Sea Horse

Cabbage rolls and meat balls were both great. Very «home cooking» like. Great service and food nicely presented. Everything was fresh, hot, and tasty. Classic Finnish dishes. Prices very reasonable. Definitely would return.

After an early evening stroll in Helsinki with my new travel companions, we came to this place after hearing about how popular it was.
I got the Creamy Salmon Soup as my appetizer. The soup definitely had a nice creamy taste, and it was almost like eating Clam Chowder, but with generous chunks of salmon. The salmon portions were excellent. As for my main dish, I got the Steaks of Baltic Herrings, because I knew that herring is a popular fish eaten in Finland. I thought it was good, liked the crispiness of the fish on the outside. It came with mashed potatoes and beetroot. The beetroot was a pretty good complement to the mashed potatoes. As for dessert we shared some Finnish Pancakes with Strawberry Jam and Vanilla Ice Cream. The pancakes were also good, but with some cool ice cream, it tasted a lot better and had a nice sweetness. This dessert is a great choice if you think your stomach is not full enough.
The service here was not bad, but we were too preoccupied talking about a lot of interesting things over the table that I didn’t notice anything strange about the service. Expect to pay about € 30+ for dinner, but you will get your stomach really full if you come here very hungry.
Overall, if you are looking for a great dinner in Helsinki, this place is a great choice. I had a really full stomach after my dinner, and it was definitely one of the most enjoyable and tastiest group dinners I had in Europe so far.

Great local place. It’s definitely a family place were you go more to have a very local experience than something touristic, I think we were probably the only foreigners in the room this evening. The place in itself isn’t really decorated but nice enough.
The food was great, I had the fried ham with potatoes and my dad had the fried herrings. He really loved his food, I liked it a lot too I would just have preferred it with a little (or a lot but that may come from the ham) less salt. The portion were huge !
The price are reasonable compared to most of the places in town.

A classic Helsinki establishment with reasonably good food.

Une institution à Helsinki depuis 1934. Il faut goûter au vorschmack (Parmentier d’agneau épicé accompagnée de pomme de terre duchesse, betteraves et cornichons russes) qui pour la petite histoire était le plat favori du maréchal Mannerheim. Le taytetty silakkapihvi (hareng fourré au fromage et à l’oignon) est également très goûteux. Le seul petit bémol la salle est un peu bruyante pour un restaurant de ce standing. Le service est agréable et le rapport qualité prix correct

First things first, their food is awesome. I had reindeer and cabbage rolls, and what actually surprised me the most was the quantity. Food actually got sent back, that *never* happens with me (modesty aside).
One thing I didn’t really get was the red lights on the windows, which just looked a bit tacky for such a good place.

wanting to try some «traditional» finnish food, we decided to have dinner here on a sunday night after reading other Unilocal reviews. very glad we ate here — the service and food were both delightful.
what we tried:
— creamy salmon soup: a lightly creamy broth with very tender salmon with a lot of dill. this was my favorite soup of the night — perfectly light and flavorful.
— wild mushroom soup: this broth is more thick and creamy than the salmon soup — also very good.
— creamy vegetable soup: this was a mix of squash/​tomato soup with some bread. pretty good but i liked the other soups better.
— cabbage rolls: basically a meatball wrapped in cabbage with some mashed potatoes and beet sauce. a bit on the sweet side because of the sauce, but the rolls were ok.
— traditional finnish meatballs: served with gravy, mashed potatoes and beets. these were fabulous — would order again.
— beef steak a la seahorse: nothing special. steak was well cooked, but you could probably find steak like this anywhere. we ordered this because they were out of the reindeer.
— pike-​perch a la mannerheim: this fish was fried perfectly! so flaky and lightly breaded. would order this again.
— finnish pancakes: served with jam and a huge dollop of whipped cream and ice cream. a great dessert to end our meal but not a must-​try.
portions here are large and prices seemed a bit higher, but you get your money’s worth. the restaurant itself has an older more traditional atmosphere. we had read reviews about how it cost money to check your coat at the door so we tried to keep our coats with us, but they made us check our coats anyways! all-​in-​all a satisfying meal on our last night in helsinki.

We were looking for a meal near our hotel on a Sunday night when lots of places were closed. Seahorse had great food for slightly higher than reasonable prices. We had the mushroom soup, green salad, and reindeer. The soup and reindeer were wonderful — highly tasty and satisfying. The green salad was a bit tired, with not quite ripe tomatoes and a fair amount of iceberg lettuce. The reindeer was served with a dish of mashed potatoes, which were also good, except for the raw onions inside that lent a crisp and biting feel. We ended up picking out the onions before each bite. Service was incredibly friendly, except the coat check guy.
It turns out that it costs 2 euros for the coat check. We didn’t realize this until we went to retrieve our jackets. When you enter the restaurant, there are a bunch of coatracks and a guy helping you put yours up. I think if we had realized it was a 2 euro charge we would have kept them with us.

Great Finnish food with a touch of upper class grace.

Came here with a conference group and appreciated the authentic Finnish ambience and food. But overall was not that impressed by the meal. Had the vorschmack to start, which was a good hearty dish, and then the crispy fried herring. I normally like herring, but this ended up with much of the herring flavor gone from frying process (I’m guessing). Plus there were far too many herrings on the plate – 12 or so. Nothing awful, but not particularly memorable either. Probably works better for the Finnish cultural aspect.

Pink light in the windows, curtains closed. Came here because Juuri did not have any place. When I came in I thought the place could use a redecoration, a group of Chinese tourists came in as well and there I was, thought to be trapped in a tourist trap. That was not true… real authentic Finnish food, had the beefsteak with pickels, crème freche and Fried onions. Really good! And the veggies and potatoes on the side are to die for. So get past the looks and try the food. You will love it!

Oh my God this place was a sooooooo good. I will go back to this place if I’m ever in Helsinki. Truly authentic food, great and friendly waitress too. I had the meatballs and my wife had the stuffed cabbage. The little berries with carmel sauce for desert was totally out of the ordinary but a nice change.
The atmosphere was good and the place smelled awesome! Go there!

While making our first visit to Helsinki decided to make our first dinner traditional Finnish food & landed here at Sea Horse. Restaurant was very easy to find & well marked from the outside.
We were immediately greeted by the coat check gentlemen who was very friendly & helpful & well worth the 2 Euros we gave him when retrieving our coats after a wonderful meal.
The waitress who served us continued the warm & friendly service & we enjoyed practicing our very, very basic Finnish hello & thank you’s with her.
Now for the food the bread they put out was good & the fresh pitcher of water on the table was nice. My wife started with the wild mushroom soup & it was delicious, would definitely recommend. For the main course she ordered the stuffed cabbage which was completely different then what we both had seen before. Light on the rice in the stuffing, more meat & covered with a thick brown gravy, overall just fair, in other words try something else. I was torn between the fried perch & steak ala Sea Horse & went with the steak. Very good as it was a steak smothered in fried onions & again a rich brown gravy. Also it came with sautéed vegetables which were OK & home fried potatoes that were really good. For dessert we shared the Finnish pancakes with strawberry jam & ice cream that we both very much enjoyed. Overall not a great meal but a wonderful experience & glad we came!

Sea Horse has a special place in my heart. And not just because I have always wanted one of my very own. This is the place I «met the family» on my first visit to Helsinki with my boyfriend and I suspect it is a huge part of why I fell in love with this city:
Sea Horse is classic Finnish through and through: delicious simple food (try the fish or the steak), very friendly and efficient service, and a warm, old school vibe. Prices are really reasonable for Helsinki and the wine selection was good– and much needed for such an occasion.
Such a sweet façade outside, and such a charming and family-​like atmosphere inside. An instant classic and an instant favorite for this girl, who is far too used to modern and overly-​done eateries of SF, NY, and LA in the US.

We were in town for a conference and hoping to enjoy some more traditional Finnish food. A local who was helping to coordinate the conference brought us here — a big group of us. We had a great service and the food was delicious!
I have a mushroom allergy, so they were kind enough to give me a different sauce with the salmon — the portion was huge (too big for me!!) and it was absolutely delicious. Others had herring steak, fried herring, and lord knows what else.
The décor is rather kitschy with paintings of, well, seahorses, on the wall and one of the smallest women’s bathroom I have ever been in in my life (and I’m a tiny person).
I’d happily bring friends and colleagues here in the future. A great choice to experience Finnish food in a not so cheesy (hokey) environment.

Sea Horse is a strange place. With a colourful history. For one, the name of the place comes from when visiting sailors would come here for hearty fare with humongous portions, and cheap alcohol. It hasn’t changed that much since; for that reason, it has become legendary.
For various reasons it’s also super popular with Japanese tourists.
We’re a long way away from the days of the rowdy sailors, but on weekends especially it still gets a little rambunctious.
The food is hearty, and very, very Finnish. It’s the sort of place you need to go to with a Finnish friend, who will order for you and tell you exactly what they specialize in.
I had the pytti pannu, a sort of Finnish hash — traditionally made out of whatever you’ve got leftover in the fridge. Over here, it’s a standard hash of potatoes, bacon, and a whole egg. Break the egg into the mash, and you’ve got an awesome hangover food.
The warm sandwiches are good too. There’s a lot to drink, a lot to eat, but you have to order the right things. If you’re not sure, just ask the waiters, who are pretty friendly for such a traditionally Finnish place (that is usually grumpier).
Bookings are necessary on Fridays and weekends. Coat service is 2 EUR, and they don’t really tell you that but there’s a tiny sign, so coat-​veat emptor?

There’s only one potato preparation I cannot abide by and that’s undercooked. Sadly, the vegetarian cabbage rolls I had last week at Sea Horse were gummy and included half-​raw potatoes. I quite like cabbage rolls but this rendition did not work.
My dining companion had the meatballs and pronounced them «flavorless.»
The bright spot was the mushroom soup. Almost sinfully creamy, I was glad to have had it to fill me up before I tucked into the cabbage rolls.
Sea Horse came highly recommended but in my experience did not live up to the hype.

Das Sea Horse ist klasse, vor allem, wenn man wegen der Preise in finnischen Restaurants unglücklich ist. Und wenn man, wie ich, in einer Stadt lebt, in der gute Wirtshausküche so gut wie ausgestorben ist! Feiste Fleischportionen mit ordentlich Bratkartoffeln, gebratenen Zwiebeln und Butter im Pü, dabei aber absolut schmackhaft und nicht ohne Niveau zubereitet, sehr lecker und vergleichsweise günstig (Fleischbällchen in Brauner Sauce mit Pü kosten 13 Euro). Erst erschrickt man über die Größe der Portion, dann darüber, dass man sie einfach so verdrückt hat!
Aber die gute Küche ist nur die eine Sache natürlich wäre das Lokal nicht halb so beliebt, wäre da nicht die Atmosphäre dieses hafenrestaurantartigen Speisesaals, der bereits 1934 eröffnet worden ist, die irgendwie sozialistisch anmutenden Seepferdchen an den Wänden, die rustikale Möblierung, die Kojen, in denen auch mal Gläser zu Bruch gehen Aki Kaurismäki würde sich hier wohlfühlen!
Der Oberstyler Tyler Brulé hat das Lokal in die Top Ten seiner weltweiten Lieblingsrestaurants aufgenommen, sicher nicht nur wegen des Essens, aber egal, was der sagt: Klare Empfehlung!

Wir waren im Juni 2011 im SeaHorse und mussten leider ca. 1 Std warten, bis wir einen Tisch bekamen (wir hatten nicht reserviert). Das warten hat sich gelohnt. Zwar gab es keinen Lachs mehr, auf den wir uns gefreut hatten, aber die Alternativen haben uns auch überzeugt. Wir hatten gegrilltes Hähnchen und den gebratenen Hering mit Stampfkartoffeln und Rote Beete für 13, — EUR. Der Hering war echt die Wucht und die Portion auch mehr als ausreichend. Dazu wurde der Hauswein serviert — ein Sizilianer aus ökologischem Anbau. Mit 30, — EUR für 0,7l nicht günstig, aber für finnische Verhältnisse auch nicht überteuert.
Die Bedienung war sehr freundlich, auch wenn wir erst gegen 22 Uhr kamen und hat zum gelingen des Abends durch die Menü-​Empfehlung beigetragen. Um ca. 23.30 ging dann irgendwann kurz das Licht aus und uns fiel auf, dass nur noch 2 Tische im Restaurant besetzt waren. Um das Personal nicht länger zu fordern haben wir dann schnell die Rechnung beglichen und uns zu Fuß zum Meer begeben und sind langsam in Richtung Hafen gelaufen. Die Sonnne war zwar schon unter gegangen, aber es war noch sehr hell und warm…

This one of the most oldest restaurants in Helsinki.
You can serve here very good Finnish food. I had schnitzel :)

Das Sea Horse liegt direkt gegenüber dem KOM Theater und sieht innen wie eine nostalgische alte Seemannskneipe aus. Serviert werden günstige Gerichte in großen Portionen. Für zwischendurch kann man hier gut auf einen Salat oder ein Sandwich rein. Für ein Abendessen sollte man unbedingt reservieren.