply Shannon Jenkins June 30, 2016 at 11:55 PM

    I hate coming to your blog when I am hungry haha! This food all looks so amazing and how gorgeous are those light fixtures?!

    <3 Shannon
    Upbeat Soles

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:14 PM

      Hahaha! You’re so sweet Shannon! Thank you for commenting. 🙂

  • Reply portiastylebook July 1, 2016 at 6:12 AM

    nice photos!

    https://www.portiastylebook.com

  • Reply Miki July 1, 2016 at 11:50 AM

    That spot is so cute! I love all of your photos. I’m so hungry now. The food looked so delicious!

    Xo,
    Miki
    https://mikialamode.com

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:14 PM

      Thank you Miki!! Food was absolutely amazing!

  • Reply Amy Arnold July 1, 2016 at 3:09 PM

    Coming to your blog first thing in the morning always makes me hungry! Such beautiful photography of such yummy food.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:13 PM

      Hahahah! You’re so cute!

  • Reply Mary M July 1, 2016 at 5:25 PM

    Beautiful post, I love writing reviews to all the places I eat when I’m abroad in my holidays but this is incredible!! Love the photos , I’m such a foodie, I’ll remember this recommendation when I’ll visit Helsinki for sure! Congrats on your blog, really love the concept and the top quality posts!!

    Have an amazing week,
    Mary x

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:13 PM

      Thank you Mary so much, you’re so sweet and your compliment means a lot !

  • Reply Nada July 1, 2016 at 8:49 PM

    this place looks amazing !
    NEW POST : THE COLORFUL THOUGHTS

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:13 PM

      Thank you Nada!

  • Reply Olivia Poncelet July 1, 2016 at 10:09 PM

    Nice pics, looks DELICIOUS
    http://www.oliviaponcelet.com

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:12 PM

      Thank you Olivia!

  • Reply Betty July 1, 2016 at 11:11 PM

    Oh, how much I wish for cool drink now! (in that pretty place for sure!!)

    WIN A BURBERRY LIPSTICK OF YOUR CHOICE with Elisette. Visit http://www.facebook.com/elisette.official to attend.

    Betty
    http://www.elisette.com

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:11 PM

      So sweet of you to say this!

  • Reply Anna Ellegaard July 2, 2016 at 12:01 AM

    This look SO good and SO delicious!

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:11 PM

      Thanks Anna!

  • Reply SOCIETY FIX July 2, 2016 at 2:50 AM

    That restaurant looks amazing and the the food looks so yummi. I want to taste it all.
    How about we follow each other on bloglovin’? Follow me and I’ll follow you back.
    https://societyfix.blogspot.com.eg/

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:11 PM

      Thanks a bunch!

  • Reply Barbara Pate July 2, 2016 at 9:25 AM

    Wow, these food look so delicious!

  • Reply Jude & Yara July 2, 2016 at 9:30 PM

    Yummy!! Loooks delicious

    Selftimers Blog | Bloglovin’ | Instagram

  • Reply Kelsie July 3, 2016 at 2:12 AM

    This restaurant looks beautiful and the food looks delicious! It’s always nice when the menu offers options for vegans and vegetarians. If I’m ever in the area I’ll have to give this place a try!

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:10 PM

      Thank you dear Kelsie, I’m so happy that you liked this post.

  • Reply glittercrime July 3, 2016 at 6:22 PM

    I just came across your blog and I have to say wow… that’s such a nice post! I am flashed… Have to come back!

    Lots of love
    Natasha
    GLITTERCRIME
    https://glittercrime.com/pink-lemonade

    • Reply natali karppinen July 7, 2016 at 3:10 PM

      Thank you so much Natasha, so kind of you to say this!

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