Lunch at Postres

To celebrate my dear friend Ilona's birthday a special lunch was in order and so we decided to book a table at Postres, one of the few Michelin starred restaurants in Helsinki. The cuisine is modern Scandinavian based on the classic French style. They have two menu choices for lunch, 29€ or Chef's menu for 53€. We mixed a little bit and the price was from between the two menus.

We started with the house Champagne, which suited our occasion and was pleasantly toasty, waking up an appetite. The bread was irrisistably fresh, the best "saaristolaisleipä" I have ever tasted. I liked how the butter was set on a small stone.

We asked for a white wine that would go with both the starter and the main and got a nice Rheingau Riesling which was exactly the kind of wine I love; acidity, fruit, freshness, maybe just off dry. (And it didn't break the bank either.)

Our starter was a beautifully served mussel soup, with a touch of Thai flavours such as coconut, curry and coriander.  The flavours were fresh and balanced, and of course there was a pretty foam. Wonder when that will go out of fashion...

 The main course was the very seasonal burbot, which I have eaten only once before, if you don't count the roe of burbot, which is great with blinis. There were panfried pieces of burbot, burbot liver and a sort of quenelle with a fish mousse inside, as well as a mayonnaise (blisfully forgot what it was flavoured with but it was very tasty!), a parsley puree, carrots, ryebread croutons and a potato snow. It wasn't only beautiful in presentation but also tasted good and satisfied the appetite. The flavour of the fish is quite delicate and everything on the plate was in balance.

 Dessert was a baked chocolate mousse with "tiger ice cream". The mousse was like a softer version of a fondant, fluffy and moist. Tiger ice cream was like a gourmet version of the shop bought stuff and the orange flavour came in the ice cream and a quark as well as gel, jelly and segments of orange. Couldn't fault it, and the dessert wine from Mas Jullien (Southern France) really complimented the orange flavours.

Cloudberry filled profiterols were presented with our coffees, and even we were quite full they were the cherry on top.

All in all the lunch was perfect, and pretty much what I expected it to be. Service was friendly and professional, at the level that the Michelin inspectors would aspire it to be. If I have to come up with any criticism it is that I personally wish that even the Michelin places would relax just a little bit. Who really wants the napkin put on their lap or their table brushed off breadcrumps? However, for me it is a place that is well suited for a special occasion, and I will definately want to go back. Would recommend for anyone who enjoys this kind of food!