Boreal

Boreal is such a welcome addition to Helsinki’s restaurant scene that it deserves a public thank-you. So: thank you, Boreal. Nordic cooking is taken to new heights here – or rather, fermented into new dimensions. Fermentation is treated seriously but never solemnly, resulting in seven courses of confident, surprising and quietly delightful flavours.

From the flavour profiles to the room and the service, everything here feels immaculately considered. Opened in September 2025, it’s been whispered about as a future Michelin star from day one – and it’s easy to see why.

Despite sitting squarely in fine dining territory, the atmosphere is warm and disarmingly relaxed. Boreal strikes a rare balance, combining the precision of high-end cooking with the comfort of a neighbourhood bistro. The smell of pork slowly cooking over charcoal drifted through the dining room, whetting my appetite the moment I stepped inside.

The opening act arrived quickly: a pumpkin soup that felt like a long, restorative hug. A bold personal choice for a tasting menu, perhaps, but it landed perfectly. 

The whole menu felt designed as an antidote to the winter chaos raging outside. That’s no accident. Boreal works almost exclusively with local, organic produce, allowing the menu to shift with the seasons, just as its name suggests – ‘boreal’ referring to the northern regions it draws inspiration from.

In winter, fermented and preserved ingredients from summer and autumn take centre stage: seaweed, mushrooms and root vegetables appear throughout. Fish comes from northern waters, while meat is either wild game or sourced from small organic farms.

There wasn’t a weak link in the seven-course tasting menu (€80). Even the bread – hovering somewhere between rye, sourdough and bagel – was memorable and perfectly in tune with the rest of the meal.

The wine pairing is excellent, but the real showstopper was the juice pairing. It was genuinely astonishing. The range was wide, the thinking meticulous, and the results exceptional. The team ferments and smokes berries, herbs and teas to create complex, food-worthy drinks that rival the wines. Without exaggeration, this was the best juice pairing I’ve ever had.

My favourite option is the mixed pairing, which lets you enjoy the best of both worlds: the gentle, loosening effect of the wines and the exciting new flavour territory opened up by Boreal’s juices.

The kitchen is led by Pasha Demin, whose CV includes Noma in Copenhagen, and both 305 and Kuurna in Helsinki. It’s an impressive list, but Boreal doesn’t trade on it – the cooking speaks clearly enough on its own.