Scan Magazine | Restaurant of the Month | Finland
Grotesk’s mission is to share its deep passion for good-quality food and wines with its customers. Photo: Huumetukka.
Restaurant of the Month, Finland
For meat and wine lovers Setting its sights on transforming Finland’s culinary landscape, Grotesk is determined to share its deep passion for good-quality food and wines with its customers. Contrary to what its name might suggest, Grotesk is a cool and cosy restaurant that boasts some of the most affordable wines in Helsinki. And meat. Lots of meat.
quality meat and we choose our suppliers carefully so that we’re able to offer the very best to our customers,” Hickman says.
By Ndéla Faye
Grotesk also boasts a street level cocktail bar, which serves a selection of handcrafted cocktails and spirits, where even the ice is sculpted by hand out of a bigger block.
Grotesk is not your typical steak house – it offers diners an alternative restaurant experience. Run by food and beverage
Photo: Paul Hickman.
84 | Issue 85 | February 2016
director Paul Hickman and head chef Eemeli Nurminen, Grotesk is located in the heart of Helsinki’s city centre. The restaurant’s aim is to change Finland’s food culture. “We focus on providing great service, a chilled-out atmosphere and excellent, good-quality food,” says Hickman. You cannot find your average peppered steak on the menu; Grotesk offers a wide selection of meat dishes, including some of the world’s finest meats, aged in a dry-ageing beef cabinet that sits in the middle of the restaurant. Non-meat eaters need not worry: there are plenty of fish and vegetarian dishes available on the menu. “Our speciality is
A wine revolution In addition to serving good-quality food made from the finest ingredients, Grotesk offers exquisite wines at affordable prices, as the restaurant uses a fixed margin on all their wines. “Alcohol tends to be expensive in most restaurants in Helsinki, which discourages people from going out as much. We’re trying to change that. We decided to revolutionise wine pricing in Finland by moving to a fixed margin price, which lowers expen-