Restaurant review – Gastrobar Emo

1 11 2013

Gastrobar Emo - reijosfood.com

Gastrobar Emo is easy to step in to enjoy easygoing service and good food. Emo (Dam in english) was opened on the 21st of August 2013 in the same place where Michelin star restaurant Olo used to be. Owners are partly the same which should be a proof of excellent food experience.

There is also separate wine bar which provides opportunity to enjoy an aperitif or glass of wine. With drinks you can order snacks from bar menu. We visited wine bar after dinner, there is narrow corridor between dining room and bar but it also has separate entrance.

Emo Wine bar - reijosfood.comEmo Wine bar menu - reijosfood.com

Quite soon after you arrive you will get some snacks and fresh bread with celery butter which was really tasty. Brown paper bag is one way to serve bread but it would have been easier to take bread from bread basket.

Bread at Emo - reijosfood.com

You can choose your dinner from 3 “starters”, 4 “main courses” and 3 “desserts” up to assemblage of 6 foods. Our group decided to go for 3 courses and ordered first 2x FINNISH VENDACE’s and 2x WILD DUCK WITH RED CABBAGE AND APPLE.

Name Finnish vendaces might be misleading; we got Finnish fish but the way it was prepared was actually better than traditionally fried vendaces. Frying in oil instead of frying in a pan with butter made vendaces more crispy but not so greasy. On top of that side dishes were a perfect match.

Vendaces at Emo - reijosfood.com

Next courses were 3x GREENLAND HALIBUT WITH POTATOES “GOBBAS GÅRD” and 1x WILD DUCK WITH RED CABBAGE AND APPLE.

Halibut was bull’s eye. Cooked to a turn and two different ways to serve potato complemented fish nicely.

If you take wild duck for starter it is served on stone plate, which is clever idea to convert “main course” to “starte”r. There was three different ways to serve duck and again duck paired perfectly with cabbage and apple.

Halibut at Emo - reijosfood.comWild duck at Emo - reijosfood.com

And for dessert 3x EUROPEAN CHEESE SORTIMENT and for me second main course 1x GREENLAND HALIBUT WITH POTATOES “GOBBAS GÅRD”

There were 3 different cheeses on the plate: blue cheese, cow and goat cheese. Apple and onion conserves supplemented taste of cheeses nicely.

Cheese plate at Emo - reijosfood.com

One kind request; please make portions a little bit bigger 🙂 Or maybe intention is to eat at least 5 portions which hopefully are not too small. Otherwise Emo manages food part fine and earns a place as laid-back little brother of Olo.

We asked recommendation for dry riesling and waitress suggested MAX FERDINAND RICHTER MülHEIMER SONNENLAY RIESLING ZEPPELIN 2012 MOSEL from Germany which we ordered. After tasting, as wine seemed not to be dry, asked for the amount of sugar. 35g for “dry” is quite a lot, but wine itself was basically OK. A positive thing is the pricing of wines; most of them were less expensive than they usually are in a fine dining restaurants like Emo is.

Waitering was thoughtful and professional but we could have managed without overflowing twitter.

REVIEW: FOOD 4,5/5 – SERVICE 4+/5 – OVERALL GRADE 4,5/5

http://emo-ravintola.fi/en/





Wine tasting without advance booking

8 08 2013

Wines and iPAD - reijosfood.com

What a great wine tasting experience and without booking in advance! And odd dialog in the background while tasting wines.

Boutique hotel Yöpuu & Restaurant Pöllöwaari are located in Jyväskylä and provide quite unique hotel-restaurant combination. All 26 hotel rooms are individual and every room is decorated with its own personal style. Names of the rooms tell about style; like Marimekko, Aalto, Hemingway and Jugend.

Visited Winebar which offers a possibility to have a wine tasting with an iPad and without reservation. The tasting begins from tasting technique and continues to characteristics of wine. The price of the tasting is 20 € per person and it includes 8 cl of 3 different wines. However, machine did not beat the waiter as he professionally described wineyards, grapes and tasted 3 red and 3 white wines. And I think 8 cl per wine was just an rough guidance 🙂

Pöllöwaari Winebar

Tasting started from lighter wines and ended up to full-bodied wines.

Winebar - reijosfood.com

White wines tasted:

Roero Arneis from Matteo Correggia – grape Arneis (Italy). Unknown grape for us but definately has more bouquet than Pinot Grigio’s. (4-/5)

Te Muna Road wineyard Savignon Blanc 2011 from Craggy Range – grape Savignon Blanc (New Zealand). Typical aroma of grape but did not taste too much for black currant leaves. (3+/5)

2011 Estate Chardonnay from Ridge wineyards – grape Chardonnay (USA). Typical aroma of grape and some butter in flavor. (3,5/5)

Red wines tasted:

Pinot Noir from Becker Family – grape Pinot Noir (German). Stronger and darker than typical grape. (4+/5)

Baron Louis 2009 from Chateau de Montfaucon – grapes Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvedre (French). Excellent ensable of grapes, full-bodied aroma and soft taste. (4,5/5)

Ridge 2009 Geyserville from Ridge wineyards – grapes Zinfandel 78%, Carignane 16%, Petite Sirah 4% (USA). Pleasant surprise for Zinfandel but maybe other grapes supplemented well. (5-/5)

My favourite was Ridge 2009 Geyserville as it had enough character. However, as Chateau de Montfaucon has Finnish hostess, would also rank Baron Louis high.

Wines and cheese

You can also order small bites from short menu and we decided to taste SLICE’s OF CHEESE chef’s marmalade, thin crispy bread. Goat cheese, white cheese and swiss gryerere suited well with red wines but for white wines of course not perfectly.

Cheese plate

Winebar is quite unique in Finland and especially outside of Helsinki. It is really difficult to find such a place you can drop by without reservation. 20€’s for tasting 3 different wines and getting excellent service is unexpensive. Next time have to dine at restaurant Pöllöwaari because it is also quite famous.

Quite odd happened in the background while we tasted wines. Man dressed in orange clothes (yes, orange jacket and trousers) told to one of the Pöllöwaari waitresses, while interviewing her about the menu’s, that he writes blogs to one afternoon newspaper and intended to write about the restaurant. What did he expect; free meal or drinks in order to write positively? If he really was restaurant critic why tell beforehand about it?

REVIEW: SERVICE 5-/5 – OVERALL GRADE 5-/5

PS. Yöpuu = Perch and Pöllöwaari = Owl grandaddy in English; not so easy to translate

http://www.hotelliyopuu.fi/en/4/2/Winebar





Restaurant reviews: Soup Kitchen and Cheese bistro

22 09 2012

Wanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall) has been opened 1889 and today it hosts about 30 merchants and bistro owners. You can eat sushi, soups and cheeses at small bistros or have a cup of coffee at one of the cafes. You can also buy delicious Finnish “smörrebröds” for instance rye bread with spiced salmon.

Because most of the merchants sell delights or groceries which are not available in ordinary stores, there is even Alko (wine store) at Wanha Kauppahalli.

Decided to have lunch at two of the so called bistros. Both places were almost all the time full of tourists. Actually think that no one was Finnish when we had cheeses at Cheese bistro.

Bouillbaisse at Soppakeittiö (Soup Kitchen)

Soup Kitchen serves three different soups every day. This time alternatives were White bean soup, Goulash sopu and Bouillbaisse soup. Ordered Bouillbaisse soup which included salmon, shrimps, mussels, vegetables and garlic mayonnaise. Soup was extremely tasty and two kinds of bread with basilica oil complemented well ensemble. And price – only 9 euros!

http://www.wanhakauppahalli.com/WanhaKauppahalli_Soppakeittio.html

Cheese plate at Juustobistro (Cheese bistro)

Cheese bistro serves also soup, sandwiches and pastries. You can also order wine and other liquors if you like. After delicious soups walked 5 meters from Soup Kitchen to Cheese bistro, they are side by side at Old Market Hall.

Cheese plate included cheeses from cow, goat and lamb milk. Fourth cheese was blue cheese. Also Tuc biscuits and white bread was served together with cheeses. Price for plate was 7,50€ and with glass of house wine 12€. Cheeses can vary on daily basis which means that you can drop by often.

http://www.wanhakauppahalli.com/WanhaKauppahalli_Juustobistro.html

This time no grades because both places differ so much from “real” restaurants. If you have time to visit Old Market hall, can recommend both. On Saturday at lunch time you may have to wait for free table ot desk.





Restaurant review: Demo

26 08 2012

Restaurant Demo is a 45 -seat Michelin star restaurant that opened its doors January 2003. Demo serves high class food combined with personal and friendly service. Demo is owned by chefs Tommi Tuominen & Teemu Aura. Their goal is to offer a chance to top quality dining, in a relaxed and cozy environment. Means that Demo is casual Michelin star restaurant in Helsinki. Background music includes lounge music, Sade Adu but also more fast tracks. Waitering is also easy-going but professional.

Demo earned it’s first Michelin star in 2007 and has been able to keep it for five years. Restaurant is open only in the evenings from Tuesday to Saturday. On Saturday you can only choose Menu fo the Day of 4, 5 or 6 portions, which you do not know beforehand. You can also order wine pairings instead of bottle or glass of wine chosen by sommelier. Oldest wine served with food was this time from 1989.

Menu started with Greetings from kitchen; salmon and roe which were perfectly complimented with delicious wasabi sauce. One small spoonful, could have eaten at least five of them.

First course consisted of crayfish, fennel and gherkings. Great combination! Crayfish, which is the best tasting shellfish, was soft and juicy. White wine with first course was Savignon Blanc from Spain; rare grape for Spanish vineyards. Savignon Blanc is not the favourite one, prefer usually Riesling, but this time it suited well for the crayfish.

Second course was Forest deer carpaccio with carrots, fennel, parsley and delicious paste. Roe or forest deer was so tender you could have eaten it with a spoon.  White wine served tasted a little bit too much for butter. It was again from Spain; interesting that you can not find any Spanish white wines from wine list.

Third course was Pan fried cod, mussel fregola and lemon grass sauce. Cod was prepared with orthodox way, meat of the fish was cooked to a turn and skin was crispy and delicious. Mussel fregola matched well with fish and cooked like pasta should. This time white wine was Chardonnay from France. Wine aroma and flavour was oaken as Chardonnay’s usually are but not so buttery as it could have been.

Fourth course and first dessert was Cheese selection and house nut bread. Enjoyment started from the left with milder cheeses. When stronger white mold cheese smeteld in the mouth felt like it could not become better. However, when salty and strong blue cheese ended course, earlier evaluation was wrong. Kitchen also had taken into consideration one of our wishes and served sweet Ravioli instead of cheeses. For cheeses wine was sweet vintage red which tasted almost port wine. For ravioli wine was sweet white wine.

Bread seemed to be one of Demo’s specialities. House nut bread with cheeses was excellent but focaccia and bread with fennel were super excellent!

Fifth course and second dessert was Arctic cloudberries with yogurt and popcorn. Popcorn was pleasant surprise and the whole portion scrumptious. White wine served was sweet and it was perfect match with dessert which was not too sweet.

With coffee and tea kitchen served small confections which were luscious. After eating two pieces already thought that third might be too much.

One interesting detail was that you can find small pictures of owners/chefs on the restroom wall’s.

Restaurant Demo deserves Michelin star because of excellent food experience. One change in selection of wines for food; grade for food experience would have been 5.

Restaurant became almost full in the evening which meant that service became a little bit slower. Started dinner quite early when there was only few people seated. Got greeting from kitchen and two first courses quite quickly which meant that had 3 wine classes simultaneously at the table. Would have hoped a little bit more balanced timing for waitering, but staff explained well the contents of portions and what wine was served with each dish.

REVIEW: FOOD 5-/5 – SERVICE 4+/5 – OVERALL GRADE 4,5/5

http://www.restaurantdemo.fi/demo_en

https://reijosfood.com/2012/03/14/michelin-star-restaurants-in-finland-2012/

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurant/Helsingfors_Helsinki-00120-Demo-119682-41102





Restaurant Review: Kielo

3 06 2012

Restaurant Kielo is located in Joensuu in the North Karelia. It has one of the most sophisticated kitchens in the area. Name comes from flower, lily-of-the-valley, which happens to be national flower of Finland. Kielo serves Finnish and local dishes and uses ingredients which are purchased from local producers. In the summer diners can also eat at the terrace.

A la carte list is short but offers enough alternatives for tasting delicious Finnish food. Wine list could be more versatile; wish to add Riesling as one of the crapes.

After graduation party it was time to dine.

Started dinner with Green salad (starters were a little bit difficult for allergic guest), Smoked fish mousse and potato salad (maybe more clear taste of potato would have made the starter perfect, Starters of the house5 small starters from North Karelian flavours (reindeer, chicken rillette, smoked salmon mousse, beef rillette and pate) and Asparagus with sauce Maltese. All starters were good, but especially Starters of the house were masterpieces. Tender reindeer and pate were best part of it.

For main courses ordered Pan fried perch with false morrel sauce, Fillet of deer with beef rillette (Roe) and Vegetables of the house. Fresh fish was this time Pike Perch as Perch has finished. Fish was fried with experience. Ordered one portion without morel sauce which actually is well suited for Finnish fishes. Roe was so soft that one could have been able to eat it with spoon. Beef rillette was also tasty but maybe a little bit too much salty.

For dessert had Finnish cheeses (Aura Gold blue cheese, 4 and 6 months ripened Finnish cheeses), Sorbet of the house with berries and Cow´s first milk pudding with rhubarb and ginger flavoured ice-cream. Would have prefered one older and stronger cheese, but port wine smoothed over flavors; as always. Sorbet and ice-cream are always delicious as they were also this time.

Kielo is genuine Finnish restaurant serving well prepared Finnish food. In warm summer day one should always choose to dine at the terrace.

REVIEW: FOOD 4-/5 – SERVICE 4-/5 – OVERALL GRADE 3,5/5

http://www.ravintolakielo.fi/





Restaurant Review: Messina (Spain)

29 05 2012

Restaurant Messina is ranked 2nd by TripAdvisor customer reviews in Marbella. Messina is quite small with about 30 seats. Made reservation 2 weeks ahead and restaurant called to reconfirm it same day as we dined. All seats were occupied by diners by 9PM, so obviously restaurant is very popular place.

Decor is modern, background music played was soft lounge e.g. like from Hotel Costes albums. Waitering was professional and polite, contents of each portion were described in detail.

Greetings from the kitchen were generous. Smoked Bressaola, Serrano and other stuff in stone “cup”; aroma of smoke was strong when waitress raised cover. Parsley with cheese in sticks with some additional ingredients and “ice cream” in glass cube were brilliant performance by the kitchen.

For starters we ordered Ingredientes de sushi y espuma de arroz – Sushi “de-fusion” with a rice foam and Cecina de Salmon – smoked dried salmon with tomatoes and olive powder. When sushi was brought, thick gray steam raised from small grid after waitress poured ginger liquid on it, amazing! And when soft tuna fish was dipped in rice foam, wasabi and ginger liquid, combination was marvelous. Salmon with add on’s was also enjoyable.

For main courses chose Salmonete con meloso de quinoa – Red mullet with sweet quinoa, shimps and octopus and Corvina de conil – Sea bass/Crocker. Both fishes were properly cooked and accompaniments suited well for them. Octopus under red mullet was crispy and asparagus under Crocker enough crisp also.

For wine we chose Radix rose wine. Almost red but still rose with strong bouquet and flavor. Good choice for wide taste of the world during dinner.

Dessert was Queso y vino – Cheese and wine. Four different types of cheese with 4cl glass of Pedro Ximenez sherry. Cheese and port or sherry are always unbeatable combination; with these cheeses sherry was bulls eye.

Restaurant Messina provides culinaristic and artistic dinner experience one should try if visiting Marbella.

REVIEW: FOOD 4,5/5 – SERVICE 4,5/5 – OVERALL GRADE 4,5/5

http://www.restaurantemessina.com/ (Messina website is not up to date when it comes to a la carte list)

http://www.paresbalta.com/default2.asp








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