Restaurant OLO, awarded a Michelin star in 2011 and keeping it with dignity for ten years, continues to amaze its guests’ receptors with masterful tasting menu in a view of the new Head chef Tuomas Vierelä.
Located opposite the central Kauppatori in Helsinki, Restaurant OLO attracts with its unique atmosphere and amazing Nordic cuisine as always.
Restaurant OLO specializes in modern Scandinavian cuisine, where the main ingredients come from all Scandinavian countries with added international flavors.
Just under a year ago the kitchen has been headed by Tuomas Vierelä, who previously held the position of Chef de Cuisine and is well aware of the restaurant’s traditions and tastes.
In the Photo: Head chef Tuomas Vierelä
“It is a great honor for me to become the Head chef of the restaurant”, — says Tuomas, “and I am grateful to the restaurant team for their trust and faith in me. For me, gastronomy is a constant search for something new. Together with my team, I want to offer guests an unforgettable dining experience and food that brightens up everyday life. I think that the kitchen has not changed much with me, the style has remained the same, but perhaps it has become a little more delicacy, and the tastes have become more intense. There are also more raw products on the menu”.
In the restaurant, along with the Classic menu (159 €), there is always a shorter version — the Seasonal menu, but in both cases only natural and pure tastes of Earth and Water prevail.
In the Photo: OlO team
According to Tuomas, “Excellent raw materials are the core philosophy of OLO”.
The menu includes carefully selected wines or home-made soft drinks. The sommelier of the restaurant Sami Ulmanen makes sure that the selection of wines contains finds for both — wine connoisseurs and beginners.
– Classic Drinks (147 € per guest) and Prestige Drinks (237 € per guest)
– Non-alcoholic Drinks (58 € per guest)
* Wines are also available by the glass and by the bottle.
Choosing the main menu with Prestige Drinks, you are immersed in a three-hour gastronomic journey, enjoying the calm and laconic interior around with decent musical accompaniment and impeccable serving of dishes.
The evening opens with a welcome glass of Paul Bara Grand Rose Brut Champagne, followed by a first serving.
In the Photo: Frex egg (steamed miso custard) with king crab, trout roe and fermented asparagus
Thomas Vierelä: “The new menu consists of eleven courses, each of which is a constant dialogue with guests. I always wonder how I can convey my feelings to a guest. In this work, the client’s well-being is the foundation of everything. My success is a guest who says he wants to come back to OLO again”.
In the Photo: Veal tartar with Finnish goose liver
In the Photo: Umami salmon with salted cucumber, bottarga emulsion and cucumber broth seasoned with dill flower
For the next two dishes the sommelier offers German white dry wine Maximin Grunhäuzer Abtsberg Riesling Spätlese 2018.
In the Photo: Olo’s sour dough bread with preserved Finnish corn and salted butter; Additional caviar (N 25 Kaluga Hybrid Caviar Reserve) +30 €
“Bread is always one of the most responsible components of a dinner for us, we treat its preparation with great trepidation, and the light crunch that is heard throughout the hall suggests that guests take it with special pleasure,” — says Tuomas, smiling. — Now we also offer caviar for bread (option for a separate fee) from a German supplier, which, in our opinion, fits very well into this serving”.
The taste of caviar will be especially well set off by a glass of Andre Clouet Brut Champagne Grand Cru “Bouzy”.
In the Photo: Scallop braised in salted butter with mussel broth, fennel pollen and koji butter and green strawberries
Sommelier’s Choice — Thevenet Quintaine Cuvée EJ Thevenet Vire’-Clesse ‘2015, France
In the Photo: Grilled tail of Monkfish with vendace roe, salted belly of Mangalitza pork and aromatic chicken broth
Recommended dry red wine for this dish — Domaine Duclaux Chäteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge 1993, France
In the Photo: Glazed sweetbreads of reindeer calf with winter truffle, salted lingonberries and lemon thyme sauce
Ideal in combination with Vintage 2014 Cha’teau La Mission Haut-Brion Pessac-Le’ognan (Grand Cru Classe ‘de Graves), France. And this legendary wine is served using the famous Coravin system.
The final and most enjoyable part of the evening, of course, is desserts — Sunchocke ice cream with coffee, miso caramel and gooseberry.
The most original presentation of the evening is a three-part dessert.
– Roasted rye and preserved lemon
– Yuzu and almond
– Pineapple weed with bergamot and fennel flower
Rich & aromatic Gonzalez-Byass Noe Pedro Ximenez from Spain is perfect for sweet finishing. In case you still have a “slight feeling of hunger” at the end, it can be satisfied with the Cheese platter (29 €).
“I belong to the kitchen with all my heart and soul. And the older I get, the more I am grateful to fate that I have come to the area where continuous development is a source of vitality and inspiration. — says Tuomas, — Working in the OLO kitchen is a constant path to something new and interesting, and how pleasant it is to build it together with our guests”.
Restaurant OlO
Address: Pohjoisesplanadi 5
00170 Helsinki
Opening hours: Wednesday — Thursday from 6 pm to 11 pm; Friday — Saturday from 4 pm to 11 pm
Reservations: +358 10 3206250; info@olo-ravintola.fi
Instagram: @restaurantolo
Editor-in-chief: Patricia Kolari
Text Writer: Marina Timoshevskaya
Technical Director: Evgeny Fedorov Photos: EATWEEK
