We know what you’re thinking: Finnish food sounds about as appealing as 24 hours of darkness. But Hel Yes, the pop-up restaurant opening tomorrow in Islington, has given us five new reasons to love (or at least try) Nordic cuisine.
1. Chef Antto Melasniemi’s traditional dishes include a Karelian pot (pork, beef and lamb stew), Archipelago bread, cinnamon buns with whipped raspberry pudding and liquorice crème brulee.
2. The open-plan kitchen displays the catch of the day, as well as locally foraged vegetables and herbs such as wood sorrel, chickweed, polypody root and Finnish lingonberries.
3. The bar (open till 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday) serves local beers and spirits, including cinnamon and Fisherman’s Friend-flavoured vodkas.
4. Design junkies will love the industrial space furnished with work by established Finnish designers, including Linda Bergroth’s tables made from discarded Aspen trees, 403 chairs by renowned architect Alvar Aalto in limited-edition colours, tents and beds draped with shawls, and textiles from the Klaus Haapaniemi collection.
5. Three courses for brunch, lunch and dinner cost just £25. The menu changes daily, so keep going back before 3 October to sample something new.
Londonewcastle Depot, 1-3 Wenlock Road, London N1 7SL +44 (0) 7505 998053 helyes.fi
