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A rabble of Finnish creatives, decamped from Helsinki to London, have created their first pop up art, food and design concept in on the edge of Hoxton. Held together by a love of inspired design, imported fish roe, and late night dive bars, the tribe is lead by Antto Melasniemi, one-time chef at Broadway Market's The Cat & Mutton; London Fields-based Mia Wallenius, art director for labels like Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen; and illustrator Klaus Haapaniemi, creator of creepy folkloric characters, from magical owls to plump unicorns, and Christmas windows for Selfridges.
Commissioned by the Finnish Institute, the temporary restaurant/gallery called Hel Yes! in the Londonewcastle Depot off City Road, is packed with Aspen trees plucked from the woods outside Helsinki, tents and beds, a vast open kitchen, and loft-style bar and seating for almost 80 diners.
The Finn's have created each element especially for the project, a turn-on for design geeks and food obsessives. Diners will sit on limited edition chairs by Artek (originally designed by iconic Finn Alvar Aalto in the '30s), and exclusive Iittala Artworks glasses and lighting are by Harri Koskinen. The Aspen tree tables and huts are by interiors expert Linda Bergroth, a canopy of cashmere scarves and furnishings are by Klaus Haapaniemi and Mia Wallenius, and staff uniforms are by Fashion East designer Heikki Salonen.
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What is 'following'?I went on the weekend for brunch with my Finnish girlfriend. The pop up may have been dreamed up by Finnish artists and sponsored by Italla among others, but it is insubstantial and not worth visiting. We could not locate a single Finnish person working there on the day, the food was truly mediocre and the service sloppy and slightly rude. The key question is why on earth one would go and pay £50 for brunch for 2 (that is for two courses apiece without any drinks at all), with bad service, a couple of pieces of art on the wall and fourth rate food made with cheap ingredients (think a focus on refried potatos and beetroot - it may be what Finnish grandma ate in the war but is hardly typical nowadays) in a chilly warehouse. Some pop up restaurants can be engaging and fun - this one is an ill thought-out, knock off that does a disservice to both Finnish food and design. In Finland one can these days (particularly in Helsinki) eat very well and it would be rare to leave with a sense of having been fleeced, which was the overwhelming sense on leaving Hel Yes. Hell never again.
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