Restaurant Demo — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

Got a dinner as a birthday gift from my wife. We have been to Demo several times in its previous location, and this was the first time in the reopened restaurant. Overall, there are lots of positive elements, although the service and overall experience didn’t yet come well together. On the positive side, the venue is very stylish and the concept of guests getting to see the kitchen all the time is bold and nice - at least assuming all goes well with the menu. There were also very nice details, e.g. a (very good) martini prepared in the table and cheese dish instead of normal cheese platter. Also all the dishes were (very) good. Not necessarily mindblow, but very solid in any case.

That said, there were elements that clearly need further work. In many similar restaurants the non-alcoholic drink package consists of mostly different self-prepared drinks, but here they went mostly with non-alcoholic wines that were very mediocre in terms of taste and also at times poor pairings. Also the staff didn’t seem to consider much of the non-alcoholic wines as they were presented very briefly (e.g. as “a non-alcoholic Riesling”), whereas the proper wines got the level introduction that one normally gets in these types of restaurants. Most importantly, the service was quite uneven. This could be seen both in attention to detail (e.g. my wife waiting for her Champagne quite some time after my martini had been prepared, there being unused extra glasses left to the table, empty bread plates & butter were kept on the table for a long time implying more bread would be coming only to be recovered just before the next dish, tea was first not poured to the cups, except at the very end of the service as if to hurry getting the table clean, etc.), but more importantly also in that we never got any introduction into the menu (+ if there were any supplements / other options) and no one asked us about the drinks, so that we had to request if there was a wine package when we saw that the first meals were getting ready to be served. Also as the service was slow (the 3rd dish came 1h 45min into the dinner) this lack of communication / expectation mgmt created a bit uneasy feeling in terms of whether we were getting the menu as planned and whether we ourselves should have taken action to ensure things go as planned.

As this was a birthday gift, I didn’t know the pricepoint in detail, and would have assumed it to be around Demo’s previous pricepoint of +200€ pp, in which case the gaps in service could be somewhat understood. However, with the new venue they have upped the pricepoint to 300-350€ pp., implying higher ambition also in terms of the overall experience, and that being case the value for money simply isn’t there. The updated price point also starts to be close to top-notch European restaurants, e.g. only 25% less than Ciel Bleu that serve perhaps only slightly better dishes, but much better wines and provide far far superior...

We visited restaurant DEMO in its new location. It's been quite a many years since the previous visit and we had fond memories from it. They have a new location in Ruoholahti, next to Kaapelitehdas and the Lauttasaari bridge on the 14th (top) floor of a building. It's a nice place.

My partner had a good theory that they would be after second Michelin star, so we could be expecting a two star experience with the price of one. At around 2015 I think that we visited every single Michelin star restaurant in Helsinki, but it's been three years since the last one due to us having kids.

As a fun coincident, Helsingin Sanomat published a featured article about Toni Toivanen, the Chef from Noma. The primary message about the article was that fine dining as an experience is dying, because it's getting too expensive. The prices of ingredients are going up and chef's don't want to tolerate bad working hours without adequate compensation, among other things.

So what about the food at DEMO? It was nice. We had something like seven courses, but only one was memorable. None of the dishes gave any wow effect. I'm smart enough to know that I do not come into a fine dining restaurant being hungry, but I was still left hungry.

In DEMO's style they brought expensive ingredients from all over the world and they weren't shy telling how something was from a small country far away, but not really sure if it added anything to the experience. For example, there were caviar served in three different dishes. Sure it's nice, but not really original. For example restaurant Grön specialises in local ingredients and to me, that is much more impressive feat.

And oh boy it was expensive. The menu is 168 eur + 150 eur for wine pairings, but in practice it's hard to get out without paying 370+ eur per person. We always try to buy the wine menu in half portions, but the waitress managed to convince us to buy it in full, which again, was not the right call and I switched to non-alcoholic drinks at around the middle.

I can definitively agree with Toivanen, that fine dining is dying as we left unimpressed after paying 700+ eur for...

Nestled in the heart of Finland, DEMO is a culinary gem that truly lives up to its prestigious Michelin star. From the moment you step inside, you're enveloped in an atmosphere of elegance and intimacy, with only a few tables ensuring a personalized dining experience.

The attentive waitstaff goes above and beyond to make you feel special, taking the time to explain each dish and expertly pair it with drinks to enhance your enjoyment. Even for those less versed in the intricacies of fine dining, the servers' thoughtful explanations make the experience accessible and enjoyable.

But it's the food that truly steals the show at DEMO. Showcasing the best that Finland has to offer, each dish is a masterpiece of flavor and technique. From locally sourced ingredients to innovative presentations, every bite is a revelation. My personal favorite was the added bread parings, I know it seems simple but it was truly out of this world.

As a self-proclaimed foodie, I've had my fair share of culinary experiences, but DEMO surpassed all expectations. And even for my husband, who may not share my passion for food, the servers' guidance made the meal a memorable and enjoyable experience for him as well.

If you find yourself in Finland, I wholeheartedly recommend visiting DEMO. With its Michelin-starred cuisine, impeccable service, and intimate ambiance, it's an experience you won't...