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Best Dining Bets
Ravintola Nokka, Kanavaranta 7F, Helsinki (tel. 09/687-7330): In a 19th-century building, this elegant restaurant is a showcase for the products of Finland. Its chefs dazzle with their prowess with home-grown produce and fresh game. Cheerfully and competently served, the house repertoire of foods, from mallard duck to Finnish cheese, is filled with dishes of high caliber.
Chez Dominique, Richardinkatu 4, Helsinki (tel. 09/612-73-93): One of only two Michelin-starred restaurants in all of Finland, this is a gourmet citadel reigning as Helsinki's "restaurant of the year" with most of the city's newspaper and magazine food critics. Near Esplanadi Park, the first-class restaurant offers French-inspired cuisine using fresh Scandinavian products whenever available.
G. W. Sundmans, Etelaranta 16, Helsinki (tel. 09/622-64-10): The only restaurant in Helsinki to equal -- but not surpass -- Chez Dominique is housed in a former mansion. It, too, is Michelin starred. Deluxe French and Scandinavian cuisine is served in elegant surroundings. Succulent dishes native to Finland include grilled sirloin of elk with a rowanberry sabayon sauce.
Havis, Etelaranta 16 Helsinki (tel. 09/6869-5660): Known for its fine seafood, this upscale tavern was established in 1973. Most of its saltwater fish comes from Finnish coastal waters, while its freshwater fish -- everything from Baltic crayfish to brook trout -- is from Finnish lakes. The restaurant has a beautiful atmosphere and some of the finest service in Helsinki.
Palace Gourmet, in the Palace Hotel, Etelaranta 10, Helsinki (tel. 09/13-45-61): In one of the city's best hotels, this restaurant provides Helsinki's most scenic dining -- a panoramic view of the harbor. A refined Finnish-French cuisine is served. Dishes are delectable, prepared only with the highest quality ingredients. Finnish salmon is the perennial favorite. The chef's filet and tongue of reindeer are the best in town.
Rocca, Lantinen Rantakatu 55, Turku (tel. 02/284-8800): This is one of the most celebrated in restaurants Finland. Its take on international cuisine most often pleases the most gastronomically hip. Each dish has complex flavors that seem to be on target in this market-fresh cuisine.
Kala-Trappa, Nunnakatu 3 Naantali (tel. 02/435-2477): This is the best restaurant this medieval city, serving both Finnish and international cuisine with considerable flair. In cozy dining rooms, you can feast on the best and freshest fish in the area, plus an array of other dishes prepared in harmonious combinations.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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