Food, Lifestyle, My Work

Visit Helsinki: Savu

June 22, 2016

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It’s been a little bit over 8 years since I have moved to Helsinki. No matter where I go, to known or the unknown cities/ countries, I always love to wonder around and discover new, exciting and interesting spots. I was so happy when I found out that even after 8 years of living here, there are some undiscovered places in Helsinki which I was more than happy to visit and find out what makes them so special. One of those places was the island Tervasaari! I took a walk from the city center all the way to Tervasaari ( it’s easily accessible via small bridge ) and it took me about 30 mins of nice and slow paced walk. I believe that with the car, getting to Tervasaari, even in the worst of traffic it wouldn’t take you longer than 15 mins.

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This is a very small island which is such a little paradise spot. I could easily spend a day there having a chill by the small sand beach, walk through the island or just watch the old ladies wash the carpets in the traditional way with the brush. 🙂 One of the biggest reasons why I would want to come back to this island and tell everybody else to visit it is because of a restaurant called Savu. Savu means smoke in Finnish language.

Savu restaurant is situated inside of the 210 years old wooden building/ house which original purpose was to store tar barrels. Restaurant can seat indoors and outdoors with the covered terrace, all together more than 200 persons. The menu changes seasonally and is also very famous for offering house special dishes with aromas of smoke and tar. During summertime, there is a special lunch menu available as well as a-la-carte selection.

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We have decided to present both, the lunch menu and some preferences from the a-la carte menu. To start with the lunch menu, we were served a cauliflower soup with cauliflower pickle and roasted almond. This was a nice, warm and light soup to start the lunch with. Homemade, rye bread was perfect condiment to eat the soup with. 🙂

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From the a-la-carte menu we chose a white fish ceviche with dried shrimp white raddish and caramelised soy. I must admit that I was bit sceptic about how the ceviche was going to taste like but it caught me by surprise, a very pleasant one! This was possibly the best ceviche outside Peru, very “Finnish style” but oh so good!

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As for the mains, from the lunch menu came fresh pea risotto with red pesto and smoked salmon filet. This was such a simple, unpretentious but to die for dish! I’m a huge salmon lover and when it’s smoked, it wins my heart immediately. 🙂 Risotto was perfectly creamy and tasted just the way I was hoping, hearty and comforting. I can say that I had an ode to Spring and Summer on my plate!

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Main course from the a-la-carte menu was marbled steak of Finnish Limousin beef which was served with summer potatoes, creme fraiche and spring onions, as well as with white asparagus and fresh tomato sauce. Savu chefs def. know how to prep a great steak! After setting limits high by trying steaks in Argentina and at Gordon Ramsay’s The Maze restaurant, it’s been hard to meet the competitors to those, but Savu delivered with perfectly tender and medium rare grilled steak. Fresh tomato sauce and asparagus were wonderful to eat the meat with, esp. on a hot summer day, it’s not going to be heavy on your stomach.

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For dessert we have tried a buckthorn sorbet with sliced and marinated rhubarb, berries and cream cheese mousse. I’m not the biggest fan of sorbets but this was possibly the best one I’ve ever had, so different, interesting in taste and worked so well with the rest of the “party” on the plate. 🙂

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If you are visiting Helsinki this Summer, go for a nice walk by the seaside from the Market Square all the way towards the Uspenski church, towards the Kaisaniemi and you’ll spot the island of Tervasaari on your right hand side. The calming effect that this island has is magical, just as is the food of Savu! Welcoming and knowledgable service won’t let you down either, so in other words: “Tervetuloa!”

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*This post has been made in collaboration with A&S ravintolat. All of the opinions are my own.

*Thank you to Miss Johanna for making this collaboration happen.

*Photography by: Natali K.photography

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37 Comments

  • Reply Jo June 22, 2016 at 10:10 AM

    Tervasaari looks a gorgeous little Island where to spend a lazy day. I love little Islands. The nearest to me is one called Brownsea. The inhabitants are red squirrels. And does not have such a splendid restaurant. Just a reasonable cafe’
    I have been thinking about you And hope all’s well.

  • Reply Trang Do June 22, 2016 at 11:08 AM

    Beautiful photos!! Food looks yummy!
    Love,
    Kisses and hugs from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:43 PM

      Thank you so much!

  • Reply Matea June 22, 2016 at 11:36 AM

    Baš djeluje kao slatko malo mjesto za opuštanje, a o hrani da ne počinjem uopće, sjajno izgleda! 🙂

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:43 PM

      Hvala ti draga moja, da mjesto je bas magicno, opustajuce i hrana je preprepreukusna!

  • Reply Carrie June 22, 2016 at 11:37 AM

    wow great pics
    https://carrieslifestyle.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:43 PM

      Thank you Carrie!!

  • Reply Inma Rocamora June 22, 2016 at 11:50 AM

    Lovely pics!!
    xx

    Jumpsuit outfit: New Post// Nuevo post
    NaturalElegance Fashion Blog

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:42 PM

      Thank you very much!

  • Reply Nada June 22, 2016 at 12:54 PM

    soo yummy and wonderful 🙂
    NEW POST : THE COLORFUL THOUGHTS

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:44 PM

      Thank you!! It was just like that, the food and the place itself. 🙂

  • Reply Amy Arnold June 22, 2016 at 3:38 PM

    You found such a great spot! As usual, I am drooling over the food.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:42 PM

      Thank you Amy!! Hahah, yes, the food was super delish! 🙂

  • Reply Maria Jose Abad June 22, 2016 at 3:42 PM

    Looks like an amazing trip!
    The food looks delicious too.
    XO,
    Maria
    MariaOnPoint https://mariaonpoint.com/ | Find me on IG https://www.instagram.com/mariajabad/

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:42 PM

      Thank you very much Maria!

  • Reply The Newsette June 22, 2016 at 4:29 PM

    Ughh this food looks so good. Thanks for sharing our new travel and food goals to get us through the mid-week slump here at HQ:)

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

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:42 PM

      Thank you very much for stopping by and commenting! May you have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

  • Reply Toks June 22, 2016 at 10:42 PM

    OMG this place looks sooooo amazing. xoxoxo

    https://www.toksblog.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:41 PM

      Thank you sweetie! Everything was so impressive about Savu!

  • Reply milex June 23, 2016 at 4:09 AM

  • Reply Lola June 23, 2016 at 2:53 PM

    looks great !

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    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:41 PM

      Thank you dear Lola!

  • Reply Nada June 23, 2016 at 3:48 PM

    soo yummy meals !
    NEW POST : THE COLORFUL THOUGHTS

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:41 PM

      Thank you very much Nada!

  • Reply Tamara June 24, 2016 at 12:44 AM

    These pictures are so pretty!!

    XoXo,

    Tamara – LoveofMode.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:40 PM

      Thank you Tamara!!

  • Reply Camila June 24, 2016 at 7:24 AM

    This looks like such a wonderful place and the food super delicious!

    Have a great weekend gorgeous, xx

    My Vogue Style | http://www.myvoguestyle.com

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:40 PM

      Yes Camila, this place was so worth visiting and I will always wholeheartedly recommend it to my friends and so on. 🙂

  • Reply Dadie Bradshaw June 24, 2016 at 9:26 AM

    These foods look so delicious!

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:40 PM

      Thank you very much! Food was absolutely amazing!

  • Reply Frederique June 24, 2016 at 2:38 PM

    Home cooked soups definitely are the best! Love making them and using it as a base for a sauce the other day. 🙂 Happy weekend!
    xx Frederique || FAB le Frique

    • Reply natali karppinen June 24, 2016 at 4:39 PM

      Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! 🙂 Have a great weekend too!

  • Reply Fashion and Frappes June 29, 2016 at 12:42 PM

    Your post has definitely piqued my interest in visiting Helsinki. It sounds lovely. I am very interested in trying out the food there and the fashion – heard so much about it!

  • Reply Sophie July 11, 2016 at 2:51 PM

    The food looks so delicious <3

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  • Reply Gata Collins May 2, 2020 at 12:57 PM

    What a wonderful article!
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