One of the few times I felt like a restaurant dish was an 11 – Natura Helsinki

Natura is a Michelin recommended restaurant located in Helsinki. The restaurant has a la carte options, as well as menus where you let the restaurant choose the dishes (like a tasting menu but the dishes are chosen from the a la carte menu). Here was the menu on the night I went. I went with “All Out”:

Although the service was good throughout the meal, it was a bit slow to start. The kitchen is very small and the restaurant was full. Still, it was not bad service slow, it was bearable. The meal started with a fava bean puree, some rye bread and butter. It was a delicious start to the meal. The bread was excellent.

Next, a perfectly cooked Arctic Char. The fish was still raw yet cooked. The flavors were extremely well balanced with grapefruit providing some acidity, leafy greens and ikura providing some texture, and a buttermilk sauce providing some smooth luxuriousness to the dish.

After this, one of my favorite dishes, not just of the meal, but perhaps all time. Corn with smoked cheese, cucumber and cilantro. It reminded me a bit of a Mexican Street corn. The dishes was PERFECTLY seasoned with pickles cutting the richness and the cheese was so good. I cannot stress enough just how good this was. In my mind, this was an 11/10.

Also provided was a cauliflower panna cotta type dish. The Cauliflower packed a ton of umami and I think there was a hint of fish sauce in the dish. Grapes provided some sweetness and the almonds in the dish were so nutty and the best almond I have ever had. Lastly, goose leg confit with truffle. Also good. After this was a miss. The blood pudding ragu was quite bland, and lacked depth for a ragu.

This was followed by a pike in white wine sauce. Good, but a touch overseasoned.

The last savory dish was a Finnish filet. The filet was tender but I could not detect the taste of age on it like they mentioned. The blue cheese Madeira sauce was very good.

For the cheese course, a 3 year aged Finnish cheese. It had crystals like a good Parm, and was delicious. The rye bread they served with it was outstanding. At first bite, hints of popcorn. The smell reminded me of a freshly baked bran muffin.

As a palate cleanser, a cilantro sorbet with berries. The strawberry “broth” perfectly captured the essence of a perfectly sweet strawberry. The cilantro sorbet was brilliant.

The main dessert was yogurt “snow” that reminded me of bingsu. It had chocolate crumble for taste and texture.

To end, some petit fours:

Overall, despite the minor miss, and over-seasoned fish dish, the meal was solid. If these didn’t occur, I would probably give this place an 11/10. I would highly recommend.