Hans Välimäki and Arto Rastas open two restaurants in Helsinki.
Hans Välimäki and Arto Rasta’s second new restaurant is the Italian Gina. Adobe Stock / AOP / Mikko Huisko
Chefs Hans Välimäki and Arto Rastas and his team will open two restaurants in the center of Helsinki in the fall of 2023: an Italian bistro and a British gastropub.
Välimäki tells Iltalehti that originally the intention was not to open two restaurants in the same autumn, but this is the situation now.
First, an Italian restaurant will open its doors. At the beginning of September, the Italian Bistro Gina will open on Korkeavuorenkatu.
Välimäki says that, like Bistro Bardot, Gina will also be a relaxed, lively and informal bistro-brasserie, serving Italian classics with a modern touch.
The restaurant makes its own pastas, piadinas and focaccias. The idea is to make simple, delicious and high-quality food, where taste is decisive.
According to Välimäki, the best Italian cuisine consists of olive oil, garlic, anchovies, various cold cuts, basil and olives.
The goal of the entrepreneurs is to open one of the best Italian restaurants. Bistro Gina is modeled after iconic Italian restaurants, characterized by first-class food, drink and service.
A “mistake” has been considered in the name of the restaurant. In Italy, the word bistro is not commonly used, but instead they have Osteria (wine bar), Trattoria or ristorante.
– We didn’t want to paint ourselves into a corner, so we felt that “Italian Bistro” gives a better indication of what we will present to our customers at Gina in the future, Välimäki opens the name.
You can already reveal one thing from the restaurant’s menu:
– There will definitely not be pineapple pizza, Välimäki shakes.
The food at The Rook, Ministry of Horns and Fins is influenced by the British Isles. Adobe Stock / AOP
A few minutes’ walk from Gina is another of autumn’s new restaurants. The Rook, Ministry of Horns and Fins, will open its doors at the end of autumn at the corner of Yrjönkatu and Ratakatu.
– I have eaten the best oysters, fish and chips and mackerel in my life in the British Isles. Gastropubs are attractive because the threshold to enter them is low, the price level is moderate and the atmosphere is relaxed. For a long time, Helsinki has lacked an atmospheric restaurant offering high-quality pub food, Välimäki says in the press release.
Välimäki thinks that a gastropub is the equivalent of today’s bistro.
– They have a lot in common anyway, interesting menus, the use of cheap ingredients in perfect harmony with luxury products, extensive drink menus, competent service and a relaxed atmosphere.
At The Rook restaurant, the main focus will be on the food and the aim is to prepare everything ourselves from scratch.
The restaurant will have a secret room, the entrance of which can be found on the restaurant’s bookshelf.
The full name of the gastropub, The Rook, Ministry of Horns and Fins, was born from the idea that the logo should be like a coat of arms and should tell something about what the restaurant has to offer. Black crows are not offered in the restaurant, but seafood and game are. The property has also housed various ministries at one time.
Behind the restaurants is the same foursome as at Kluuvikatu Bistro Bardot: Hans Välimäki, Arto Rastas, Miika Lonn and Maria Von Graevenitz-Välimäki.