Restaurant Olo

Restaurant Olo, Helsinki: A Michelin Star Experience with Room for Improvement: Restaurant Olo, located in central Helsinki, set high expectations with its Michelin star. The ingredients were fresh, dishes well presented, and the bread freshly baked and delicious. We appreciated the detailed explanations of the food and its origins. However, several aspects fell short. The food, while generally well-executed, was heavy on dairy, with nearly every dish featuring cream or butter, which left us feeling overly full and diminished the unique flavors. Cocktails were disappointing, taking 17 minutes to arrive, and the Old Fashioned lacked the typical garnish. Service post-payment was poor; after settling the bill, we were forgotten and had to wait for my jacket. Additionally, we were charged €10 for filtered tap water without being informed of the cost or asked about refills. The ambiance also had shortcomings. The toilets, with bright red sinks and harsh lighting, felt out of place for a high-end restaurant, and the mismatched decor detracted from the otherwise elegant setting. At €189 for the 11-course meal excluding drinks, Olo was one of the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants we've visited. While there were moments of culinary delight, the overall experience lacked the extraordinary touch justifying the Michelin star and high cost. In conclusion, Restaurant Olo offers fresh ingredients, beautiful presentations, and informative explanations but falls short in service, drink quality, and ambiance, leaving a mixed impression.

Olo is overrated. While the food truly offers flavors you won’t find anywhere else, the same cannot be said about the staff. The interior and overall experience were certainly enjoyable, and the food was undeniably top-notch, but in the end, it’s just not worth your attention.

A great choice to have a fine dining experience in Helsinki. I have a generally positive impression of Olo. The menu is delicate and well designed. Every dish showed a complexity in both flavor and texture with an astoundingly high quality ingredients. I highly enjoyed raw dough. It created an unqiue and playful experience. However, considering the price of the menu and the status of this Michelin One Star restaurant, there are two aspects that negatively influenced my overall experience. First, I felt that the service is not on par with other fine dining restaurants that I have visited. No one asked about our final or overall experience or thoughts after we finished the meal and paid the bill. In addition, I felt a little bit of cold attitude toward the end. Second, while most dishes were enjoyable, one dish, raw shrimp with kombu seed, was ultimately disappointing. I understand that the chief wants to highlight the umami flavors of the seafood, which I enjoyed in the first few bites. Nevertheless, the dish became overwhelmingly salty by the end. After finishing it, my partner and I had to drink a lot of water to overcome the saltiness lingering in our mouth and throat.

Well-presented, sophisticated meal. Fresh seasonal berry, herb, summer garden components. Loved the fresh sourdough bread concept. You could taste the layers of distinct elements in each dish—happy flavor explosions. Just the decor leaves something to be desired.

Bars are set pretty high for Michelin star restaurants but Olo lived up and exceeded expectations. Every course was delicious, creative and well balanced. I especially loved the scallops, the wagyu and the sweetbread but everything was great. The bread was also a highlight of the meal. Only wish they had a patio or terrace since they were so close to the sea as even though they were kind enough to give us a window seat you couldn’t really enjoy the natural beauty of Helsinki. Service was fantastic throughout and we were very well taken care of. It’s definitely a pricey meal but for a special treat it worth it. I wouldn’t get the king crab though, didn’t feel like it was worth the extra €50 (would’ve rather gotten more wagyu or scallops).

Amazing Michelin experience in Helsinki. Wonderful service, food excellent, calm atmosphere. Thank you!

We choose this restaurant to celebrate our first anniversary of mariage. We liked the privacy of a room just for the 6 of us. All the waiters did a perfect work, and contributed to this experience. Everything was tasty and interesting to the palate except we had a big deception concerning the three desserts proposed by the menu. It was too sweet, too heavy and not up to expectations. I had a milk-free alternative menu and was really not happy with the last one that was a cup full of sugar with two marmelades balls. I chose the non alcoholic pairing and was really happy with my choice. The only problem with the wine pairing was that it was disproportional compared to the quantity of food served. My mom ended up really joyful at the end because of that (too much wine and not enough food)… I really recommend to share the wine pairing like I did with my husband who was happy to have breaks from the wine with some of my juice pairing I took. My favorite part was the scallop, the shrimp and the wagyu.

Food delicious; restaurant was half full, service was very good. Two points lowering the overall score: The wines of the wine pairing were more average than special I had mentioned an allergy in my reservation; in an email exchange and during the ordering. They still served the dish with the item I am allergic to. They blamed the kitchen and corrected it, but this is not something I expected to happen in a Michelin star restaurant

Fantastic tasting menu and overall experience. Perfectly paced meal, with many courses ranging from seafood to meat. What really stood out to me was not only the complexity of the flavours but also the use of different textures. While I've had the good fortune of many great, Michelin starred meals, I don't think any of had the breadth and use of textures that Olo did. Overall a great meal with many interesting flavors and compositions.

This restaurant has a privileged location between City Hall and the President's office, overlooking the busy harbor, juxtaposed with the small, serene interior. The kitchen is partially visible, but not intrusive. The staff was quite attentive and efficient. And while I found the taste of the food excellent, the presentation of a couple of the plates seemed, not uninspired, but just a little plain, such as the beef tartare and oyster crème shaped into a little taco. Or both the poached cod (topped with Oscietra) langoustine mousseline and the rye parfait topped with caramelized carrots (pressed into a perfectly flat circle). Both showed extensive, exacting preparation... in hiding the true nature of the ingredients. I am going to assume that was intentional. I'll go back, of course. 2022 09 10. M1.

We enjoyed a wonderful chefs table menu at Olo. Truly a memorable experience for our brief visit to Helsinki and we look forward to returning again soon. The service was attentive and welcoming. We loved watching the chefs attention to detail and the care put into preparing each dish. Great flavors with every bite and we loved how the chefs explained each dish to us. Chef Tuomas truly made us feel welcome. Still thinking about the grilled monkfish with razor clams - and the dry aged malt pork with brioche.

My evening at the chef's counter at OLO was close to perfect. I had high expectations bc OLO is a 1* restaurant in a market with few Michelin* restaurants. I spoke with the owner and executive chef about individual courses, a significant advantage of the chef's counter. Each of the ~18 courses was thoughtfully envisioned, creative, and super well-executed. The finger food amuse bouche were playful and tasty. Moving to the courses themselves, I particularly enjoyed the oyster, the Swedish cheese, the liver pâté, the cod, and the broths. The sommelier, Angel, was lovely. We spoke about each wine, the emmer beer, and the grappa supplement I chose. He is knowledgeable and engaging, an excellent client-facing representative of the restaurant. The pairings themselves were nicely selected, and I could see the thought process behind each selection, as a wine geek myself. The front of house staff went out of their way to make me feel welcome and engaged. They even ran a small errand for me as an accommodation that was very much appreciated. Highly recommended.

Incredible combination of flavors in each dish of their prix fixe experience. Unusual, beautifully presented, and delicious.

One word... amazing... You have to experience this place to truly appreciate it. The food was creatively presented and stunning to look at, but also the flavours were expertly crafted. Service was impeccable but not overly formal which made for a very welcoming experience and a fantastic end to our anniversary trip. Very reasonably priced as well given the very high standard. I would go back in a heartbeat and would strongly suggest you book a table if you get the chance!

This restaurant is a case of the emperor's new clothes. Everyone is pretending things taste good here when they are miserable. This is avant garde food gone wrong. As a native New Yorker I've dined at Daniel, Jean Georges, etc. and they attempt to please your palate. Here, things explode in your mouth tasting like rotting cheese, they serve a mosaic of raw fish and above all they are dishonest. Upon arrival they asked if we wanted a glass of wine. There is no drink list. We accepted to try a glass of white but it was too sweet. They brought a second wine which was decent (nothing special). As we prepared to leave they brought us the bill for 45 euros per glass of wine. You should not be pouring 45 euro glasses of wine without letting people know the price per glass. A flight of wines in this establishment costs much less. Stay away - don't make our mistake of having to sit through inedible courses and then served a bill with hyper expensive wine!!!

Well worth our traveling across the globe to eat here. The meal was perfect. Service perfect. Everything was just perfect. We did the full tasting with wine pairings, added on the cheese, champagne and port. I have nothing but praise for every sip, nibble and bite!

Excellent meal is all respects. We chose the shorter dinner option which still provided three hours of well paced dishes. Both the presentations and tastes were creative and pleasing. The porridge, which may sound boring, was exceptional. Beef tare tare, perch with brown butter sauce and lamb were all very good. Wine pairings were appropriate, and all but one of the wines was very good. Service was friendly, professional and prompt. Overall a memorable experience.

Quiet place. Great "journey." 14 dishes - very unique - porridge, garlic soup, reindeer, and sea buckthorn dessert were highlights. Thelma was a great waitress. Pricy, but worth it. Left perfectly full.

Fabulous food. Scandinavian filtered through molecular gastronomy with a Japanese influence. Creative, with a surprise in every bite. The kind of cuisine that teaches as much as it delights. I was blown away. Wine pairing was perfect.

Had dinner last night here and it was one to remember! Every dish was spectacular - and there were so many of them that I lost count. Very creative, and the attention to detail of tastes, temperature, and texture was on point. Service was excellent too. One of Helsinki's finest.