A21 Dining

Cocktails — 5 stars. Stopped in on a Wednesday night for cocktails and they were great!
Decided to come back on a Friday for dinner five course tasting menu…
Dinner — 3 stars. Just ok was our overall impression of the five course tasting menu. Very small portions, with ok flavor.
Overall, would recommend stopping in for cocktails, but skip dinner.

Once, in a few years, a restaurant comes around that simply blows you away. This is that restaurant. We had a 24 hour layover in Helsinki and through a google search I discovered the restaurant. We made a reservation at 7:30 and hoped for the best.
We opted for the 7 course Fall seasonal menu with drink paring. First, the food. It was simply excellent. We received a dish from the kitchen plus 2 starters, a soup, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. Everything was simply awesome. The dishes that they served were all fresh and wonderful. The flavors were clean, simple, and plated artfully. I wish I could remember all the specifics but I can tell you that the food was so good.
The drink paring perfectly compliments the food. We had a total of 7 drinks and they were flavorful, unique, and perfectly strong! Our server was very knowledgable and helpful, and she walked us through the menu dish, by dish. You see, this restaurant tells a story with the meal, in our case it was taking a walk through the forest. This was really a nice touch and something I hope they continue.
The dining room was small, cozy and comfortable. The service was excellent. Our total was about 150 (Euro) which included both drinks and food, which for a tasting menu of this caliber is quite reasonable.
After having been to many Michelin Starred restaurants around the world, and in our home in New York City, we were both very surprised that A21 would be the BEST MEAL OF OUR LIVES (so far). It was quite shocking that our ‘annoying layover’ turned into such a great experience but now we may have to make a special trip to Finland, just to visit this restaurant.
If you find yourself in Helsinki and want a special meal, you must go to this place for dinner!

Very interesting concept restaurant. The food is excellent and the cocktails are very interesting.
They offer a five course or seven course option. I preferred the five course and they even customized it with one of the options from the seven course for me.
The stories and artwork that accompany each course are also quite interesting.
Plan for an unhurried relaxing evening with excellent food and drinks.

Interesting cocktail bar/​restaurant where there is no a la carte menu and it is expected to sip a cocktail with each offered dish in order for the dining experience to be told with a story. Each season they offer a story menu told by the waiters while they serve and the venue has this unique lounge décor. The food was top notch and the cocktails to die for! Recommend it if you wanna try something different but not if you are just looking for simple bar food and a beer… Expect to spend loads!