Ravintola Vinkkeli — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

Managed to snag a table for one in this charmingly small, bustling restaurant that's in the Michelin guide. I saw it on a Conde Nast list, so I was shocked I managed to get a table on a Friday night without a reservation (perks of dining solo!) Cannot speak well enough of the staff, everyone was so sweet and pleasant, and recommended some great wines to someone deeply out of their depth 😂 I wanted the full experience so I opted for the 4-course meal, and it did not disappoint! I was able to mix and match between the original 4-course set and the other dishes on the menu, and at 62~ish euro (wine not included) this felt like a steal for an American crushed under the weight of inflation.

Cannot recommend the salted herring enough. I knew I wanted to try it while I was in Finland, and it did not disappoint! The artichoke(?) soup that was part of the 4-course meal was spectacular. I love how knowledgeable the staff was on not only all the dishes on the menu, but where they come from and the seasonal changes that the menu follows. For the entree I had the lamb with pumpkin sauce - so delicious. At this point I was too full to continue on so I got the small treats dessert to pick at while I...

A beautiful restaurant that we chose for Valentines dinner, but in Finland would be to celebrate Friendship Day. The staff is nice, the sommelier super nice. They offered almost any wine in the menu as carafe. They have a daily 4 course chef’s menu EUR 62 that can be paired with wine + EUR 60. Or the ala carte menu. The menu has 3 options as starter, and 3 options for main. Cheese plate and dessert. We went with the ala carte. Lamb terrine and cheese platter for starter. Yes. I eat cheese on my starter. Main OX my husband said was nice but not amazing. I chose the cod. It was very nicely made, but the difference was the sweet potato flavour and the black lentils. Dessert orange sorbet and mouse. A bit tangy for my taste but looks very nice. I would...

4.8/5. Excellent food, good service. A little bit too cramp between tables. The restaurant is full house. Some diners seem local, probably working nearby, having it as a business lunch.

We had the 3-course lunch menu. The Gazpacho is great, super delightful to find sugar-salt pickled celery in the dish (for us no big fans of celery). The serving bread has a choice between the normal wheat sourdough and the local rye sourdough. The rye sourdough is a lot better than most rye bread in the region, but I still like the wheat sourdough more. For the main, we had fish and chicken. Both well balanced. I like the pina colada desert with a twist more than the petit four which are 3 interesting chocolates.

Overall a...