Sandro Kallio - Helsinki

The first thing I will say in this review is that the photos already uploaded to Yelp do not do it justice. I had bookmarked it before travelling to Helsinki after reading about it in an online travel guide but was not overly swayed by the pictures. After walking about looking for food, to no avail, in minus 8 heavy snow fall, I decided to check my bookmarks and this was nearby and would have to do. As soon as we walked in I was taken aback at how cool it looked plus it was really busy which is always a good sign. I scanned the tables to have a peek at other diners plates and was pleasantly surprised... this looked good! The waiter was chirpy and said he could squeeze our party of 4 in if we gave him a few minutes...we all breathed a sigh of relief at this point! There was a small cocktail menu, I went for the berry bang with rum, it was a delicious proper cocktail, just the right ratio of rum and sweetness. So far so good. The food is Moroccan/Middle Eastern and the waiter answered any questions we had with ease. Three of us, myself included, ordered the Boulettes (24 euro) and one ordered the tagine of the day (market price). The Boulettes arrived on platters with meat balls, couscous and a egg...it looked a bit dull until a second plate arrived, teaming with houmous, tabbouleh, pomegranate seeds, tomato infused bread, crunchy salad, mint yogurt, zaalouk (aubergine salad) to name a few. It was superb! I loved how you could mix and match all the flavours so that each mouthful tasted different... Like tapas for yourself on your own plate. The portions were big but it was so tasty I could have eaten more. My friend ordered the tagine of the day which was probably too much for one person, maybe best to share, but it looked great and the meat was succulent and soft. We have returned home to Scotland and upon writing this review I'm starving at the thought of it. There was a Sandro cookbook which we now regret not buying, so will call the restaurant to order a copy. The food was fantastic, if we go back to Helsinki I'd go back here in a flash. Well done Sandro, just wish we'd found it sooner

The food gets 4.5 stars. I ordered the goat cheese and dates pastillas which were delicious. I also had a berry bang drink; it might have been the most attractive fruit covered drink I've ever had. Huge thumbs up for the bar tender. The thing I disliked the most was service. When I could get it, everyone was nice. But, it sometimes took flagged someone down. I HATE having to flag someone down. It makes me feel like a jerk, but also shows a serious disconnect between expectations and service. If this were a cheap or crappy restaurant maybe I wouldn't feel so strongly. But, when your menu is 50E/person, I expect service with that.

Sandro, located in Kallio, is just charming. I love it. Although they are not the cheapest place for lunch, they are the kind of place I wish I lived next to in Tampere. I've been to Sandro twice for lunch and never in the evening. My first visit was with a group of 12 and everything worked great and people praised the buffet. I remember being especially thrilled about the soup it seriously blew my mind with the awesome taste. Sounds crazy right? ;D My second visit was alone with my 4 months old baby. This time I knew what to expect foodwise but my expectations were exceeded in terms of the great service from the staff. They greeted me at the door and helped me through the door with the prams and asked if I needed a highchair for the baby. While I was getting food, they cheerily asked my baby's age and made some friendly small talk. When we were about to leave, staff was again helpful in getting out of the doors and even watched the baby while I used the toilet. 5 stars, no doubt! :

Awesome food! Great ambiance! This restaurant would likely be a regular place to eat if I lived nearby. I ate the kefte tagine and it was amazingly good. The tagines are a large portion of food served on two plates. One plate is the bottom plate of the traditional tagine cooking dish and contains what you ordered. In my case, this was kefte which is a spiced meatball cooked in a tomato sauce with poached eggs. The second plate was covered with couscous, baba ganoush, hummus, yogurt, salad, and a large piece of delicious house-made bread. The kefte and sauce were very flavorful and combined with the poached egg made for a rich and filling meal on its own. Everything on the second plate was also delicious. The only difficult part was after tearing a piece of the bread and then trying to decide whether to dip it the tomato sauce or scoop up smoky baba ganoush, nutty hummus, or tangy yogurt. By the end of the meal I was satisfied and full of delicious food. The menu also contains a nice selection of wines, craft beers, and cocktails. The wine was very good, however the rose sour cocktail was too sweet. I visited as part of a large group and we were seated at a perfectly sized table for the 12 of us. Service was prompt and friendly in the beginning with our orders taken and food served before too long. However, after that it was difficult to capture the attention of the server if an additional drink was needed. I visited the restaurant a second time the same week with my wife just for a drink and snack at the bar. It was almost impossible to get an employee to take our order even though we were recognized upon entering by our server from earlier in the week. One employee spoke with us and gave us menus but never returned to take our order. After finally placing our order we sat and waited for a long time without anyone preparing our drinks. Since we were sitting at the bar we could tell that nobody was working on them since everybody left the bar area and did not return except to make drinks for other customers seated at tables. After a while we were able to attract the attention of someone other than the person who placed our order and ask about. She spoke with the manager who promptly made the drinks. However, the manager appeared quite rude. We made some small talk with him while he prepared the drink and asked about their hours and he basically stated that he wanted us to leave because he didn't want to pay the employees to remain open while we sit there and drink water. This is regardless of the fact that there were several tables full of people. We finished our drinks and food and left while there remained many tables of customers still being served. Service summary: the servers are all very nice although sometimes hard to get their attention, the manager is rude and definitely ruins the feel of an otherwise wonderful restaurant. I would rate this restaurant five stars if the service improved because the food and ambiance is fantastic.

I've walked past this restaurant and bar many times in the evenings but frequently walked past because it was so crowded. The smells emanating from within, however, served to remind me that Someday, I Will Have To Eat Here. I finally made it for Friday lunch: the all-you-can-eat buffet was a solid value at 12€. The entrees smelled aromatic and came with freshly-baked bread that was rich, moist and delicious. Selections from the vegetarian mezze section were flavored brightly, redolent in Mediterranean spices. I'd choose this place for a relatively-reasonably priced date: a bit more artsy/upscale than most places in Kallio, but without the excessively high prices and pretense of other places in Central Helsinki.