A long-simmered hash of minced lamb or beef with herring, onion and garlic, served with sour cream, pickles and boiled potato. Rich, salty and unmistakably old-Helsinki.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Vorschmack reached Helsinki through Russia and Eastern European Jewish kitchens, and was made famous locally by Marshal Mannerheim, who served his own version to guests. Savoy, opened 1937, kept it on the menu as a house signature, and it remains a fixture of the city's grand dining rooms. The dish divides newcomers and delights regulars in equal measure.
Common allergens: Fish, Milk
Tip from the editors. Taste before adding any salt; the herring usually seasons the whole dish on its own.
Savoy on the eighth floor of the Esplanadi has served Finnish-French cooking since 1937 in an Aalto interior; vorschmack is the house signature.
Order: Vorschmack, the minced beef and herring hash that Marshal Mannerheim made a Savoy fixture.
Tip: The 1937 Aalto-designed room and roof terrace look over Esplanade Park. It sits in the Michelin Guide, and lunch is the affordable entry.
Elite in Töölö has been the artists' restaurant since 1932, its walls hung with paintings, serving Finnish classics like vorschmack and fried Baltic herring.
Signature: Vorschmack, Fried Baltic herring
Order: Vorschmack, the minced-meat hash, or the platter of fried Baltic herring with mash.
Tip: The terrace and the artist-portrait walls are the draw as much as the food. A living room for Helsinki's cultural set since 1932.
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