Wave of Flavors

Wave of Flavors is one of those (rare) restaurants where, after the very first bite, you feel an overwhelming urge to jump onto the table, dance, and shout: “Yes, yes, YES!”

Finding a place in Helsinki that’s this cheap and this good is no easy task.

It’s probably best to say this right at the start: Portugal is not usually counted among the world’s great culinary superpowers. But as home cooking, Portuguese food can be disarmingly good – and that’s exactly the territory Wave of Flavors occupies.

This is pure comfort food, or comida caseira, as the Portuguese would say. If the décor were a little cosier, you could easily imagine yourself in a small family-run restaurant in Lisbon’s Bairro Alto, where the same handful of classic dishes have been cooked for decades and quietly perfected. That’s exactly how the seafood rice arroz de marisco (€20) tastes. A proper wave of flavours, living up to the restaurant’s name.

The same goes for the piri-piri chicken (€15.90). The search is over. The version we tried was spot-on: a perfect interpretation of a dish whose roots lie in Mozambique and the cultural cross-pollination of the colonial era. Chilli-spiked chicken travelled from the colonies to Portugal and became a national staple.

Wave of Flavors’ take on piri-piri chicken is dangerously addictive. The first press of the knife into the skin already promises good things. The leg is grilled until tender and juicy, the skin just slightly charred. The piri-piri sauce has exactly the right balance of heat and vinegar. And the fried potatoes served alongside it deserve a standing ovation of their own.

Both dishes were so good that my dining companion and I ended up racing each other, stealing bites from one another’s plates. We swore we’d be back soon.

And we were.

On the second visit, alongside the piri-piri chicken, we tried an Alentejo-style stew and a cod dish. The Alentejo stew (€16.50) combines pork and clams. According to historical anecdote, it was once used in the Middle Ages to test whether Jews had genuinely converted to Christianity under pressure. Delicious, though about as far from kosher as it gets.

For cod, the waiter recommended bacalhau com natas (€19.90). Cod baked with potatoes and onions in cream is perfectly pleasant, but fresh from the oven it was a little on the dull side. Half of it went home in a doggy bag – and just as I’d expected, the next day the flavours had settled beautifully and the dish had become irresistible. Still, next time I’d probably choose a different cod option to eat on the spot.

A brief note on the décor: this is not the place for Instagram photos. The atmosphere is friendly enough, but the interior feels rushed and budget-conscious. No matter. I have a strong feeling I’ll be back here many times yet, whenever I want comforting, homely food at a very reasonable price – or whenever I just miss the irresistible kick of piri-piri chicken.