Alma

This spring’s most intriguing restaurant opening in Helsinki is Alma on Fabianinkatu. Behind it is the Olo Collection, led by top chef Pekka Terävä and best known for the Michelin-starred Olo.

Tucked away within the Italian restaurant Ristorante Scolare, Alma occupies its own tiny, hush-hush space behind thick velvet curtains. The vibe is pure living room: plush carpets underfoot, brick walls adorned with street-art-inspired paintings, and only a handful of tables. At first glance, you might wonder if you’ve wandered into a private lounge rather than a restaurant.

But make no mistake, this is a serious restaurant, and an ambitious one. There is no à la carte here; instead, diners are treated to a ten-course surprise menu. The evening begins in unison for all guests at 7 PM. Currently, there’s only one sitting per night, though they’re likely to double up as the season progresses.

With only a few spots available, you can choose between intimate tables or a seat at the counter. Everything is prepared in an open kitchen with a ‘chef’s table’ energy, and dishes are served to the whole room simultaneously, lending the dinner a fascinating sense of ceremony.

You could come here for the atmosphere alone, but the food holds its own. The concept draws loosely on the meeting of Italian and Latin American cuisines at the turn of the 20th century, when Italian immigrants reshaped food cultures across Latin America. Here, though, Latin America leads and Italy lingers in the background: mango, passion fruit, coriander, chilli and jalapeño run through the menu.

Global foodies have been obsessed with the bright, acidic punch of Peruvian cuisine for years, and Alma finally scratches that itch in Helsinki – albeit with a sophisticated, restrained Nordic touch. Seafood takes centre stage; our evening featured mussels, prawns, sea bass, scallops, and cod. In a move familiar to fans of Olo, red meat was absent.

Menus are presented as poetic fragments rather than ingredient lists. One reads: ‘The sea returns / stronger now / smoke, acid and sweetness merge.’ In practice, that translates to a succulent lobster tail paired with tamarind mousse in a chipotle sauce.

The lobster, lightly cooked to a perfect snap, is a natural highlight, but the asparagus with Brazil nut foam and the scallops paired with caper leaves were equally memorable.

The dessert course brought a genuine curiosity: black orange ice cream. The secret? Oranges slow-dried in a 60-degree oven for two weeks. If you have even a passing interest in new flavour frontiers, this alone justifies the €99 price tag for the ten-course journey. After all, you’re hardly going to try making black oranges at home.

Vibe: Cozy living-room-chic meets high-stakes ceremony.

Drinks: Pairings come in three versions: alcoholic (€85), non-alcoholic (€59), or a hybrid (€69) mixing wines and juices. Since the selection of Latin American wines in Finland is still relatively limited, the pairing also leans on European bottles.

Food: Leans Latin American but keeps its cool with Nordic restraint. A vegetarian menu is available.

Time Out tip: Chef’s table or a standard seat? It’s a tough call. The counter is perfect for those who want to watch the kitchen theatre, but because the room is so intimate, you’ll get a great view of the action no matter where you’re tucked in.