FIN: Ravintola Sea Horse

Delicious herring steak, but salty Scandinavian hash...

Ravintola Sea Horse is a well-known restaurant in Helsinki, Finland that has been in operation since 1934. Famous for its Baltic herring steak and other traditional dishes, the restaurant is colloquially known as Sikala (lit. The Pigsty), though I'm not sure why is that so.


According to a local journalist called Jouni Lompolo, "you can meet everyone from Nobel prize winners to men in the street in the restaurant".


Creamy Salmon Soup (Small) €13.50 (~S$21.10)
Taste: 8.5/10

Among other things, Finnish cuisine is famous for its hearty salmon soup. Prepared by the restaurant was quite a generous amount of salmon chunks in light cream broth, topped with aromatic herbs. Served with the soup were two slices of crispy rye bread and butter.


Crispy Fried Baltic Herring €18.90 (~S$29.55)
Taste: 9.5/10

To try something different from the usual pickled herring, I had the steak version of the fish. Pan-fried to perfection, the two slices of herring were highly succulent, each having crispy pepper-rubbed skin attached. They came with pickled beetroot slices and velvety mashed potatoes. Highly recommended!


Scandinavian Hash €21.00 (~S$32.85)
Taste: 6/10

A mix of ham cubes, potatoes and onions topped with a runny sunny-side up egg was served on a metal plate. While it was quite tasty, the issue that I had with this particular main course was the rather high salt level. I squeezed the wedge of orange given at the side for its juice to make the flavours a bit more balanced.


Finnish Squeaky Cheese with Cloudberry Jam €10.50 (~S$16.40)
Taste: 8/10

Squeaky cheese, which is made of curdled milk and grilled to give its distinctive charred marks, is called so because it 'squeaks' against the teeth when bitten. I recall the one that I had being firm and chewy at the same time with a smoky taste. It was served with sweet and sour cloudberry jam.

Melon's Rating
Taste: 8/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Overall: 7.5/10

Pika's advice: For something unique, try their Cabbage Rolls. Priced at €19.90 (~S$31.10), the main course features cabbages stuffed with ground meat, rice and onions.


Ravintola Sea Horse

Kapteeninkatu 11
Helsinki
Finland
(Mon-Thu: 10.30am - 12 midnight;
Fri: 10.30am - 1.00am;
Sat: 12 noon - 1.00am;
Sun: 12 noon - 12 midnight)


*Prices quoted are nett prices.

Have a nice meal,
Cliff(y)

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