Nili-Poro Restaurant and Night Grill Poron Rykimä — Restaurant in Tunturi-Lapin seutukunta

Went in the summer. Cosy, warm and rustic. Service was friendly. Small menu with local delicacies (always rather a restaurant with a limited menu they specialise in than one with mediocre extensive options). They serve bread and butter as appetiziers and the bread is delicious, very pillowy and soft.

If you come to Levi, you have to give this place a try. The traditional poronkäristys (sautéed reindeer) was sliced thin and very tender, salty, the barest bit gamey and easy to eat. The lingonberries were a great accompaniment that cut the saltiness. The pickled cucumbers were very salty too. Not my favorite in terms of flavor or texture but definitely a good traditional experience.

The burger was delicious, very tender, juicy and robust. The fries that came with the burger were amazing! Crispy and golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The crispiest and best fries I've ever had, like they stayed crisp even after the meal was over. The meatballs had a fun, chewy texture and were moist, tender and full of flavor. It's amazing how they can all taste so different.

Had to return to try the steak and I was not disappointed. An honestly perfect dish. The medium rare reindeer steak was ridiculously tender and well prepared and seasoned. Allowed me a more unadulterated taste of reindeer. Surprisingly mild and not heavy at all. I much prefer it to beef. It was very juicy and delicious and I can't stress how soft it was. I've never had steak that tender before. The creamy sauce was luscious and silky, really delicious. Lingonberries cut through the creaminess with some sweet tartness. The potatoes were so creamy and the roasted vegetables added nice crunchy and robust, earthy flavors. 10/10 I'm so happy I went back to try it despite the steep price. It was honestly worth it.The portion sizes are all very satisfying too. Thank you for the...

Since there are no reservations for less than 6 people, we were lucky to immediately be seated at a 2 pax table. Few of the other patrons had to wait for a short while. The atmosphere is very nice with local ambiance. Folk songs playing softly adds to the atmosphere. The service was very polite, always with a smile. We had to wait to order a bit because the place was so full but not too long. We ordered raindeer meatballs, steak of the day (sirloin), chocolate cake for desert (the server did me a solid by putting blackberry ice-cream on the cake! Thank you!) and it was all incredibly good. My wife who usually doesn't like stuff on the first try loved everything too, this is high praise indeed! I didn't even specify ow the steak should be cooked (first time trying raindeer, what do I know?) and the chef's choice was a perfect medium rare. The sauces were awesome, even the mashed potatoes were great. A Chianti for the lady and a dark lager for me were the drinks of choice. Prices were as expected, we payed close to 100 eur for the 2 of us. All in all an excellent evening, very highly...

So, let's start with the food - simply tasty. Had fish tapas and reindeer burger, and both were very well executed dishes.

Then the not so fantastic part, even though our waitress was great (thank you, lady with dimples!) -- unfortunately, we had to wait for our food for very long (50-60min), and upon asking about an estimate from another waitress walking past, instead of an apology, estimate, or any sort of care, we got a very condesending remark to the direction of "well, food just takes longer if you order starters".

While I understand that it was a busy evening (Valentine's day), it shouldn't be the customer who suffers for a lack of staff or preparation -- and if it still gets too busy due to unexpected circumstances, a positive, non-confrontational attitude would be all that is needed for everyone to have a...