Food, Lifestyle, My Work

Visit Helsinki: Toca

November 19, 2015

Toca! A Finnish take on Italian cuisine! Gennaro and Elina are a Finnish – Italian couple with a burning passion for great food and are 100% proudly standing behind each dish that comes out of the kitchen. Upon entering TOCA, I had an instant vibe of being somewhere in Brooklyn, NYC and not in the middle of Helsinki.

Tons of writings on a big chalkboard wall on one side of the restaurant, “ruined” brick wall on the other side and a minimalistic, but tastefully decorated tables and seats were def. a surprising interior to walk into, esp.  when thinking about the usual Italian restaurants that I’m used to. Yes, the ones that have all those “Italian grandma’s house” features and Eros Ramazzotti is blasting from the speakers.

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Another thing that caught me by the surprise was that the menu was completely hidden, you just have to simply trust your waiter on this one and pick between 3 or 5 course menu that can be paired with a long selection of the finest, imported Italian wines as well as non alcoholic bubblies!

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All of this got me very excited and interested to hear the story behind how did Toca restaurant come along and of course I couldn’t wait to start tasting the food as well.
Miss Elina told us that her and her partner Gennaro have previously owned/ ran two different Italian restaurants. None of them were in Helsinki and none of them were fine dining, Italian modern kitchen as Toca is. You will see from the photos and as well if you do visit Toca, you will taste that each dish is perfect mix of Italian and Finnish, the inspiration from Italian dishes combined with the best, local and in season Finnish produce.

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We had a real pleasure to start our dinner by trying the in house white bread and focaccia as well as small bites like cheese and ham “arancini” balls and pickled/marinated pepper, stuffed with goat’s cheese and black olive crumbles.

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As a first starter, we were presented a delicious, comforting and innovative pumpkin soup. Vegetarian version comes with barley, goat’s cheese, rosemary oil and pumpkin, while the non vegetarian one comes with pork cheeks.

2nd starter was my absolute favourite and as Miss Elina told us, a real crowd pleaser – sugar and salt coated and seared salmon with pickled cucumbers, green tomatoes, cucumber sorbet, malt bread and radishes.

An “in between” meal was elk carpaccio with black trumpet mushrooms, pickled onions, kohlrabi and lingonberry pure. Something that all of the meat eaters will def. enjoy!

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Main course was once again the best of Finnish and Italian kitchen – pan fried cod filets with fried cauliflower and broccoli in fennel oil and sour milk sauce. Cod was melting in my mouth and when asked if they’ve used a magical suis-vide machine which always gives a perfect tenderness to any fish and meat, I was informed that it was a chef’s own masterful touch and no suis-vide was used. 🙂

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To finish off a perfect menu, we got creme brûlée with raspberry sorbet, almond crumble and pineapple bits. Very light, perfectly sweet and refreshing dessert!

Are you guys convinced already to try out this wonderful restaurant?? 😀

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I hope that this “Visit Helsinki” series of posts have raised your interest in a wonderful and colourful food scene that is present in the capital of Finland. There will be many more posts coming in the following weeks in which I will for the first time, present you some of the best hotels to stay at, some more restaurants and finally shops that are perfect for Christmas presents hunting for your loved ones or yourself. 🙂

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

*Thank you Gennaro and Elina for a hospitality, inspiration and delicious food.

*All of the photos were taken by: Natali K.photography

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53 Comments

  • Reply Adams November 19, 2015 at 11:25 PM

    Wow this looks amazing. That sugar and salt salmon sounds to die for.

    • Reply natali karppinen November 19, 2015 at 11:56 PM

      It truly was, I went to food heaven while eating it! 😀

  • Reply Trang Do November 19, 2015 at 11:27 PM

    Food looks delicious! Love Toca restaurants!
    Xoxo,
    Love from http://www.trangscorner.com {a lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and food blog}

    • Reply natali karppinen November 19, 2015 at 11:56 PM

      Thank you Trang for commenting!

  • Reply MartaBarcelonaStyle November 20, 2015 at 1:28 AM

    Yummy yumy! That look delicious 🙂

    http://www.martabarcelonastyle.com

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:31 AM

      Thanks Marta!

  • Reply Ivana November 20, 2015 at 3:41 AM

    Ovi tvoji postovi su stvarno črobni. Svaki puta sve ljepše i ljepše! Restač izgleda divno, a tvoje su fotkice čarobne kao i uvijek… svaka čast!

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:32 AM

      Puno ti hvala draga, trudim se najbolje sto mogu! 🙂 Puse saljem!

  • Reply mihaela November 20, 2015 at 6:12 AM

    love this! 🙂 you really do have such a great blog!

    mfashionfreak♥blog

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:32 AM

      Thank you so much Mihaela!

  • Reply Mary November 20, 2015 at 6:35 AM

    Each dish looks like an artistic masterpiece. So beautiful! Did you just love this meal?

    https://www.districthilo.com

    Love, Mary

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:32 AM

      I loved the whole experience and each dish tasted amazingly!

  • Reply Elements of Ellis November 20, 2015 at 7:23 AM

    Yum! Now I’m hungry! lol

    https://elementsofellis.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:33 AM

      😀 Thanks for stopping by!

  • Reply Amy Ann November 20, 2015 at 8:10 AM

    Your food always looks soooo amazing! How fun to not know what your waiter is going to select for you.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:33 AM

      Thank you sweetie so much!

  • Reply Rae November 20, 2015 at 8:21 AM

    Oh wow the food from here just looks absolutely amazing!! Would love to eat here one day myself. Thanks for sharing these lovely photos and this lovely place!

    Rae Love from Berlin

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:31 AM

      Thank you Rae for stopping by and commenting!

  • Reply Rachel November 20, 2015 at 8:23 AM

    Looks fancy and very delicious! YUM!

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:31 AM

      Thanks Rachel!

  • Reply Matea November 20, 2015 at 9:54 AM

    Jao meni, sve mi izgleda prefino i baš nekako po mom guštu! 🙂

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:30 AM

      Ou jea! Totalno sam sigurna da bi ti se bio dopao ovaj restoran. 🙂

  • Reply Yana November 20, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    That food looks sooooo good! 🙂

    https://www.lifeofardor.com

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:30 AM

      It does and it tastes as good as it looks! 🙂

  • Reply Nada November 20, 2015 at 12:42 PM

    Great post ! 🙂
    please follow my blog : THE COLORFUL THOUGHTS

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:29 AM

      Thank you Nada!

  • Reply artadorned November 20, 2015 at 3:43 PM

    Everything looks lovely, gorgeous setting and also great photos.
    https://artadorned.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:29 AM

      Thank you very much!

  • Reply Atsuna Matsui November 20, 2015 at 9:31 PM

    My mouth is watering just looking at the photos! The food art is done beautifully here.

    xx
    atsunamatsui.com

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:29 AM

      I agree with you and thank you for stopping by!

  • Reply nancy November 21, 2015 at 12:21 AM

    I always get hungry watching your photo s. It looks great !
    http://www.fashionandfoodandotherstuff.com

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:29 AM

      Thank you Nancy for commenting!

  • Reply nat November 21, 2015 at 3:45 AM

    wow these dishes look amazing
    xx
    https://anoddgirl.blogspot.com.au

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:28 AM

      All of the dishes were delicious!

  • Reply Jude & Yara November 21, 2015 at 10:24 AM

    Looks os yummy

    http://www.selftimersblog.com

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:28 AM

      It sure does! 😀

  • Reply IOANNA November 21, 2015 at 11:15 AM

    Wow! This looks very yummy!

    https://fashionyourdreams.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:28 AM

      Thanks Ioanna for leaving a comment!

  • Reply rach. November 21, 2015 at 12:26 PM

    oh i’m so jealous! i’m such a foodie and you are killing me with all the wonderful (and yummy) pics!

    love the blog too, girl! if you get the chance, please take the time to check out mine and let me know what you think! maybe even follow? no pressure though!
    have a great rest of your weekend!

    love, rach.
    So, hi.

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:27 AM

      Thanks a lot Rach for stopping by and commenting! I’ll def. check out your blog! 🙂

  • Reply Sarah November 21, 2015 at 3:20 PM

    Love, love, love! Never been to Helsinki but have a good friend there! X

    https://sarahthereseblog.blogspot.com.es

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:27 AM

      Thank you Sarah! I hope that you can come and visit someday!

  • Reply Katie November 22, 2015 at 8:25 AM

    Wow, these plates all look delicious!

    https://www.theaisleofstyle.com/

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:27 AM

      Thanks Katie!

  • Reply Vale November 22, 2015 at 11:14 AM

    This place looks and sounds amazing Natali, another one on the list when we finally get to visit your beautiful town. Kisses my dear

    Fashion and Cookies – fashion blog

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:26 AM

      Thank you so much dear! Kisses to you as well and I can’t wait to have you over here!

  • Reply Arctic Raspberry November 22, 2015 at 1:20 PM

    It looks sooo yummy!!! Want it!!!

    arcticraspberry.ru

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:26 AM

      Thank you very much for leaving a comment!

  • Reply Toks November 22, 2015 at 1:27 PM

    All the restaurants you show look sooooo good. xoxo

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:26 AM

      Thanks Toks! I try to pick the best ones. 🙂

  • Reply milex November 22, 2015 at 7:12 PM

  • Reply Florin November 24, 2015 at 12:58 AM

    Food aside, the restaurant looks amazing also.

    • Reply natali karppinen November 24, 2015 at 7:25 AM

      Thank you Florin!

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