Helsinki Central Station is having a moment. First, the clock tower reopened to the public. Now there’s another reason to linger: Eero Järnefelt’s monumental Landscape from Koli, finally restored and glowing in all its national-romantic splendour.
Koli, a lake-dotted landscape in North Karelia, holds an almost mythical place in Finnish culture. Long regarded as the country’s national scenery, it is defined by a lake seen from a high rocky outcrop, framed by gnarled pine trees and scattered with small islands.
The painting itself is enormous – five by eight metres, 40 square metres in total. Roughly the size of a small one-bed flat, it’s one of the largest canvas paintings ever made in Finland. Completed in 1911 with the help of the lesser-known A. W. Finch and Ilmari Aalto, it was installed in the station’s grand first-class waiting room in 1923. After more than a century, it has now been fully conserved. Cleaned and polished, the colours blaze with the dramatic blues and greens of Finland’s most iconic landscape.
That same hall has seen many lives over the years, from arcade games to fast food. Now it has been reborn as a restaurant – and it’s a welcome change. In this Art Nouveau, palace-like space, the painting finally gets the setting it deserves. Massive columns support a dizzyingly high ceiling. Elegant lamps and thoughtful lighting set the mood. Jazz hums in the background.
My companion nods approvingly.
'This feels like New York.'
He is not wrong. There’s more than a hint of Grand Central Terminal about the place. At Taulu restaurant, Helsinki Central Station – designed by Eliel Saarinen and collaborators – comes alive in full glory. It really is one of the world’s great station buildings.
At the front of the restaurant there’s a pastry counter and a tempting salad bar for grab-and-go snacks. The middle is dominated by a stylish bar, while the actual dining area sits at the back.
Everything here is big. Including the claims. Taulu’s head chef has declared their meatballs the best in the city (€19.90). They’re certainly good: silky mash, classic gravy, firm and tightly packed meatballs with a pleasant herbal note. Lingonberry jam, pickles and fresh herbs complete the plate.
Best in the city, though? That might require a bit more swagger. It’s not quite destination-worthy, especially when it takes an hour and ten minutes to arrive at the table. In that time, you could almost make it to Turku – assuming the long-planned one-hour rail link ever happens.
Let’s hope the slow service is just opening-week stiffness. The whole point of a station restaurant is speed, food eaten while waiting for the time to rush to the platform. The short, traditional menu reflects that idea: Steissi bread (a hunter’s sandwich with chicken), salmon soup, reindeer casserole and a fish of the day.
Taulu is intentionally a people’s restaurant – just in very grand surroundings.
Its biggest flaw, however, is the layout. The dining tables are tucked away at the very back, under and behind the painting, in a space that feels oddly like a back room. The main reason to come here – the magnificent hall and Järnefelt’s masterpiece – is largely lost on diners.
Still, it’s easy to imagine returning. The setting alone is reason enough. Next time, though, the café side of Taulu will do – or better yet, the stylish bar counter. It’s the perfect place to linger over a drink, watching both the painting and the passing parade of station life.
The bar’s signature cocktail is called – what else – the Koli Martini. In surroundings like these, it’s easy to imagine James Bond ordering one. Shaken, not stirred. And missing his train on purpose.
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