Pork & More

On my fourth annual trip to the frozen north, my friends welcomed me back to the land of darkness and despair by taking me out to eat some meat. After flying in from an awful 10-​hour layover, eating ridiculous amounts of meat sounded like the best thing I could possibly do in Finland.
They had a decent selection of cocktails — surprisingly a good number of them were gin-​based (yay!). Some of them were served in mason jars — a little too hipster kitsch, but I’ll let it pass because they were excellently made.
The reason why this review doesn’t have five stars is because the burgers were a bit one-​dimensional and underwhelming. Sure, they tasted good and were okay, but it was missing that «spectacular» element that made it memorable. On top of that, they were considerably more expensive than what I’m used to back home. Some people were eating them daintily with forks and knives — my friends assured me that they were snooty Swedes.
Two things I do have to mention that were worth mentioning that made this dinner great — the dessert and our server. Our server Natalie went above and beyond to make sure my friends and I had a great time — patiently going over the menu with us in both Finnish and English, answering my endless questions (I’m a picky eater), and suggesting some great cocktails. In a country full of socially awkward Finns, Natalie really did stand out. And that dessert — I’d give my left tit to have that caramel apple trifle thing again. By the time dessert came out, I was pretty drunk so I probably did tell Natalie that it was worth my left tit.

Pork & More is a place for the meat and BBQ enthusiast. Perhaps also for the hipster keen on enjoying great beers, stylish décor and a fun menu that’s different from all the other places in Tampere.
The first three times I visited, they didn’t have any main course that wasn’t red meat so I had to make up my order consisting of a couple appetizers and side dishes. Luckily they have some nice things in appetizers like chicken wings with a really tasty BBQ sauce. And they have big fries with cheese and a version with chili. I kept coming back to the restaurant mostly because my friends loved it (and the beer selection) but I didn’t mind as the atmosphere was always nice.
The most recent time I now visited, they’d added multiple new things on the menu and finally there was a main dish for me too! I ordered fried chicken with a spicy salad, with a side of corn bread and fries, and liked it. The fried chicken was as you’d expect, with a very Southern feel. The salad reminded me of a spicy thai salad I’ve had in Thailand previously. And the cornbread brought back sweet memories from Atlanta, Georgia.
Since they change the menu, I don’t know if they still have chocolate popcorn with a few delightful other tastes on the dessert menu but when they did, I absolutely loved it.
Oh, and my friends loooove the ribs here.
(And they also have a lunch on weekdays but I haven’t been.)