Ravintola Kannas
Eerikinkatu 43, 00180 Helsinki
Summery
Ravintola Kannas is the place you should go if you would like to good traditional Finnish food. The atmosphere is cozy and relaxing. The space is large, but you need a reservation as it’s a popular restaurant.
Kannas opened on the corner of Eerikinkatu street and Köydenpunojankatu street in Helsinki in 1939 and it’s still there. The restaurant is one of Helsinki’s classic restaurants and serves many different traditional Finnish dishes.
I had heard about Kannas from friends and wanted to dine there for some time. On the cold evening of November, I finally had a chance to go there with the friends who had been telling me about the restaurant and great Finnish food. They were a good help when I was wondering what to order from the menu which listed a lot of nice dishes. I, somehow, had imagined that the inside of the restaurant would be dark and moody, but it was bright and lively with a lot of customers, several big groups were gathering as well. Reservation is a must here. The big groups were at the combined tables in the middle of restaurant hall and we and other small groups of people were at the window tables.
Starter
My friends ordered their favorite, pickles which was served with cream and honey, and homemade sausage with sauerkraut and mustard. It took some time, for me, to make my mind but as I often do, I chose escargots. I hadn’t read the menu carefully but realized their escargots was a bit different from the typical ones. It was seasoned with blue cheese, white wine and garlic and I only realized it when I saw the dish. With the blue cheese, the dish was heavier than I expected, and I left a lot of melted cheese on the plate. In addition to my own starter, I could taste a bit of pickles and sausage and they were both very tasty. Pickles is not my favorite food, and I usually don’t eat it, but it was much better than typical pickles being not overwhelmed by vinegar. Among these three starters, I liked the sausage the best. And next time, I think I will order it.
Photos from left: PICKLES, SOUR CREAM AND HONEY, HOMEMADE SAUSAGE WITH SAUERKRAUT AND MUSTARD, CHEF´S ESCARGOTS PAN seasoned with blue cheese, white wine and garlic
Main dish
Among many nice traditional Finnish dishes in the menu, I chose fried vendace which was served with mashed potatoes, beetroot, pickles and aioli. At the first glance, I was glad that amount of vendace wasn’t too much. In Finland, I have seen dishes with a hill of vendaces on overwhelming amount of mashed potatoes. But this one wasn’t. Appropriate amount is enjoyable. The fish tasted a bit too salty at first, but it worked quite well when I ate it with mashed potatoes. I enjoyed the dish. I also tasted grilled liver which a friend ordered. It was very good! In fact, the grilled liver was one which I thought of ordering at first. Giant pork escalope that another friend ordered was literally giant as the photo could tell! It was also entertaining to see it. Even though it was huge, my friend finished the escalope and chips. It must have been very nice as the friend never compromise on food. The warm and tasty dishes made our stomachs and taste buds happy.
Photos from left: GRILLED LIVER with Creamy bacon and onion sauce, fried bacon, lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes, GIANT ESCALOPE：Pork escalope 300g and country-style fries and either garlic butter or lemon-anchovy butter, Fried vendace, mashed potatoes, beetroot, pickles and aioli
Dessert
Both friends were too full to have dessert, but I wanted to have something sweet. In the menu, I found frozen cranberries with caramel sauce which I like a lot. I love the combination of those ingredients. It’s sweet but not too sweet and I love the bitter taste. Warm caramel and frozen cranberries were the perfect. Great finale of the dinner!