Kasakka

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Restaurants in Finland
Helsinki : Kasakka

When was established your restaurant and who had this idea?
Kasakka was established in 1969 by my father, Timo T Kaukonen.

How was choosen the name of the restaurant?
Kasakka, The Cossack, is the a wild horseman from the south of Russia. There have been cossacks for hundreds of years. They had their own army, they were wild, strong men. There are lots or stories of the old cossacks...
My father founded first Troikka, then Kasakka and Saslikki was his third russian restaurant. Nowadays they all have different ownwers.

For the persons who don't know well Helsinki, could you explain where your restaurant is located?
Kasakka is situated in Kruununhaka-area, Meritullinkatu 13. It is a little north, less than a kilometer from the Cathedral.

What kind of environment is it?
It is a part of the Old town, not far from the University and the centre, very peaceful area in the evenings.

Is the location of a restaurant an important thing?
It is important. Still you don't need to have your restaurant in the very centre if you strongly keep your style and business idea the same during the years and the clients can trust in it.

How would you present or describe your restaurant?
Kasakka is an old style Russian restaurant with delicious russian specialties, romantic atmosphere and music, old russian paintings and furniture.

What kind of cuisine do you propose?
We have Russian specialties like borsch, selyanka, pelmenis, blinis, schachliks, beef, lamb, reindeer and bear meat. There are also fish and vegetarian dishes on the menu.

What are the specialties of your restaurant that you would definitly recommend to our readers?
The blinis with different garnishes are always popular. They could be served with vendace roe, smoked salmon or mushroom salad. Marinated cèpes are my own favorite. A classic in our menu is the Grilled Russian spiced steak as well as the Coeur de fillet à la Catherine the Great served on a grill plate with garlic potatoes, red gabbage, and a creamy mushroom sauce.

How often do you change the menu?
Once or twice a year we change it a little, but we always keep the most popular dishes in there.

What are the next dishes our readers should expect to discover and taste in your restaurant?
We always have a season's recommendation. During the winter season we now have Blini with slightly salted whitefish or Smoked duckbreast with celery salad as a starter recommendation and Bear meat vorschmack as a main course recommendation.

How do you select your chef?
The best way is to have a chef work as an extra cook first. That's how you find out if she or he "sits" in the place, gets along with your cuisine and with other people.

Is it difficult to find good chefs in Finland?
Sometimes it is, but there are more and more young active people who are interested in the cooking nowadays.

Regarding the decoration of your restaurant, did you choose / follow a certain theme or a certain style?
The decoration here has always been old fashioned, old furnishing and arts, romantic, candles...

Is the decoration of a restaurant important?
It is important if you want your clients to relax, not to be in a hurry, to forget the outside busy world and to enjoy what you have to offer.

It is always necessary to discuss a little bit about money... What is the average price that a couple who come to have a classical meal should expect to pay?
The averidge three meal dinner would cost near 100 euros with a bottle of wine. We also have reasonably priced lunch dishes on weekdays between noon and 4 pm.
Our website is www.aktivist.fi/kasakka
with our english à la carte menu.

To conclude this interview, are there any projects or happenings in the near future for your restaurant?
We plan to renew the kitchen floor in the summer.
There might be some live music suprises...
nterview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2003