Lasipalatsi

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Restaurants in Finland
Helsinki : Lasipalatsi

When was established your restaurant and who had this idea?
- Established at october 1998. Idea came from the city of Helsinki and from our former owner Rami Pekkonen.

How was choosen the name of the restaurant?
- The building is named "Lasipalatsi" wich means glass palace. So we are "Restaurant Lasipalatsi"

For the persons who don't know well Helsinki, could you explain where your restaurant is located?
- Att city center.

What kind of environment is it?
- Lasipalatsi building is amn authentick thirties stule functionalisn building. It was fully renovated to its former glory att 1998, when we opened ass well. Building is a sight seeing object specially for its architecture.

Is the location of a restaurant an important thing?
- Wery important,

How would you present or describe your restaurant?
- " Finnish seasonal dishes and classics with an mid- european influence.
Served in authentic thirties- style atmosphere"

What kind of cuisine do you propose?
- We use seasons best indigrients on our menus. Also typical Lappish dishes not to forget a simple finnish home style cookery.

What are the specialties of your restaurant that you would definitly recommend to our readers?
- Blinis, reindeer dishes, zander á la Mannerheim, salmon dishes...

How often do you change the menu?
- Our menu lives by the season. It changes about 8 times/ year.

What are the next dishes our readers should expect to discover and taste in your restaurant?
- We are famous about our " HelsinkiMenu" Wich is 3-4 course menu made of seasons latest idigrients. Also of course blinis, reindeer dishes, zander á la Mannerheim, salmon dishes.

How do you select your chef?
- We have almost the same staff in kitchen from the beginning of our story.

Is it difficult to find good chefs in Finland?
- Not too difficult, we had had no problems .

Regarding the decoration of your restaurant, did you choose / follow a certain theme or a certain style?
- We renovated the restaurant to thirties functionalism- style.

Is the decoration of a restaurant important?
- Its part of our identity

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?
- Main dishes costs from 15 euros up to 26 euros. A three course menu
averidge is about 30-40€

To conclude this interview, are there any projects or happenings in the near future for your restaurant?
- We have several theme weeks durin ther year. Att the moment we have blini weeks. April to june we hav asparagus weeks with Alcase wines. September we have beef weeks with bordeux wine theme. And so on..
Interview by Vincent Lefrançois - 2003