I thought that readers would be interested in the state of restaurants in the small group of villages where we are staying for our working holiday.
Just look at the price list from the first page of a comfortable and high quality family restaurant – the cost of a generous glass of wine is correct and not a “Trompe-l’œil” or translated into English “not an optical illusion!”
This restaurant is beautifully decorated with old wood covering the walls and ceiling. There is not a nail in sight. The tables are covered with pure white linen table cloths and a red candle burns cheerfully on every table (SEE ABOVE PHOTO). The owner, Clara, is 80+ years old and cajoles the guests with an amazing memory. We were here last 2 years ago and yet she remembers us well. The two course meal costs us €30 with wine and coffee. My wife had a carefully prepared Wienerschnitzel, made from veal while I enjoyed freshly made pasta with chanterelles. We had their creamy ice cream for desert with coffee. The wine is a locally produced Lagrein red wine from this Südtirol – Alto Adige region.
We enjoy, in moderation, a glass with dinner after a hard day hiking up and down the side of one of the mountains – we try to cover around 20 km each day with a light lunch in a hütte at the top before coming down again. The photo here shows what we had yesterday for lunch and that cost us less than €10 each… and this hütte is 2300m above sea level and only open to hikers who make it to the top!
The meal, the atmosphere and the costs of these two lovely places compares favourably to our last meal on Tehtaankatu, in the centre of Helsinki. You will be shocked at the difference because we ended up paying €105 for two, that included one glass of wine one beer, a rather dry, scorched steak and a rather ordinary risotto – tap water cost us €2. To crown it all the unfriendly waitress, a complete amateur, even asked for a tip, which we certainly saw no reason to pay! Nobody asks for tips here in the Dolomites they just offer an excellent meal and reason to come again, and again…
Take a look at any of the Finnish restaurants listed above in FinnishNews – you should know that all of them charge reasonable prices, serve excellent food, and are really professional pleasant places to enjoy a meal. Not one of them has closed down, none are complaining about Covidee, and several are telling us that they have never had it so good. All of them take care of their staff and their guests where we always feels welcome. So try them out and contact me with email if you disagree!
