Finland for foodies: Havu Kitchen & Bar, Tahko

Havu Kitchen & Bar offers clean Scandinavian and Japanese flavors at the top of Tahkovuori. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring locally sourced ingredients alongside the vastness of the horizon. Guests can savor wild boar raised 20 kilometers away, the world’s northernmost organic pear from Kuopio, and perch from Lake Syväri visible through the restaurant’s windows.

“It’s wonderful to know the story behind the ingredients, which we can share with the customers and provide them with an experience,” rejoices Kim Mustonen, the Head Chef of Havu Kitchen & Bar.

The breakfast served at the tables includes various warm dishes made to order, such as waffles with chocolate and nuts or berries. “It’s worth trying savory waffles, for example, with deep-fried chicken or Japanese cabbage omelet okonomiyaki with smoked vendace.”

A significant part of the Havu Kitchen & Bar experience is its location. The large windows reveal the Finnish landscape with lakes, islands, and forests stretching far into the horizon.

“The landscape is like a vast canvas with the full spectrum of colors. The morning sun floods in through the windows, and in the evening, the sun setting beyond the horizon creates a pleasant atmosphere for dinner.”

For dinner, guests can choose between a four or six-course tasting menu, with dishes changing based on the availability of ingredients, sometimes even daily. The entire menu is refreshed every month.

“This spring, we have, for example, offered roe of perch from Lake Kallavesi, game, such as deer, and preserved pears,” Mustonen lists.

Meet the chef Kim Mustonen

The Finnish ingredient which gets your creativity flowing?

Finnish forest mushrooms, especially porcini, chanterelles, funnel chanterelles, and black trumpet mushrooms. I enjoy foraging myself, and it’s fantastic that mushrooms can be found right in our backyard. You can make a good sauce, ice cream, or broth for ramen from mushrooms.

A song which sets your kitchen on fire

Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” gives a good fighting spirit for preparations.

When @Havu, taste...

In every menu there is always tartare made from different ingredients according to the season. For example, try reindeer or beef tartare.

When @Tahko, do...

Try the Japanese-style forest spa called Lähde. It has three different saunas: a panoramic sauna, a smoke sauna, and a treetop sauna at a height of 8 meters. Additionally, the spa features an outdoor hot tub, a cold-water pool, and a pool pavilion with three pools. Taking a snowcat ride from Tahko village to dinner is also a fantastic experience.

Go visit Havu Kitchen & Bar

• panoramahotel.fi/havu
• Tahkonmäentie 335, Nilsiä, Finland