Soile V.
Yelp
After a few months of Yelp-silence, I finally visited a place today that inspired me to write a review. Skiffer! The new watering-hole and Pizza haven for the Helsinki It-crowd, I hear.
It is a boat ride away on a small island (more of a rock) in front of the Helsinki South harbor. Definitely a weather dependent place, so check the forecast before you head out. I like the concept: Great terrace, good pizza, and a lovely red cottage that serves the refreshments. The view is to the harbor of Helsinki, where one can view sailing boats and people having summer fun by the sea. It has all the ingredients to be charming, which I suspect it was a few years ago, but it just has become way too trendy.
About the pizza: We ordered three pizzas to share: Strawberry and goats-cheese, Mozzarella and tomato, and ham and pineapple. The pizzas looked delicious and came quite fast. Perhaps even too fast as one got the feeling that we should eat quickly to make room for the crowd waiting for a table. The crust was nice and thin, crispy but not burned. Especially the strawberry and goats-cheese was excellent, it would have been even better with a bit of sunshine. The two other pizzas were good quality, but lacked any creativity. The mozzarella and tomato had some nice features, like some grilled wild garlic, but it was a bit of a mush. Overall I would say that the food was good and OK for the price (13-16€).
What can I say about the drinks, not much as I was not the one ordering, so I did not get a peak at the menu. I did see some nice specialty beers on the tables next to us, so their selection extends beyond a normal archipelago cafes.
The service was friendly, but hurried. As mentioned before, one got the feeling that we should be getting our things and going as soon as we were ready with our food and drinks. It did not feel that comfortable just sitting there. There was also a DJ playing some club music and that to me was a bit out of place. It was not too loud though and did not disturb talking or enjoying the environment in any way.
I think it is just not my place or it was not my night, so someone else would enjoy it perhaps more. Or I might enjoy it more after a few drinks. Definitely worth visiting and trying out the pizza! Just note that it can be quite full, especially on a sunny day as there are not that many of those in Finland to begin with =).