Roka Street Bistro — Restaurant in Rovaniemi sub-region

Came here for dinner as a solo traveler figuring there’d be a bar to sit at for quick seating. I realized how small the restaurant was when I got there and patiently waited an hour in line to be seated. I get to the front and the waitress greets me with “were those two here before you?” - pointing to the couple that had been waiting behind me in line. It was incredibly rude to be greeted that way considering I was patiently waiting for an hour to be seated and was being accused of cutting the line. I was beyond hungry after a day of traveling and not having eaten in 24 hours I ordered bread as a starter and steak for dinner. I see the table to my right that was sat after me get their food before I even get the bread I ordered. Then the table to my left gets their desserts they ordered after me. It was bread - I ordered it because it is the most simple item to make for an order and I was starved. I call the server over and ask where the bread is and they tell me they’re preparing it now. I am shocked when they bring out the steak and the bread at the same time. I told them I no longer wanted the bread. Opinions on the food - it was not very good at all in my opinion. It lacked seasoning and the churros I ordered for dessert were very flat and had a lemon flavor to them? Not sure what’s up with that but overall beyond unimpressed with...

This delightful little bistro is not fancy or posh, but it's very cozy and just lovely. The best way I can describe their food is homemade comfort food. It's like coming to grandma for dinner, who cooks with loads of love and a hey helping of soul. I was here twice. I highly recommend the rich and buttery salmon soup. I've also had the tender salmon filet ( salmon caught by the chef) with zesty risotto. The second time , I had the reindeer filet with root vegetables and turnip mash covered with the dill sauce. The meat was so soft, juicy and with a dense consistency. Very filling. But an absolute must is the heavenly panna cotta! It was so soft and airy, with fresh rasberries, raspberry kissel, crushed almond and white chocolate pieces. I can only imagine it to be like an angel's whisper. This is a very popular place, so make a...

Tried one of their filled sandwiches (reminded me of Döner) with sautéed reindeer. It was a pleasant experience and didn’t leave me hungry. Flavors were great, the filling was basically the traditional sautéed reindeer dish just without mashed potatoes but the sandwich was slightly too soggy for my preference. This was probably caused by the meat broth from the reindeer.

On the side I had some Brussel sprouts which were fried and salted very nicely.

To help downing the sandwich and the Brussel sprouts I ordered a dark lager from the local Lapin panimo brewery. The beer wasn’t anything special but it’s always worth trying out local beers when traveling.

Service was really friendly! A small minus for really packed seating during corona times because...