Havis

Monday afternoon lunch. We were the only people in the restaurant.
For starters, my wife had the Salmon confit and I had the Celery Soup with pear and veal sweet bread.
The salmon was nice, garnished with toasted carrot slices and pickled carrot. The salmon melted in your mouth, but had little «salmon flavor.»
The soup was velvety smooth and sweet, yet savory.
A nice starter on a chilly autumn day.
My wife’s entrée was roasted scallops and Jerusalem artichoke and roe. The scallops were nice, the rest of the dish felt empty to me.
My entrée was the roasted salmon with prawns and dill barley. The salmon was nice in my main course, as well. The dill barley would have been a nice compliment, but it was over-​salted. Way too much salt unfortunately. It tore the dish apart.
The ambiance is great. The presentation of the dishes was wonderful. They just need to tweak the dishes to make them equally as wonderful.
I also had a local organic beer. At 8.60 € for a bottle, it was over-​priced.
Service started off great and then we were basically left alone. I had to get up and pour myself more water. Something I normally would not have done, but we were the only ones there.
All and all, a nice lunch, but not a five star lunch.

On our last night in Helsinki, we wandered around trying to find somewhere great for dinner. And where did we end up? Right back at our hotel. The place we had been breakfasting the past few days turned out to be a fabulous dinner venue as well. We sat on the terrace, which affords fresh air but is sheltered from the elements. We feasted on fresh fish and soups; everything was perfectly seasoned and beautifully presented, and the service was impeccable.

On this cold night I decide to stay close to my hotel. I am not expecting much, but as I glimpse through the windows it looks warm and inviting. The hostess kindly seats me. The décor is clean and elegant, yet homely.
I begin with a traditional fish soup – perfect size bites of salmon, pearl potatoes, and Finnish roe. Exquisite flavor beyond expectations.
For the main I select the goose in a port wine reduction, accompanied by vegetables with names unfamiliar to me. The goose comes in two cuts: breast meat, sliced conventionally, and dark meat, pulled and pressed into a neat box, topped with panko crust. The combination of flavors is surprising, and the balance reminds me of… Christmas? So delightful and interesting!
The use of only the freshest ingredients prepared simply but with an underlying creativity reminds me of a meal I had at Alain Ducasse long ago. Indeed, Havis offers the best meal in recent memory, worthy of a Michelin star.

One of the best meals I’ve ever had. We ordered the Helsinki menu (sourced with all Finnish ingredients) and it was delicious. It’s a little pricey, but definitely worth the expense. They serve an elevated and modern version of Scandinavian cuisine. The service was excellent. The only odd thing was that the place was almost empty on a Friday night. I would think that this place would be packed every night.

Highly recommended!!! Greetings from the USA!!! Delicious meal with excellent service!!!

This is a fantastic restaurant. First of all, it is beautiful. The main room facing the harbor has arched ceilings covered by nautical stenciled frescoes of sailing ships. The green wood doors and decorative panels add real warmth to the room, and tables are spaced very graciously. It is a quiet room without feeling desolate, and the restaurant plays uptempo music at a non-​invasive decibel level to keep things lively.
And, oh, the food. I dined there in September 2012 and ordered the four-​course freshwater fish menu. Before the menu items arrived, the kitchen sent a small glass jar filled with a spoonful of smoked trout mousse that was simply outstanding and left me wanting more. The first course was pieces of freshwater perch with Finnish potatoes and pike roe. It was presented beautifully and had had big, fresh, delicious flavor.
Next up was marinated vendace from Kuusamo with vendace roe. These little silver beauties were so fresh, and again, had so much flavor. It was also beautifully presented. The main course, which to my dismay took quite a while to appear (but was worth the wait), was grilled freshwater pike-​perch with beetroot risotto and false morel. You guessed it, beautiful and delicious. Who would have thought that a beetroot risotto would be so fantastic?
Dessert was off the charts good. it consisted of goat’s milk panna cotta with cloudberries and sea buckthorn sorbet. I have had panna cotta before made from cow’s milk and frankly am not a big fan thereof. But this goat’s milk one is an entirely different story. So good! I had never had cloudberries or sea buckthorn, either, and was blown away by how flavorful these fruits are (and that color is magnificent). A very successful dessert and menu all in all. Even the coffee was delicious.
I posted pictures of all four courses on this site.
Service was warm, gracious and very competent, and the servers know and appreciate both the menu and how talented the kitchen staff at Havis are.
Did I have any quibbles? Maybe one or two minor ones. The aforementioned 30-​minute wait between the second and main courses was almost unforgivably long. My server did not charge me for the coffee as an apology, and I think that’s great. I was charged 9.20 euros for a liter of still water, which I think was excessive, and the glass of wine I ordered originally at 10 euros was no longer in stock, so they offered me a glass by the same vintner when I assumed it would be at the same price but it was 16 euros. Maybe I should have asked, maybe I should have complained, but they should have told me.
Normally, these quibbles might cost a star rating, but the restaurant is so good that I chose to keep it at five in any event. I would go back in a heartbeat to eat more of their wonderful food!