Ravintola Carelia

One of our all-time favorites. Keeps on delivering through years with food, service and atmosphere. Great after opera or theater as well!

I was told by the woman in charge I can’t have scarf/hijab on because it’s inappropriate! As a Muslim person that was the most offensive thing I have ever heard she was so triggered by the appearance of a peace of clothing I can’t believe this is still happening in Helsinki. She haven’t even acknowledged or apologized by her appalling behavior and actions.

Located on the corner of a busy tram line intersection crisscrossed by [Linja 1, 2, 4, 8, 10) the restaurant offers diners a nice menu that can be paired with select wines per course. Intimate and ambient for couples and group meetings between work colleagues or professionals, friends or family. The admixture of vegetarian entrees to more classic non-vegetarian standards are exceedingly rarified. The seafood and fish courses are also seaworthy of tasting, in a Finnish style of ‘haute cuisine’ modern eclecticism. Highly recommended for nearby hotel guests and international visitors alike.

My spouse offered me a dinner before opera and we were supposed to have romantic seat in the restaurant. Tables are very close to each other so you can forget romantic here. Anyway food was good, but maybe a bit too complicated. Simple is better sometimes. Table was way too small and low for my husband who is tall and after one hour sitting he was having a serious problem to keep his legs comfortably. This is the reason why we can't visit here anymore even the staff was super nice and lovely and location was good :)

Quality ingredients but not over average taste. Medium steak was extremely burnt on the surface which dominated the whole taste of meat. Fries as the side of burger were too dry and not in the good way. Dessert was the best part of menu plus helpful staff and cozy vibe.

It's a nice restaurant with good food. The old flair is quite comfortable. Staff was nice but partially a bit slow. Could have sold more drinks by showing up more frequently. Had to wait 40 minutes till dessert gets served. French Fries were a bit too salty.

Bring back the classics. Amazing service, beautiful place, superb wine selection. What can I say, a must in Helsinki. Will repeat for sure!!

Proper size portions, friendly service. Good food. As starter I had the salad, which was great! The entrecote was a nice surprise as well. The table foot is very wide so you cannot get your chair so close to the table as you might wish.

Carelia is one of those places that has been where it is for a long time. It is an old apothecary turned restaurant almost 20 years ago located in my childhood neighborhood of Töölö. A popular venue among opera-goers and athletes as it is located near to the stadium and the Opera of course. I can't believe that this was the first time I visited as it for sure will not be my last. We were invited for dinner by an old friend of mine, who is also the sommelier of the restaurant. She had picked an aperitif for us, a bottle of Pierre Gimonet Oenophile Premiere Cru 2008. I peaked at the menu and noticed another Gimonet (Cuis1) only around 13 euros for a glass, that is a definitely a fair price here in the Nordics. For food (starters) we ordered the beef tartar and asparagus with Hollandaise accompanied by some semi-sweet Riesling. Both dishes were very good, but I must say the asparagus was perfect, a simple dish with no compromises. For mains we had the classic entrecote with Bernaise, fries and salad, and some tasty small chicken (why is it that the smallest are always the tastiest?). The meat was wonderful and made exactly like we ordered, medium rare (almost mooing). To accompany the mains the sommelier selected a nice Pinot Noir from Chambolle-Musigny. For dessert we shared a platter of cheese, the rhubarb sorbet with almond and rosemary sauce and the Tarte tatin. After the dinner things started getting "out of hand". I am not talking drunken wild, just that we ordered a great many wines for tasting (we ordered one glass of each and split them by four people). The staff were very friendly and understanding of our extensive wine tasting needs, so they arranged several glasses for everyone ans stayed to chat about the wine. We tried several Rieslings from Auslese and a Muscat de Rivesaltes Grand Guilhem. The Rieslings were served from beautiful Magnum bottles and tasted fresh and fruity. The Muscat was interesting with light notes of port wine but a very low alcohol content. A nice dessert wine. To end the evening, we moved to the bar (to get out of the way from hungry opera goers) and ordered another bottle of bubbly: Blanc de Blancs (2007) from Lilbert & Fills (awesome!). All in all Carelia is a beautiful restaurant. The wine list is awesome with closer to 30 different champagnes and prices are not a rip-off. Of course champagne is always quite pricey, but Carelia has clearly positioned its self as a place for wine-lovers, and most wine-geeks will stay home and drink from their own cellar if the restaurant aims to rob you blind. I must say I had similar feelings or reasonable pricing at Sinne Helsinki, so it seems like the Helsinki wine-scene is really starting to get on its feet. The food is nothing innovative (it does not aim to be), but it is classical dishes made extremely well. My salute to the kitchen! Last but not least, the sommelier at the place is really something, so if you visit, I recommend leaving your wine-adventure into her capable hands.

This is a nice brasserie that was near our hotel on Mannerheimintie. I went here once for dinner, once for coffee, and it strikes me as a safe, reliable option--nothing will necessarily blow you away, but everything is good, and nothing will let you down either. The service is very good, and the atmosphere is pleasant. They've preserved some of the original decor from the original pharmacy that existed in the space since the 1920s, but the feel of the place is modern. (There is an actual Carelia drugstore around the corner on Runeberginkatu). We had the fish, the veal, and the steak frites, all of which were good. The only thing I'd say is that there are not a lot of options for vegetarians, but for a single meal, most people will still find a good choice. (Also, I didn't ask about it, so it's possible the chef would prepare an off-menu vegetarian option). They also had a nice sourdough bread, and I had an apple sorbet that tasted exactly like an apple. A little bit on the pricier side, but I think worth it if you are looking for a good meal in the area.

The scallop appetizer was very good and served in a pleasing shell dish. I had the beef steak with potatoes because I was too chicken to try the reindeer. The meat was tender but slightly over cooked. The potatoes were disappointing with heavy salt and grease. The staff were wonderful and spoke very good English.