Restaurant Passio — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

A poor start and a poor end bookended an otherwise delicious meal. Had reserved a table for 2 and taken to the end room which is a bit closed off and separate from the main dining area (we had a reservation for 2) and told our table was in the window. Which one? The one with the two previous guest’s dirty dishes, or the table set for 4? Clearly they hadn’t planned based on their bookings. The waitress had disappeared so we opted for the clean table and sat and waited … and waited for 10 mins for someone to reappear with a menu. They were slightly apologetic about the neglect. The menus only mention wine by the bottle but we learnt it can be ordered by the glass once we enquired. But without knowing the price. We ordered drinks and the 3-course menu - the food was superb. Had to get up and walk through to ask for the bill. When paying the waitress had already ticked the 10% tip option on the bill (to head off the owner’s cut and paste response to all previous complaints about why did you tip if you weren’t happy) but when the card payment came up it included an additional ~4% charge. Tried a different card - same result. This has never happened elsewhere in any Helsinki restaurants so it felt like a rort. I could have reduced the tip to 5% but felt pressured to just accept it. Recommend for anyone paying by card to reduce any tip by 5% - or maybe just forget the waitress standing over you watching and don’t tip at all. Pity as this is an otherwise excellent restaurant with fantastic food. I hope the management take on board the criticism as it is valid and don’t just rebut it and suggest it is my problem as I could see from other reviews that tends to be...

An incredibly difficult restaurant to review. I was so desperately excited for this experience but I was incredibly let down by the service.

FOOD - there is so much thought and ideation put into the construction of the dishes and they look beautiful. The main issue was everything was so salty that it overshadowed the complex flavors that the chef wanted to create. For example, truffle being a strong flavor was totally washed over by the brininess of the sauces which then set in the palette course after course.

SERVICE - this is where my experience fell totally down. I wanted a 5 course meal and after two hours, only 3 courses had come - this wasn't the type of restaurant where a 3-4 hour meal would have been the norm. It was so slow, and so frustrating at the same time. There was no urgency and sense of timing. Service was haphazard, beverage suggestions came 30 mins before the food came out and while the servers were apologetic, I left hungry and disappointed.

I hope that the restaurant can take this review as conducive feedback. I do hope to visit in the future and have a...

Title: Again and Again—Still Not a Fan of Surprise Menus :)

I knew from the reviews that this restaurant had a surprise menu, and, well… I’m still not a fan. That said, the staff was accommodating when it came to allergies and preferences, which was appreciated. We went with the three-course menu and wine pairing. Unfortunately, the wine pairing was underwhelming.

Before writing a review, I always check with my husband or friends who dined with me to gather their thoughts. The verdict? A solid meh 🫤. No one could recall a dish they absolutely loved—or disliked, for that matter. And that, in itself, says a lot.

On the plus side, we all agreed the pricing was reasonable. A quick tip: this is not a kid-friendly spot. There’s no kids’ menu, and the options aren’t particularly suitable for little ones—not that the restaurant claims to cater to families, but worth noting.

Now, I am a dessert person, and I have to say… I didn’t like the dessert. And that, I definitely...