sammmpo

A simple and unpretentious place with great flavours, nice do-it-all-by-himself owner-chef, and relaxed atmosphere with typical diners being locals in the know.

This place is definitely not one of those thirteen in a dozen chinese places Finland is so full of. Flavours are sharp, veggies fresh and crispy, and overall value of the food is through the roof.

Only spring rolls I recommend not: they are from a supermarket freezer.

I'm usually too lazy to write reviews about my dining experiences. Good food, bad food, whatever. However, in this case I feel it is my civil duty to voice my opinion.

The place itself is unpretentious, catering full menu based fine dining to a crowd of 30 or so. One of the many that have been popping up in downtown Helsinki the last 5 years.

The service was efficient, but distant. The exception was the Spanish sommelier, who was knowledgeable and likable, but with a monotonous accent that none of us could really understand - we just nodded and smiled. But maybe that was just us: a nice guy anyhow.

We went for a 8 course menu with paired wines, the price totaling to about 130 euros per person. As far as volume goes, we got value for our money, with 4 or 5 chefs specials added on top of the 8.

The wines were excellent: surprising, tasty, unique. 10/10 would drink again.

However, even the best wines couldn't save what was to be a culinary catastrophe. Each and every dish was a mouthful of disappointment, with presentations that looked like a Russian plumber's idea of fine dining. A bacon tree? A broken roll on the corner of a stone plate? Come on.

Bad presentation is one thing. What really grinds our gears is that with the high quality (!) ingredients the chef managed to serve us some of the worst dishes we've ever had a displeasure to try to enjoy. We quipped that maybe their chef was ill, and the cleaner had been called to duty. Those sorry excuses for cooking, where nothing tasted right, and no flavor complimented the other, made all of us just wish that the dinner would be over sooner, and we could get home and forget the whole ordeal. If the wines haven't been so good, we would have likely left half way through.

I kid you not folks: the food was really, really bad. I don't know what the other reviewers have been smoking, or if their chef really was all when we were there. All I know is that you have been warned.

Kavin nyt paikassa kolmannen kerran illastamassa. Ensimmainen kerta oli todella hyva, toinen kerta ensimmaiseen nahden pieni pettymys, ja nyt kolmas kerta aivan fantastinen!

Kuten joku toinenkin arvostelija totesi, ilmeisesti taalla (kuten useimmissa etnisissa paikoissa) pitaa tietaa mita tilaa; itse kylla aion silti kokeilla menun lavitse, sen verran hyvaa materiaalia listalta on loytynyt. Talla kertaa soin alkuruoka numero vitosen, kurkkutikkujen ymparille kaarittya lihaa tulisessa kastikkeessa ja paaruoaksi possua ja salaatinlehtia (salaatti tuodaan pinossa ja ruokailija itse kaarii lihan, kastikkeet ja vihannestikut rulliksi). Kuten sanoin, aivan fantastista! Myos tuo muiden mainitsema tuplapaistettu possu chililiemessa on mahtavaa (siita syo helposti kaksi).

Paikka on iltaisin ollut aina varsin tyhja (harmi!) ja tarjoilu on ollut nopeaa ja ystavallista. Mikaan tunnelmallinen treffipaikka tama ei ole. Paikka on hieman kolho ja kirkkaasti valaistu, kalustus yksinkertainen. Ruoassa on silti niin paljon sydanta, etta muut seikat ovat yhdentekevia.

Viela: Kolmen chiltonin annoksissa on oikeasti mukavasti potkua. Mikali tulinen ruoka ei putoa, ne kannattaa jattaa valiin tai ainakin tilata mietoina. Ja annokset todella on isoja; alku-paaruokasettini tanaan olisi helposti riittanyt kahdelle. Ehka myos tarkoitettu kahdelle?

8 euron hintaluokassa Helsingin parhaat pitsat. Jaakylmat Hoegaarden-lasit saa suoraan pakastimesta. Kohtalaisen kattava olutvalikoima. Mukavat duunarit. Toimii!

Yksi Helsingin parhaista lounaspaikoista. Keitto-salaattipöytä-kolme pääruokaa. Salaattipöytä on hyvä, pääruokalajit perinteisiä, Suomalaisia lounasruokia - maistuvia sellaisia. Erikoismaininta alkukeitoista - en muista syöneeni parempaa hernaria missään!

Hyvät kokit saa tavalliset ruoat maistumaan mannalta.