Ravintola Teller, Helsinki, Finland – Guest Reviewer Carol Main

Carol Main

Sometimes, Lady Luck smiles with benevolent surprise. An air industry strike in Finland meant a cancelled flight from Edinburgh to Helsinki, with nothing replacing it that could enable attendance at the conference which was the purpose of the trip. However, heading to Helsinki a day earlier than intended not only meant that business commitments could be met, but was surprisingly easily arranged with a rebooked flight in a no-charge transfer via an extremely helpful Expedia online chat. A free day as a tourist in Helsinki was a delight.  Such an easy, gradient free city to walk around sightseeing, a light wind just right for a boat trip touring its Baltic bay islands, sunny lunch on the quayside with the unmatched Nordic combination of smoked salmon, dill and rye-bread, book-reading with an ice-cream in the shadow of the magnificent white cathedral and, to look forward to all day, dinner alone. Having had to do it many times with work, it’s now something to anticipate with confidence rather than dread being that single woman shuffled away in a corner. With a bit more luck coming into play, foodie friends who had visited Helsinki last year had provided their restaurant – Ravintola – tips, including one they hadn’t made it to.  Nothing like reporting back and letting them know what they’d missed. Even luckier, Ravintola Teller just happened to be a 3-minute walk from the conference hotel.

At first, a shelf type table offered by the window seemed like a great idea, but what was happening inside was way more interesting than monitoring a downtown bus route. No problem, madam, for solo occupancy at a table for two with full 180-degree vista of a restaurant comfortably busy with groups of friends, chatty work colleagues and date night couples.

First things first. All that sea air necessitated a drink. Fizz by the glass was a choice of Pierre Brocard champagne or a Bulgarian Blanc de Blancs.  Why have champagne when there’s something different on offer?* Unfortunately, they didn’t have it. Replacing with a Vino Spumante – Metodo Classico – was the recommended substitute. Long gone, along with the nervousness of eating alone, is the fear of the unknown cost when you can’t see it in black and white. Decent restaurants don’t rip you off and, generally, placing trust in sommeliers results in them giving of their best. The Tuscan Spumante Brut di Fèlsina was a little sharp, but acidity not too overdone and balanced by softer apple flavours. As it turned out, a perfect match for starter of Kampasimpukkaa, omenaa & Vin Jaune with its neat strips of Granny Smith’s best. To be fair, the seared scallops were not as flavoursome as some served in Edinburgh just a couple of weeks previously, but the chefs in the open kitchen just behind my table had the right touch in cooking them. Soft and firm at the same time, with cos lettuce on the top, then blanketed in a frothy sauce mixing French and Finnish as vin jaune kastiketta. As with main course and dessert, the scallops came from the a la carte menu, although there is also a set menu with matched wine pairings, from a glass or two to the full package of four bottles of fine wine coming in at just under 400 euros.  There’s also an alcohol-free pairing, which must surely still be quite unusual. Even though regularly advertised on Helsinki’s ravintola billboards, reindeer did not make an appearance on any of the menus at Restaurant Teller, so that was a testing decision spared. Steak la plancha turned out to be an excellent meaty option. Smothered in what looked like ice crystals but was in fact Leipäjuusto, aka squeaky cheese, strangely the three modestly sized pieces of beef and its accompanying mushroom broth were cold, not really even lukewarm, although this wasn’t actually problematic given their depth of flavour. By the time I thought about asking if this was how it was meant to be, it was more or less consumed. In time honoured steak accompaniment fashion, French fries were ordered and served steaming hot with a pile of freshly grated parmesan and a gently peppered mayonnaise.  While the option to have a larger sized meat serving was possible, the tender entrée portion was enough. Glass of red again came from recommendation of knowledgeable waiting staff member. Cherries, vanilla, nothing unusual, but it was soft and extremely well matched to the food.  Any intention not to have a dessert simply didn’t happen. Pistachio ice cream with pistachio crumb - in a small size – was too irresistible and when it appeared with an unadvertised salted caramel sauce, luck was in yet again.  A mental calculation of the bill was pleasantly wrong – 25% less – and a discussion about service charge and tipping resulted in a modest one being left but very definitely, in line with standard Finnish practice, not requested or required.

Keen students of weather will have worked out that this meal was some months ago. What care we? She's had a busy year, Thanks again, Carol

*There's no accounting for taste - Ed