Mami — Restaurant in Turku sub-region

Had dinner today at this place after living in turku for nearly 9 years and I have mixed feelings. Nice wine list although most wines by the glass are between 12-15€ which is slightly on the high side. We took 2 starters and 2 mains and shared a dessert, The bread was super delicious. My starter was the beef carpaccio, which was nice, however the meat had been frozen ( so they can slice it thinly which is normal i guess) bit it was left with the defrosted watery taste. Otherwise it would have been a nice starter. But it wasn't,. The other starter was the fish plate, which was ok . The main course was Hanger steak. Interesting dish as the beef was grilled, then sliced and tossed in the sauce and cooked further . So it was unrecognizable to which temperature the meat was cooked at , but certainly not to medium rare. It was served with some warm veggies and fried potato which was ok, but then topped with some cold tomatoes. ( ....? ) . Sauce was super tasty but overall the dish was kinda average. Other main was the vegan dish which was kinda nice. For dessert we shared the choc cake with cherry sorbet and it was nice too. We also had 2 glasses of wine each. Overall the experience was ok, the food was ok and the service was as good as you would hope. But when you charge high level prices, high level cooking is expected. The bill at the end would have been 180€ which is at the highest end in turku, we had the Amex dinner for 2 offer, which brought the bill down to only 80€, of which i still thought it was too much for the quality of food served. Positive side is that portion sizes are very generous and they have a nice location too by the river. Turku has a very nice dining scene at the moment but charging nearly the same price as a michelin star such as Kaskis but serving below average food, just...

Wow, this place took us by surprise, in a very positive way! We had cauliflower soup with parmesan and tomato bits as a starter and we both agreed it was wonderful! Especially the tomato bits really gave it an unexpected edge. For main course we had chanterelle risotto and wild duck with Brussels sprout. And again, so good! And bigger portions than expected so no fear of leaving hungry. (Had no room for dessert). The blood orange / lemon mocktails were also perfect, we even confronted the waiter to tell us the recipe :⁠-⁠) The restaurant is on the river bank, cozy with big windows. Service was friendly and attentive. Will definitely come here again when in Turku...

Do you remember Monsters Inc.? How they produced energy by tickling children? I’m sure, the cook tickles the food:

The shrimps, the fish, the bouillabaisse’s liquid, the meat, the mashed sweet potato it was laid upon, the vegetables – they all laugh from joy.

I ate each ingredient separately and each made my a mouth full of taste for a long time.

The wines, the waiter recommended, fitted perfectly the taste I wished for.

The other waiter proudly responded: “They do what they do since many years”, when I complimented on the splendidly intense taste. A waiter who is proud of the kitchen’s work...