We celebrated our wedding anniversary in early June. It seems incredible to me that I have been traveling with my hubby for over 24 years – where have the years gone.
New hotel by central railway station
I had booked a night for us at a new Hotel next to the central railway station. The hotel, Scandic Grand Central Helsinki opened its door in April 2021. The hotel is in the old headquarters of the Finnish railway company VR. The historic building was designed by Eliel Saarinen and here old-fashioned charm meets modern style in an inspirational way. There are rooms located in the old office building with wide windowsills, paned windows, and thick walls. As well as a newly built wing that is light, bright and spacious, with high ceilings. I had chosen a room in the old part of the building because I love these types of old buildings. The room was a Superior room with a king bed. I loved the details of the old part of the hotel and the room was stylish with a comfortable bed. The location of the hotel is superb, and the service was friendly. The hotel also offered a glass of cava to all guests as an opening gift, which was a nice touch. I appreciated the fact that there was room in the minibar for a couple of extra drinks so you could bring your own and keep them cold. I can recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a centrally located stylish hotel.
Dinner at Finnjävel
For dinner I finally got around to booking at table at Finnjävel. The restaurant started out as a two-year project restaurant in 2016–2018. But luckily it became so popular that it since moved to a new location and is now a permanent restaurant. Finnjävel, literally Finnish devil, is a derogatory name given by Swedes to Finnish immigrants in Sweden during the 1950’s and 1960’s. The restaurant uses Finnish ingredients and Finnish cooking methods from the past: curing, smoking, and fermenting, etc. The idea is to delve into the past to create the future of Finnish cuisine. The restaurant is divided into two dining rooms: Sali & Salonki. Sali offers casual, yet elegant Finnish food. The inspiration is Finnish home cooking and the inventiveness Finns have showed in the past while cooking with the scant resources. Salonki offers refined, relaxed indulgence of fine dining. In addition to outstanding cuisine, wines, and beverages, Salonki provides an enchanting atmosphere. This time I had booked a table in Sali.
Best fish we’ve had in a long time
We kicked off dinner with G&Ts while studying the menu. After some consideration I ordered the Nettle crêpe with lingonberry and hubby selected the Market square pastry with tartar and mustard mayonnaise for starters. We both picked the same main: Smoked trout with wild mushroom sauce and dill potatoes. Since the portion sizes were manageable, we also ended up ordering dessert, White chocolate foam with berries and meringue for hubby and Rhubarb pie with vanilla ice cream for me. The starters were delicious and especially the pastry was an innovative twist on an old fashion Finnish meat pie. The star of the show was definitely the main course – this was the best fish course I’ve had in ages. All flavors complemented each other perfectly and the dish had a great balance of salt, fat, and acidity. The Riesling I picked to accompany the main was also a great choice to go with the fish. The main made me regret it had taken us so long to finally visit this restaurant. The desserts were also nice and not too sweet. All in all an excellent dining experience. We will certainly try out Salonki in the future as well.
Lovely anniversary
We had a lovely anniversary celebration with two new experiences. We are bound to return to both the hotel and the restaurant again. I recommend both to anyone looking for a place to stay or eat in Helsinki.
Next posts will be about our adventures in Finland in mid-July when we will spend a couple of nights in Mathildedal and a few nights in Naantali. Stay tuned.
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