Restaurant Gaijin

Restaurant Gaijin in Helsinki is one of those rare places where the food is so transportive, you forget you meant to document it. I had full intentions of snapping pictures of each course—beautiful plating, vibrant colors, you know the drill—but that plan evaporated by bite two. When the food’s this good, your camera can wait. The cuisine is modern Asian with Nordic finesse—Japanese, Korean, and a touch of Chinese, filtered through Helsinki cool. We went with the tasting menu, which I’d strongly recommend. It’s generous in portion and beautifully paced. Every dish felt deliberate but never fussy, with unexpected flavor combinations that worked: smoky and sweet, tangy and umami, spicy but in balance. Think marinated black cod that melts into the chopsticks, beef tartare with just the right amount of fire, and dumplings you want to live inside. There was a bit of a communication hiccup involving sake. We ordered one carafe, two appeared. At first, we thought, “How generous!” and then realized it was an error. But the staff handled it gracefully, crediting the second with a quiet smile and zero fuss. The space is moody and chic, with a sleek palette and soft lighting that makes every table feel intimate. It’s stylish without being sterile, and the service, while brisk, was polished and professional. In short: go hungry, order the tasting menu, and leave your phone in your pocket. Gaijin isn’t a place to perform your dinner—it’s a place to devour it.

The best food and service in 2025…!!! So lovely staff and so tastefull. Would recommend to everyone who come to Helsinki

We visited Gaijin as part of a credit card dining offer. We arrived on a Sunday at 15:00, just when they opened. It took about 20 min to get the menu and another 20 min to get the drinks. The starter arrived at 16:15. Starters were ok but nothing particularly special. The mains were tasty, especially the ribs. However, the amount of lettuce felt a bit too little for the dish. We had to cancel a drink that hadn't arrived by the time that we had finished the food, and the cherry on the cake was a hair in the food. Restaurant was not exactly busy, and there was sufficient staff. Yet, service was very lacking, and it ruined the experience and fond memories that we had of the place. Overall, the food was good but not worth waiting an hour for, and the flavour was not enough to compensate getting the dish cold. Probably not going back.

This is a very progressive Asian fusion outlet so Asian food purists have to beware. It’s either a love or hate relationship. For me, it’s love. I think the team is very brave in its renditions of many Asian classics. Like the pork buns, lamb neck kimchi stew and grilled galbi with ssam. I loved all 3 renditions of it. Particularly the lamb neck stew. All the dishes are best savoured with some rice so do try it out. The beef rib was roasted and garnished with a sauce that was sweet and tangy. Can’t really put my finger on it but it seems like a kimchi based sauce. Nonetheless it worked really well. The scallops were nice but did fall closer to the saltier side. All in all it was an enjoyable meal.

Wonderful northern Asian restaurant in the heart of Helsinki! I can warmly recommend the pork bun, beef tartar, katsu and the divine scallops. Service was fast and friendly, kudos to Anastasia!

Visited this restaurant quite some time ago. They serve very original and creative Japanese cuisine, which is a unique approach and very tasty.

We ordered a set menu (79€/person) plus we added their wine pairing set which made our dining experience extra special. 🙂 It was absolutely delicious! Thinking about the price of the menu, I think its a reasonable price with the variety of dishes you’ve get. Given already that Finland is an expensive country to begin with. But, the quality of the food and overall experience- Its total worth it! 💛 The staff are all friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating. They were attentive to us despite that the restaurant was very busy. I never felt rushed eating which I appreciate very much. I like how they pay attention to us, they offered to refill our rice, change the plates, etc.. 🙂 Just a downside, is the space. Its a bit too crowded. Nonetheless, we would definitely recommend to try this restaurant 💛

Wow! Absolute perfect dishes which were sent from the kitchen to our table. The journey of the menu is great. Every bit was extremely delicious, tasty and surprising. The ingredients are high quality and fresh. Staff is professional, friendly and quick, accommodate special wishes and are knowledgeable. Tables are quite narrow. A restaurant to come back asap.

This was recommended to me by the bartender at a nearby cocktail lounge. The menu looks pretty appealing and the fact that it was a Michelin restaurant had my hopes high. Perhaps I expected more but I recommend you have doubles of the appetizers and stop there. I started with the pork belly bao and the soft shell crab bao. These were amazing I could've had more of these and been happy. I then opted for a half order of the grilled octopus and half order of the pork ribs. The octopus was slightly over cooked in a bit rubbery. Plus they served it to me with a fork and a spoon. Maybe they thought it was going to be easier to cut. Fortunately I was eventually offered a knife too. The pork ribs were meh- I've had much better from our local Asian restaurant. I don't think I'm of being overly harsh. If you have a Michelin sticker and you charge these prices, I expected food to be much much better. I would go back for the Bao appetizers and maybe try one of the other dishes -certainly not the same main ones that I tried this time.

I have been to gaijin twice . I ordered the same set menu twice . However the second time within a year the quality declined I would say . When I said I don't eat pork, they substituted my food with a bland cauliflower dish instead of other meat or fish . I found that to be inconsiderate to be honest . I don't think I will return there again but you can definitely have a dinner there atleast once .

This was very chaotic. Poor service. As a place that is considered a Michelin star restaurant...this was horrible. I had there main prefix meal. It included scallops, which were over cooked. The "sushi" was NOT fresh...something I could get at a to-go place. They sat me at the bar, and I had a view of the kitchen were I could see them cleaning the dishes and mopping the floor. At least put curtains or a swinging door. Main reason for the 2 stars is because I noticed a waitress dropped a glass, touched the ground...and continued working!!! She didn't wash her hands!!! Very gross and unprofessional!!!

The best meal we had in Helsinki. I'm Asian and was a bit skeptical about getting Asian food in Finland. But decided to give it a try and so glad I did! Located in downtown next door from the Klaus K hotel. The food is focused on regional/local ingredients so all the seafood and fish are local and taste different than in the US. They have a nice cocktail menu with house special drinks that were great. It was packed when we were there, so reservation is highly recommended. A few standout dishes were the siu mai (mushroom with truffles and caviar; literally a little bite of heaven), the scallops were exceptional also, the sashimi platter featuring local fishes was soooo good (the cold water fishes just tasty better), same with the local oysters. Just all around an exceptional meal and atmosphere was young and hip. Loved it!!!

Gaijin was recommended to me by numerous Helsinkites and to my lucky discovery, I ended up in a hotel just steps away from this pan Asian (with a strong Japanese/Korean bent) restaurant. Do not miss the PORK BUNS. They're the closest to Momofuku's I've had in Europe. I'm especially fond of the togarashi mayonnaise on these babies. Ditto the DRUNKEN CHICKEN was a masterpiece of flavour explosion. I spooned its residual sauce on my rice and contemplated tipping the bowl and pouring the honey-soy remnants into my mouth. The sauce was actually that good! Order the KIMCHI PORK SHU MAI. You won't need more than one or two of these each given their supreme savoriness. Skip the XO GRILLED BEEF. This Chinese style marinated beef arrived slightly above room temperature and somewhat single-noted in flavour. The cocktails at Gaijin also deserve a shout. I had a well-balanced grapefruit drink but was tempted by many creative concoctions including one fresh watermelon juice number and another featuring egg whites and passionfruit.

Great Asian-fusion restaurant with a tasting menu. Conveniently located downtown (a few doors down from the Klaus K hotel), and there is a front bar/lounge area which doesn't require reservations. There is one fixed tasting menu, one seasonal (changes 4-5 times per year), as well as a vegetarian option, and a la Carte options. Great bar, too, with both classic and custom cocktails. I had one cocktail and the seasonal set menu and it was an excellent dinner -- hard to decide which dishes I liked the best, as they were all excellent, but the iberico ham was particularly notable.

Went on a Friday evening. couldn't have asked for much more. We had some great meals during our stay in Helsinki, but this was a cut above and a must try. Book well in advance if you can - the place was busy - our experience was that most better restaurants in Helsinki need to be booked weeks in advance to get a weekend sitting. We went A La Carte, the snack/starters were devine (kimchi shrimp & pork gyoza, gaijin pork bun and Jerusalem artichoke taco with truffle). We could have gone 3 rounds of these:). The beef tataki was solid but not great, the Scallops XO and Kimchi Iberico hotpot were in a word special. As was the dessert, we had the sampler plate, well worth sampling all of their goodies and it did not disappoint. The wine list was well curated too, noting that the waitress was honest enough to tell us they were running low on some stock. Nothing wrong with the venue as is, but they are commencing renovations in 2 days so were running low on some items. Lucky us for getting our timing right and will be really interesting to see what the renovations yield. Thankfully they will only be closed for ~ a month. We live in NYC and when you compare the both the effort, craftsmanship and quality of this meal at this price relative to NYC there really is no comparison, this would come up trumps nearly every time. Helsinki has proved a gem of city, we got a bit lucky with the weather for this time of year. Cannot wait to come back and Gaijin will definitely be on the list of must visits.

Great cozy yet contemporary atmosphere. We had a reservation for sunday evening, and they had a tasting menu for the day. We ordered 6 item tasting menu. Before this I started with a Hattori Hanso cocktail which was an espresso infused cocktail. Suprisingly nice! Highlights of the dishes were the Oysters for the starter. A strange looking concoction that slipped right in your gullet and mixed together wonderfully. Secondly the Ribs were AMAZING and feel off the bone! My Vegetarian GF had one and LOVED THEM so you can be sure they are good. A bit expensive as to be expected, but we definetly want to return for some special occasion.

Gaijin is an excellent choice for Asian food in Helsinki. I am often a bit suspicious of the places that mix all types of Asian food (I did identify some Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes on the menu) as it often tends to be a place that does not really do anything well.That is not at all the case at Gaijin - they appear to master most of the dishes they serve up. The only slight disappointment was the veal gyoza that were a bit flat in taste.What can also be said is that all of the dumplings are overpriced -would expect at least 4 gyoza for that price (now received 2). The pork on salad leaf (SSÄM MINI) and the vegetarian dim sum were great. For the mains the gaijin hot pot, beef ssam gaijin and the bulgogi were all great. The yakitori chicken is also good but a dull choice considering the other options on the menu. The cocktails and drinks are also very good and the wine list was decent. They also made an effort to have a few more beer choices than normal but the Asian beers offered are not really the best options available. All in all still a very good dining experience.

When the Finnish people next to you start talking about how good the food is and that you made an excellent choice to go there, they are either drunk or really, really enthousiastic. It was the latter. Gajin is a really great pick for everyone that wants to spend a great evening of fine dining. The atmospere is not uptight, but very relaxt. We chose to have the gajin tasing menu with the accompanying wines. The small asian diches are fantastic, all of them taste unique and super good. Look at the photos! I would make sure to get a table at 8, so there are no other tables behind you. Service can be extremely fast with bringing the dishes. That is the only downside. Other than that this restaurant is very good!

We went to Gaijin on a Sunday which was an excellent choice - they had two menus on offer, 3 courses for 35 Euro and 6 for 55 Euro. The three course menu was above my expectation and it was filling, too. The main course (roasted salmon with a truffle-miso infusion, fennel puree, romanesco and pickled radishes) was both innovative and not too far out there. But the dessert trumped all. A black tea flavored white chocolate mousse with peach sorbet and black pepper meringue. Presentation of the food was above average. The cocktail I had was also great - Harushinki or something like that - and better value at 12 Euro than the 7,50 Euro Asahi beer my boyfriend had. Overall an amazing value for the Sunday menu.

Fantastic restaurant. The salmon hot pot is tremendous. We also had crab tempura with two types of crab, very good. Flavoring and sauces were great. Very good spot.

I definitely do not think Gaijin is worthy of being a Michelin restaurant. The service was terrible, and the food was mediocre. I've had much better asian-fusion at other restaurants that weren't as highly rated. The food/drinks are very overpriced for the quality. If you want to spend money and enjoy the food, go to Ora. If you want food that is extremely over priced with terrible service, come here.

Went for 3-course Sunday dinner while in town for work recently. Tartare was really nice, and the white fish main was delicious. Dessert was fine but nothing special. 8€ glass of wine. More than enough food for me, but not huge portions. For a big guy it might be a bit small. I didn't have a reservation but I went early. It did fill up. I would likely go back next time I visit.

Aah. Great atmosphere. GREEN SHELL MUSSEL `X.O.´ and SMOKED DUCK, FOIE & CHERRY `NIGIRI from the gaijin menu were spectacular. Otherwise not so much. Service ok but not as particular as expected for the money. The sommelier package was not so coupled with the menu. Good effort but no cigar.

Because I have the best boyfriend in the world, we went here for my birthday dinner. As a native San Franciscan, I fancy myself a bit of a fish snob. The Butterfish was to die for. I think we ordered an extra bottle of wine just so I could stretch out the dining experience itself. To start from the beginning: the interior is very sleek and zen, the crowd is real mixed bunch - from what looked like a frat boy reunion at one of the long tables to the left of the entrance, to the older couple who looked like they were headed to the theater next to us, to the young couples on the terrace out front...Gaijin attracts all kinds. The signature specialty drinks were like slushies for grown-ups, wine prices are not too steeply marked up, and their small starters are out of this world. Order a couple of each of their dim sum-like (but way better) starters- you will eat them all. Even if your jaw is wired shut. You'll find a way. Dessert was amazing (I can't remember what it was but it was heaven on a plate) and our server was the most adorable and sweet redhead who made the night super special. This is a great place for any occasion- special or not. One of my top 5 favorites in Helsinki. Eat here now!

One of my all time favorite restaurants in Helsinki is for sure Farang. Fortunately the owners of this lovely place also have two other restaurants in the city one of which is Gaijin. Gaijin follows Farang's footsteps a bit, but is still a completely different experience after all. Their menu takes you to North Asia and also manages to surprise with a unique combination of tastes and flavors.The interior is more cozy and intimate then what you might know from Farang. I would highly recommend a tasting menu here as well. Those menus of around eight to ten small dishes will make your taste buds celebrate. Enjoy some Soft Shell Crab with apple and fennel, flavored with honey, mirin and hazelnut. And get carried away by the tenderness and taste of the Baby Back Pork Ribs. Gaijin also has really nice cocktails. You should consider having one as an aperitif. Prices are in the same range at Farang. But the money you pay definitely pays off. Don't forget to make a reservation in advance!

My favorite restaurant in Helsinki. Try one or two of their cocktails, they're really good! You can just go grab a little snack in the lounge area which doesn't require a reservation, I highly recommend the pork buns 5€ and beef tartar 4€ a piece. It's a popular place so if you're going for dinner make a reservation. The tasting menus are really good so if you're hungry go for it!

My boyfriend and I got 5 snacks /dim sums to share and one main each + 2 beers, came up to 104euros. The snacks / dim sums were great. Our mains were okay. Food was good, service was pretentious. Overall overpriced.

Tasting menu was amazing! Food was delicious and filling at the end of the meal. We recommend going here for those want to experience Asian fusion fine dining. Definitely will return when we're in Helsinki again.

9 course classic tasting menu: Lots of seafood and interesting fusion combos. Loved the ribs, made just like my father did back at home. Pork buns also a big favorite. But the best course was the Japanese sushi w yuzu wasabi sauce! Nvm, also really liked eel dish. Drinks: Had the recommended warm cocktail and was pleasantly surprised by it! Very tasty, had notes of olong tea with Asian liquor and was very warming and welcoming

Amazing restaurant and excellent food!! Choose one of the two set menus they have. You will not be disappointed!!

The food here was very good and the drink was great. The biggest problem is that the waiter completely ignored me once I was done eating and waited almost 30 mins to pay

Gaijin is a Japanese word meaning non-Japanese or foreign/alien (person). It consists of two separate Kanjies: Gai for a foreigner and Jin for a person. Thus, the word technically means "outsider"! Gaijin in Helsinki is neither a person nor Japanese. This restaurant, being a part of the same chain as the famous Restaurant Farang, offers combined dishes from North East Asia. Fine flavors from Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisines are served in the very heart of the City. Since Gaijin's basic idea is to offer it's customers fine atmosphere and facility to dine in a socially nice manner, they have created two different "experimental" courses, being "combined to meet everybody's taste". Being a budget eater I convinced (read: forced) my party to order the cheaper one and still the price was 59,00 euros per person. Because the same menu had to be ordered for everyone around the same table, that still hurts (minus one star)! The food was excellent and served nicely along with detailed explanations, what was brought on board. The army of waiters treated us very well, although sometimes the time between dishes could have been shorter. In fact, one has to reserve at least two hours to go through this menu. In addition, once our plates were taken away and we had to ask for new ones, since the warm food had been there for five minutes. Furthermore, our rushed plead for the fast check was ignored (minus one star). This place made me not happy or mad, full and poor maybe, and I won't be coming back. I could imagine to recommend it to someone, who can afford it and has time to dine for hours.

This place is pretty much fantastic. Great food. Great wine. Great ambiance. My go to stop in Helsinki. Heads up, Sunday menu is preset only so I recommend any other day. The a la carte menu is much more robust.

The beef was good,restaursnt was nice, i travel a lot and this rest you have to try and visit

Fish is fresh and rice is Japanese mom approved. The presentation of the food is pretty. Unique flavors. Liked the dessert. Good cocktails.

Very nice food. Great central location. But a bit pricey for the venue and "overall experience".

gaijin = foreigners tasting menu --mostly a mix of japanese, chinese, and korean easy to drink cocktails. MUSSEL & `SOY HONEY´ green shell mussel, kombu soy, yuzu and honey jam, soy mayonnaise, seaweed caviar GAIJIN BEEF BUN grilled beef brisket, kochujang mayonnaise, marinated red onion, soft bread SASHIMI TASTING selection of seared white fish, hamachi, and salmon, roe (not really), wasabi and yuzu dressing, wakame, wasabi mayonnaise SMOKED DUCK, FOIE & ROASTED PEANUT `NIGIRI´ smoked duck (very salty), truffle mayonnaise, teriyaki rice, foie gras creme, peanut ROASTED SAIKYO MISO SALMON `MT.FUJI´ saikyo-miso marinated and roasted salmon, fresh asparagus, radish, salsify, fresh wasabi emulsion GAIJIN BABY BACK PORK RIBS pork ribs, soy mirin caramel, togarashi SEARED SCALLOP & X.O. seared scallop, rare Chinese X.O. sauce, crispy garlic, seaweed caviar GAIJIN `KATSU YAKI´ PARTY crispy fried chicken, salad leaves, Japanese pickles, kimchi, sesame dressing, chilli dressing, brown butter mayonnaise MATCHA & STRAWBERRY Matcha-tea cake, Matcha-tea mousse, fresh strawberries, strawberry and lime ice cream, dehydrated strawberries, lemongrass, almond main issue is sometimes too salty or too sweet but overall pretty good

Absolutely one of my favorite places in Helsinki! The atmosphere is relaxed and buzzing with great service. The food is to die for, I've never been disappointed. If you don't feel like going for the full dinner just sit at the bar and have a small dish or two, try the drinks, they are delicious!

Gaijin is definitely one of the best restaurants in Helsinki. The food is amazing and especially the service blows me away every time. I absolutely love this place! Best thing to do is to get the tasting menu with the wines, but you can also just have something small and enjoy their incredible drink list! Ps. Try the baby pork ribs, mussels and pork buns to go to food heaven!

This was a real positive surprise. Was actually supposed to have visited Farang but it was closed on sundays so went to Gaijin instead. The restaurant has a fairly standard asian-fusion feel to it but could have been a bit more cosy but overall ok. The food on the other hand was the positive surprise, took the large tasting menu and I have to say that all of the dishes was really good. Would definitely consider coming back

Delicious. I had the pork belly bun, shrimp dumplings and Mongolian beef. Not sure I'd recommend the Mongolian beef: it was four very large chunks of meat, nicely-cooked but overall a bit simple for my taste. I probably should've ordered the drunken chicken instead. The bun was terrific, particularly the kimchi aioli. Dumplings were great: delicate wrappings and served with excellent dipping sauces. Service was careful and restrained (Finland!); restaurant is dark, minimalist in style and reasonably quiet.

Excellent food and Service. Ordered the ribs and pork belly sandwich and would recommend.

Nice and and cosy atmosphere. No waiting for anything, 6 cources in one hour! Interesting mixes of tastes, as to be expected at a place serving Asian fusion. Recommended although a little bit high on price.

Excellent quality food and service. Totally worth of every penny. We had 7 course tasting menu which was amazing.

My boyfriend and I ate here last night for his light night in Helsinki. The service was very slow. We were waiting nearly 20 minutes for the check and had to ask repeatedly. And the food was good, but had some issues. We had ordered the lamb, which, for 30 euros included a few pieces that we couldn't eat because there was way too much sinew that should've been cut out. And charging 3 euro for a bowl of rice also seems a bit excessive. Overall, it was ok but a bit of a let down with quality and service.

The service was great . the atmosphere was wonderful. The cocktails were delicious. Now the food was tasty, however, need to be described a bit more accurately. It may simply be a downfall of the Asian fusion genre, but nonetheless... We ordered the Szechuan beef and oxtail. There was absolutely no Szechuan peppers or Szechuan flavoring to the dish. It was incredibly savory and supple but not Szechuan. Second, we ordered a side dish of choi sum. Choi sum is a Cantonese word for a dark green leafy vegetable on a stalk not unlike Chinese broccoli. The description in the menu noted that it was sauteed watercress. When the dish came out.. It was not watercress but choi sum. Also done well though sweeter than a traditional Cantonese dish. In addition. I found it funny since the waiter made note that the influences included specifically northern China and the two Chinese influences dishes were distinctly southern China. We also ordered the xo scallops. Xo sauce is again quite a common dish in southern Chinese cooking. There was little xo sauce in the scallops. Though delicious it was more Bonita flake flavored. All in all the food was delicious but it is certainly loosely based and influenced on different Asian regional foods. Its a pretty standard Asian fusion place. It isn't anything amazing or standout creative but the ambience is pleasant and the drinks are good while the food is tasty it is not quite authentic.

On a recent trip to Helsinki, we decided to go to Gaijin on our last night for a change of pace after several days of northern European food. Everything we tried was delicious - especially the chicken yakitori and arctic char. Our server was very friendly and knowledgeable about wine pairings. My only complaint is that the snacks and dim sum were quite expensive given the portion size. This was the opposite for the entrees though so we were pleasantly full when we left!