Kosmos

Stumbled across this restaurant as it was just vis a vis the street from where we had good beer :)
It is a high end food spectrum food from traditional Finnish dishes with a twist of personality. Fair prices, crowded and not a huge fast-​food type of menu– just perfect!

Kosmos has been in the same place since 1924 if I remember correctly. That’s a lot of history for a restaurant and tells you something about the success lasting for more than 90 years. Worth to check out!
I reviewed another restaurant of the same style this week (Elite) and Kosmos goes to the same category as being CLASSIC and tasty. So if you want to get some traditional Finnish food you can’t go wrong with Kosmos.
Nice variation to your foodie hipster routines and getting back to basics and turning the clock back a few decades.
Food:
Dishes are CLASSIC Finnish restaurant dishes.
Our table ordered a couple of different dishes. Two fish including some Finnish fish with prawns and lobster sauce. Which was excellent by the way!
We also had the Chateaubriand with madeira sauce which was really good but not in a way I would have to have it every time. On the other hand the fish with lobster sauce and prawns would be my choice for the next time.
Environment:
Place looks like an old ballroom with large chandeliers and decorated wooden booths. The interior is so old that the restaurant doesn’t look dated at all instead it’s more historic.
Went in with my parents (70+) and they really liked the old charm of the restaurant.
Besides the beautiful decorated booths there are lot’s of tables and also bigger tables to seat groups. You still probably want to make a reservation before hand.

Service:
Service was not the fastest maybe due to being Christmas party season in Finland still the restaurant wasn’t packed. But Finns get quite demanding during Christmas party season when they are drunk and the company pays the check :)
All in all service was good and CLASSIC. Waiters knew the list, beers and wines and could suggest you different choices to go with your dish.
Price:
Price wise I would say average. It’s not «expensive» but it’s not cheap. Taking into account the location it could be on the cheap side a bit. Also when going to any restaurant in Helsinki you’ll end up paying around 30 € for a steak even if it would be rubbish.
So all in all a historic restaurant in the center of everything and not that expensive.

Food: ⁴⁄₅
Environment: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Price: ⁴⁄₅

Kosmos is a classic, regarding both the food and the interior. If I remember correctly, we were told that the restaurant has been in this location since 1924, so it holds quite a history!
Kosmos is a stylish place but not too posh. They serve classic but high-​end Finnish food. I’d say it’s more popular amongst the middle-​aged but anyone is welcome. If you want to blend in, I’d suggest wearing a suit jacket (you can leave out the tie, though). Highly recommended for a fancy night out.

Rude staff. Didn’t even get a chance to try the food. We walked in starving after 12 hours of travel from Dallas and they gave us a pretentious look and decided that we could not come in because we «did not have a reservation.» They were not even polite about, quite rude.
Pass in this one and find a place that wants business.

Great atmosphere restaurant, looks like it also preferred by locals for e.g. special occasions. Borsch was good, perch as main dish was perfectly prepared. Service is comparably fast.

Great restaurant! Really good Finish food! I ordered a fish dish as I am crazy about Finish sea food, I think it is among the best in the world! I tried the deer dish from my friend’s plate even though I am not into game meat — whenever I think of deer meat, I am reminded of cute Bambi but hey one ought to be adventurous as you only leave once right?
AMBIANCE:
Hip, sophisticated crowd, young and old-​the place has great energy!
I truly have fond memories of this place… and the plates with the Kosmos logo– smart marketing strategy!
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Nice restaurant with a lot of story! Decorated with artworks by local artists the food was very nice and the atmosphere reminded me of glamorous movies! A bit expensive though But it was worth its price!

modern atmosphere, great Finnish food.

Gutes finnisches Restaurant mit traditioneller Küche.
Schöné Atmosphäre. Elegant aber nicht überteuert.
Preise fürs ein komplettes Abendessen um circa EUR 40.
Innen würde von Ikon-​Designer Alvar Aalto eingerichtet.
Ich hatte die Fischsuppe, den gegrillten Lachs und das finnische Pfannkuchen. Kann die auch empfehlen.

A storied old place with quiet class, and a 70+ year history. Doesn’t try too hard, but you’ll have a good time dining on Finnish or European classic food under nice old art works and chandeliers. that said, its not stuffy at all, service was solid, and food was consistently good. its a family owned place too, which I think adds to the soul.
nice central location, and definitely worth a trip.

style brasserie, rendez-​vous d’artistes finlandais