Saslik

Saslik is the best Russian restaurant in Helsinki. I love eating at the place — the blini are fabulous and should not be missed!
However, on this particular mid-​week night we were looking for something a bit on the lighter side. For our party of four, we had the Zakuska starter and shared an Ivan’s sword between us.
The Zakuska is made for sharing and had a little bit of everything but the kitchen sink. Bear salami, elk fillet, pickles with honey and sour cream, various fish. It was the first time I’ve tried this starter and it was great with Russian beer.
Ivan’s sword is also made for sharing and is a lot of skewered meat and a pile of veggies. We split the sword for two between the four of us, along with a bottle of red wine.
The wine is a bit on the expensive side. I expected this before I even walked in the door, but I didn’t expect the server breaking the cork off in the bottle. I’m not used to drinking overpriced wine from a carafe. So I’ll knock a star off there.
When it’s dark and cold in Finland and you’re in the mood for some savory Russian food, look no further — and bring your appetite!

Five stars just for the experience. It’s like a scene from Dr. Zhivago. The whole place is done up in an ornate early 20^th century furnishings. The crowd… well they’re not from Kansas. This was our 2^nd trip to Finland in two years and our goal was to intro a newbie into the Saslik experience. We all had the vodka samplers; Blinis w/​3 types of roe, a large plate of Russian delicacies and I had the bear stroganoff. Have fun!

So I’m not the most experienced critic of Russian food, but given my Polish background, I have a good feeling for sauerkraut and red cabbage. This restaurant was decent, the food was good, but the price to quality ratio was not great. I live in San Francisco, so my expectations for food are reasonably high.
My feeling is that people tend to rate this place highly because the nice décor and seemingly authentic singers make for a good experience.
We got an appetizer sample platter, and it was good, but for the three guys, they charged 26 euro EACH PERSON, not total. Way too much.
My baked salmon in a pastry crust was excellent, served on an iron platter with sides of sauerkraut, red cabbage, potato fries, fennel, onions, and pickles.
So the experience was good, but it was way overpriced for the quality of food– almost 200 euro for 3 people with 3 beers.

I was invited to Saslik by my sister in law and the family. I have not eaten real Russian food before nor after. The place itself is a great introduction. The décor and the waiting staff all exhume the breath of Mother Russia. We had a table for six including my 2 nieces. I started with a soup that contain black bear meatballs. We ordered for main about 4 massive plates of food containing meats and fish and loads of vegetables and sauces. I am unable to name them all.
Afterwards we had this huge pavlova kind of thing with masses of red berries and syrup and icecream. Incredibly rich, but yummy.
I have a good memory of the taste and how well satisfied I was of the very pleasant food and the brilliant and personal service.
During the dessert we had a Russian folk singer and an accordion player — I even recognised some songs they performed: o)
I highly recommend this place for all visitors to Helsinki!

For those of you how would like to experience a Russian evening without having to go through all the trouble there is Saslic. It is probably the best and most traditional Russian restaurant you will find in Helsinki. The interior and the great food will make you forget you’re still in Helsinki.
How about some pickled cucumber with garlic, acacia-​honey and sour cream or blini with cold-​smoked salmon roe of rainbow trout for starter? And if you want to have the full experience, take Zakuska, an assortment of appetizers that will amaze you.
And what about a Russian beef fillet or Chicken breast à la Kiev after that? All main dishes are served on a hot grill with sauerkraut, red cabbage, pickled small onions, fried string beans and Georgian style marinated onions, braised garlic, pickled cucumber, cranberries and parsley on the side and start from 22 €.
If you are not completely full already after those dishes don’t miss out on the delicious desserts. Enjoy a heavenly iced cranberry parfait with hot caramel sauce while listening to traditional Russian music. The musicians that play here every day are extremely passionate about what they do. And so is the rest of the staff. Everyone here is doing their best to guarantee you a perfect evening at Saslic.
If you are searching for a great Russian restaurant this is the place.

Hallo liebe Freunde der «kräftigen» Speise!
wer hat denn schon eine Vorstellung von «echter russischer Küche»? Also ich hatte sie nicht. Im Saslik (für deutsche Ohren klingt es eher nach «Pommes-​Fast Food») wirst du etwas sehr Interessantes erleben. Die Speisen sind alle sehr kräftig und schwer, also wenn du etwas Leichtes suchst, dann wirds hier eher schwierig gelingen. Doch die Speisen sind alle sehr gut! Wir hatten gemischte Vorspeisen, und die waren alle sehr gut und teilweise recht ungewöhnlich (aber dennoch gut). Liebhaber von Fleisch können hier sicher gut genießen. Die Spezialität ist Bär! Ja, richtig gehört … eine Rarität, und wird auch so berechnet! Schaut euch die Einzelheitenh auf der Speisenkarte im Internet an. Der Service ist sehr zuvorkommend (bis geschäftstüchtig) und das Ambiente sehr ansprechend. Summa summarum: ein Besuch lohnt sich sehr (es sei denn, man oder frau sucht die leichte Kost ;-)).