Savoy — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

Restaurant Savoy Helsinki is a remarkable example of fine dinning with all of its glory. The restaurant has been operating since 1937. The wooden interior and furniture, dating back 85 years ago, are warm, rich and inviting. The feel is peaceful and refined. The grand piano and the musician add an ambiance of elegance and romanticism. The service is like a beautiful ballet with each member of the crew floating effortlessly as they serve the room. Chef Patron Helena Puolakka describes the food as “Finnish-French with subtle Russian touches”. The outdoor dinning area commands a breathtaking view over Helsinki with the restaurant being on the 8th floor, one of the highest in the area. I had the vegetarian tasting menu and the first dish of Kohlrabi roll, barley, roasted cabbage sauce was refreshing and tasty. The next dish was the Ceps (Finnish mushrooms) made into a jello like consistency, aubergine and cep beurre blanc was absolutely delicious. The next dish was risotto with apple cider sauce. It smelled heavenly and the taste was magical. The mouth cleanser of lemon sorbet and a concussion of foam was so refreshing. The grilled celeriac, mushrooms, yellow plums and Chartreuse sauce was a fantastic dish but I found it too acidic. I could not finish it but I was also getting full and wanted to leave room for the dessert. The dessert of Bilberry pie, cardamom mousse and lovage sorbet (lovage tastes like celery, with undertone of parsley and anise) was delightful. Savoy Helsinki is not a Michelin star restaurant but is so...

The vorschmack was worth the reputation, but I'd rather eat it in the downstairs bistro. Wines, yes, but the rest of our three courses of a la carte weren't worth remembering. At this price point, that won't do. Service was a stylistic mess, going through the whole spectrum of the French hospitality style waiter who all but spat on me and my father for the crime of darkening his day, through the hip & cool urban kind, all the way back to saccharine, patronizingly grandmotherly cloakroom service. This type of underlined and exclamation marked service work is Sartre's classic example of bad faith, and while you can make it work, the lack of consistency betrays an overall lack of vision.

Perhaps there's another chance for it some day, but on first try, Savoy seems like a restaurant that's decided it's so brilliant that we'll just have to take their word for it. My wallet is thankful to accept this from a distance. Savoy's self-seriousness combined with the failure to follow through with absolute excellence manages to make it all smell like kitsch. For now, it's a great building & view looking for a restaurant, but what it's got is a place for ostentatious...

I wanted to express my heartfelt thanks for the fantastic lunch you organized for our marriage day. Everything was perfect, and we couldn’t have been happier with the experience.

The service was outstanding, the whole crew and especially thanks to our main waitress, who was attentive, friendly, and made everything run smoothly. The food was excellent from start to finish, and the beautiful cake you made for us was truly delicious. Please pass along our special thanks to the cook for such exceptional work.

I also loved the table decoration, it added such a warm and elegant touch to our celebration and made the setting feel even more special.

Thank you again for helping make our day so memorable. We will always remember it fondly and look forward to visiting again...