This evening I had the pleasure of visiting Tilliholvi again; my last visit was four years ago. Jacques Chirac has been very disparaging about Finnish food but in my experience - like in the UK - there are good and bad eateries. In 2006 Tilliholvi was rated the 25th best restaurant in Finland - and while I am not familiar with the best 24  - I do not doubt that it deserves the accolade.

 

The restaurant is in a basement of what used to be the headquarters of the Union Bank of Finland. The restaurant has arched brickwork which gives it a real character, much as I have seen for example in Vienna or Montpellier.

 

It was also the scene of Finland's largest embezzlement as described above. With my youngest son having a similar name I'd better check my piggy bank when I get home!

 

Coming into the restaurant with its neatly laid tables with lovely large wineglasses and black-dressed waitresses you immediately think that this is a posh joint. Having said that it is quite informal - nobody complained when I arrived with my Finnish colleagues wearing jeans and without ties! It is certainly not stuck up in any way.

There are a couple of smaller siderooms which can be booked for groups. Service was consistently friendly.

 

The menu is very simple. As I recalled from previous visits there were two set menus (one vegetarian and one non-vegetarian) and a limited choice on the a la carte menu - four starters, four main courses and four desserts. However what the menu lacked in variety it did not lack in quality.

 

I went for a starter (12€) that was described as "caviar of lavaret, lavaret tatare and cold smoked lavaret". I have never heard of "lavaret" and indeed sometimes question translations into English of Nordic fish and fruit in restaurants. The Finnish word was siika and it was a freshwater fish in the salmon family. According to Wikipedia it is a common whitefish which is not found in the UK but is similar to the powan (a protected species found in Loch Lomond and Loch Eck in Scotland). In Nordic countries there are often wonderful combinations of cold fish and distilled spirits (served from the freezer). This was no exception and the option of 3 schnapps to go with the "lavaret" was quite appropriate. The waitress who explained everything meticulously in both Finnish and English said that we should have the Russian vodka with the smoked lavaret (top left), the Danish aquavit with the roe (bottom right) and a Finnish blended concoction with the tatare (top right). This was a great starter!

For the main course my four Finnish colleagues all went for the filet steak - which looked marvellous. However since I have never seen reindeer (29€) on offer at shops at home I could not resist going for the "tourist choice". Like venison, reindeer can be very dry or tough if mishandled but my medium steak was expertly prepared being black on the outside and tender and red on the inside. The steak was accompanied with a good Australian cabernet shiraz (I do not recall the name).

By this time I had eaten enough so did not attempt the dessert menu. Just rounded it off with an espresso and calvados.

I thoroughly recommend Tiiliholvi!