Brasserie Kämp

It took me almost 3 hrs to finish this dinner and I only ordered a soup (as the starter), a fish (as the main course) and a crime brûlée (as the dessert). When you finish your food on the table, you need to wait for at least 30 mins before the next one comes to you. That’s why I give 3 stars to this lovely restaurant.

I arrived at my hotel in Helsinki around 8am and as my room wasn’t ready killed a couple of hours riding the Hop On Hop Off bus. It still wasn’t ready when I got back around midday so I walked up to the end of the street and had lunch at a very swanky place called Kamp. They were doing a brunch buffet for 39 euros; 45 with a glass of cava which is the option I went for.
The restaurant is located in a gorgeous old building across the road from lovely Esplanadi park. Lots of wood paneling, arched windows, mirrored ceilings and chandeliers flanked by strings of crystal or glass. There were three types of buffet; hot, cold and dessert. I started with a cold plate which included a little shot glass of apple and Ginger purée (reminiscent of gazpacho), cerrano ham, pickled herring with cauliflower, smoked salmon, and a number of other varieties of smoked or cured fish. Absolutely beautiful. So good in fact that I was going to skip the hot choices and have an encore of my original selections.
Luckily I didn’t, as although not as extensive as the cold courses these we’re just as delicious. They were serving a lovely dish of lamb neck in vadouvan butter with a variety of vegetable sides including julienned carrots, green beans and potato omelette with cheese. I don’t recall having had this cut of meat before but it was really tender and tasty, and the sauce rich and flavoursome. Yum. They also had a terrine of creamy soup with chunks of artichokes in it called arkisokkakietta (which I presume is Finnish for artichoke) which was also quite interesting.
Of course there was cheese — a gorgeous Brie de Meaux, a tasty hard cheese and a Danish style blue which was a little too salty for me. And did I mention desserts? There were too many choices for me to try them all, so I limited myself to a little tub of marinated strawberries, coconut and passionfruit pudding and some type of luscious chocolate slice.
Kamp was a really good find; a lovely meal eaten in beautiful surroundings with excellent service. Great start to what I’m hoping will be a great food-​filled holiday!

Good breakfast place. Friendly staff. A good assortment of warm and cold foods. Nice to sit out on the terrace

Great athmosphere and food!

Why should going out always be just about lunch and dinner? How about having a really good tea time instead? And how about having at the best hotel in the city?
Hotel Kämp offers the Afternoon Tea every day in their Brasserie. And it is not just about tea. Here you can lay back and truely endulge. Choose from the selection of outstanding teas and enjoy their fine sweet and salty snacks. The Afternoon Tea includes everything you could hope for for a terrific afternoon after a hecktic work day. And all in the classy athmosphere of the Kämp Hotel.
The Afternoon Tea is served served Monday to Saturday 14.00−18.00 and Sunday 15.00−18.00. The price is 37 € per person. Make sure to reserve in advance.

The most legendary hotel in Finland, Hotel Kämp, has had many restaurants over the years. The hotel that was originally opened in 1887 reopened its doors in 1999.
Before Brasserie Kämp was at this location, the restaurant was called Est 1887 which was an upscale restaurant. Before Est 1887 the restaurant was called Kämp Restaurant which was super upscale and even held a Michelin star in the early 2000s, when at the time the stars were very rare. The original, but very expensive Kämp Restaurant was one of my favourites, but I disliked Est 1887.
Times have changed and at least to me the changes done by the management haven’t been good. The atmosphere at Brasserie Kämp is more casual then it was years ago, but it is still way more tense than it should be. The service is a-​ok, but nowhere close that you get in Michelin rated restaurants.
The restaurant looks very nice and a couple of years ago was expanded. Now there is an all-​year glass enclosed terrace that surrounds the building with about two dozen more seats. No problem there.
Now the big question. Since the restaurant looks good and the service is ok, why are you only giving this place 3 stars? Simply, because of the food.
There is nothing wrong with the food, but when you are paying way over 100eur for lunch for two people, the food should blow your mind. Unfortunately, at Brasserie Kämp it doesn’t. The layout of the dishes are spot on, but there is something in the taste that doesn’t take it to the next level. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good, but it should be way better.
If you are in Helsinki and thinking of going here, I would walk 50 meters to Restaurant Strindberg (there is a restaurant on the 2^nd floor, the 1^st floor is a café). Over there the food is way better, you get a better view, better service and even the prices are a bit less expensive.

Das Café Kämp ist im gleichnamigen Hotel untergebracht, welches gleichzeitig die beste und teuerste Absteige der Stadt ist.
Viel «sehen und gesehen werden», hübsche, reiche Leute. Im Sommer lohnt es sich, im Strassencafé am überteuerten Cola zu nippen und dem bunten Treiben auf der Hauptstrasse zuzuschauen!