SEKEL Bar & Restaurant, located in the cultural and historical part of Finland’s capital on Bulevardi street, invites you to spend an unforgettable evening where the food, wine, cocktails and atmosphere are inspired by the restaurant culture of Helsinki’s “roaring twenties”.
The food here is heartily prepared from organic and sustainable products, with surprising flavours spiced with a touch of history.
The founders of the restaurant are a wonderful married couple — chef Filip Langhoff and sommelier Linda Stenman-Langhoff — known in the gastronomy world for their previous successful projects, the Michelin-starred restaurant Ask and the restaurant Jord.
Linda and Filip offer to take a trip back in time and find out what was eaten in Helsinki’s restaurants a hundred years ago. Even the very name of the restaurant “SEKEL” means “Century” in Swedish.
Sure, there have been many changes in the restaurant world over the past 100 years, but the love of good food, great wines and fun parties has undoubtedly remained.
The atmosphere at SEKEL respects tradition and illustrates the ambition of award-winning restaurateurs. Every detail has been thought through to the last detail.
The interior of the restaurant was carefully designed by Linda herself, who travelled to many museums, hotels and restaurants in Helsinki.
The restaurant is decorated in various shades of green, elegantly accentuated by golden highlights, and light pours from the huge domed ceiling, adding a special sophistication and charm.
Talking to Filip and Linda, we learnt a lot of interesting things. The restaurant’s menu is an interpretation of the food culture of the 1920s and 1930s, with inspiration from the great chefs of the era, as well as the spirit of old dinner menus brought to the present day and hours of research in the archives of the B&B Museum.
You can order from the À la Carte menu, where you’ll find revived classics, or you can try the option we chose, the Century tasting menu to experience a vision of a sumptuous evening a century ago.
And another very interesting point is that many products SEKEL, such as meat, fish, vegetables get a unique flavour thanks to the restaurant’s charcoal grill, which is even used to prepare some desserts.
CENTURY MENU
Fru Gerda von Rehausen
22.5.1925
According to Filip, the inspiration for this set menu was the one served to Mrs Gerda von Rehausen in a restaurant in Helsinki on 22.5.1925.
All the names of the dishes are written originally, the way they were written at the beginning of the last century, and Philip offered his interpretation of what they might be now.
-Canapés
Wine pair: Louis Roederer Brut Nature Champagne (Philippe Starck), Champagne, France
All meals, both À la Carte and set- menus, are served with restaurant’s own bread and butter — whole-grain baguette and sourdough bread.
-Cocktail aux fruits de mer
Shellfish cocktail with Cucumber and Dill
Wine pair: Karl Haidle Ritzling Kabinett, Württemberg, Germany
-Cremé St. Germain
Petit pois soup, Sour cream and Croutons
Wine pair: Weingut Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Kamptal Terrassen, Kamptal, Austria
-Saumon, sauce hollandaise
Finnish Salmon with Hollandaise
Wine pair: Charivari Le Fruit Enchanté, Bordeaux, France
-Legumes assortis
Selection of smoked Vegetables with Babaganush and Chicken ragu
Wine pair: Heinrich Pinot Noir, Burgenland, Austria
-Chapons rôtis salades
Grilled Rooster Ballotine, with grilled Salad and Morrel sauce
Wine pair: Ogier L’Âme Châteauneuf-du-Pape Biologique, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France
Before turning to sweet part, we couldn’t resist to indulge ourselves in trying cheeses from the generous Cheese cart, which selection is certainly one of the widest and finest in town.
Cheese Trolley
Wide selection of Cheeses and Condiments (3,5€/10g)
Wine pair: Gitton Père & Fils Château Lafon Moelleux, 1996, Côtes de Duras, France
-Glace aux fraises
Strawberry Iee Cream with fresh Strawberries and Hibiscus
Wine pair: Lorenz Auslese, Rheinhessen, Germany
-Fruit confits
Tartelette of candied f’ruits and sauce Sabayon
-Petit fours
Drinks also add to the experience of the evening.
Most of the wines on the wine list, according to Linda, are selected from organic, biological and natural wine producers who have been making wine for generations and have already become good friends of Linda and Filip.
The menu is a perfect blend of old European wines, complemented by rare gems from the Ask restaurant’s wine cellar.
The stylish bar, which is located at the entrance to the restaurant, offers classic cocktails and a large selection of gin.
SEKEL can host large dinner parties, weddings and cocktail parties from 120 to 200 guests. The restaurant also has a private function room for 15-30 people.
Century Menu — 94€
Wine Pairing — 79€
Restaurant Sekel
Address: Bulevardi 7, 00120 Helsinki Finland
Opening Hours:
Wednesday – Thursday 17.00 – 23.00
Friday – Saturday 17.00 – 01.00
Instagram: @restaurantsekel
Text: Marina Timo
Photo courtesy: EATWEEKGUIDE
