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Hours
Sun
11:00 - 15:30
Tue
11:00 - 14:00
Wed
11:00 - 14:00
Thu
11:00 - 14:00
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PRICE RANGE
€11.00 – €44.00
CUISINES
European, Scandinavian
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly
meals, features
Is this restaurant good for local cuisine?
Details
About
Traditional food in restaurant Parppeinpirtti in Ilomantsi, Karelia, East Finland
PRICE RANGE
€11.00 – €44.00
CUISINES
European, Scandinavian
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, Drinks
FEATURES
Takeout, Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Buffet, Private Dining, Seating, Parking Available, Free off-street parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Family style, Gift Cards Available
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4.5
35 reviews
Excellent
20
Very good
13
Average
2
Poor
0
Terrible
0
DoritK72
Munich9 contributions
Aug 2022 • family
We enjoyed trying the variety of Karelian food. Friendly and helpful staff, beautiful place on a small hill with a view.
Written 15 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ignė N
Klaipeda51 contributions
Jul 2019 • family
This restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat buffet for just 24 euros. Considering the prices in Finland, it's a real bargain. To top it off, the food is tasty and varied and fresh. Liked the Karelian pies with egg butter, the gravlax and baked salmon. The smoked fish (can't remember the name) was also outstanding, as well as marinated vegetables. Definitely recommend for those exploring North Karelia.
Written 21 July 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
XZaNzIbAr2013
10 contributions
Aug 2018 • family
The food is just amazing, service is excellent and the atmosphere there is great with nice music and Carelian style interior and exterior. The building is located on the high hill and offers probably one of the most beautiful sceneries you'll find in Finland. Definitely worth going and a place to take your foreign visitors to.
Written 8 August 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kwok
Joensuu110 contributions
Jul 2021 • couples
A full on buffet that is very meat centric. Vegetarian need to call in advance for prepared warm food. In my case, I had to wait a couple of days. Who would have known that kitchen staff cannot make something vegetarian on the spot? But need to wait a couple of days. The restaurant is in a remote place, but not that remote that it takes that much time to have none buffet food prepared.
In addition to the salad, the only option was the potatoes and some overly cooked veggies. I'm not sure if any of the nutritional properties in the veggies remained.
They did have home made Karelian pies, a protected term for food, and there is a glass window to see them in production. And these could be ordered separately per pie (which is very small).
Instead what was offered was a wild mushroom pepper soup. It was quite filling, and unlike other Finnish lunch places the choice of soup only was not possible. Several minutes after finishing the soup, a plate of beetroot patty was presented. It was burnt and the blue cheese that was supposed to be on it was missing in flavour. More work is needed on training these chefs on cooking good tasting, right textured vegetarian foods, as well as nutritional value for food that goes a buffet.
The price was quite high, and given the location and the amount of food, it is probably justified, or maybe could be a few euros less. But they do have staff that collect the plates, and do not really serve drinks as water and juice is included in the price, and people don't usually have alcohol with their lunch. Waitresses were fluttering around and taking turns to keep the place going, and it was certainly busy, but does that justify the price? Does this extra element to the dining experience make it any more desirable?
For me the inconvenience of having to order food two days in advance and the end result not being that spectacular (a plate with a patty and some cream) gives the place a lower score.
Written 1 August 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
EduSnacker
Helsinki129 contributions
Jun 2018 • friends
The restaurant has a really wide buffet of traditional Karelian cuisine for a bit more than 20 euros, so if you have felt the need to try it, this is definitely your chance. The Parppeinvaara Bardic Village is also situated right next to the establishment, so the area offers entertainment and history as well on the side.
Written 7 June 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
christpost
Ulm918 contributions
May 2018 • none
This restaurant offers typical karelian specialties in a buffet for lunch. Food is delicious and the atmosphere authentic.
Written 30 May 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matias V
Espoo386 contributions
Jul 2017 • family
This restaurant is really off the grid, but the food is really delicious and views are great. There is a museum village right next to the restaurant also worth visiting.
Written 11 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nobo
Chicago441 contributions
Jun 2017 • friends
A nice location on a hill just outside Ilomantsi. We stopped for lunch at the suggestion of the woman from the local tourist info office. The price for the lunch buffet was quite steep, so make sure you're hungry to get your money's worth. Personally, I find the ubiquitous Finnish dish, the Karelian pasty, to be pretty bland, but this place does provide "egg butter" for them so that was different. Standout dishes were a creamy mushroom salad, a creamy baked salmon, and and a lingonberry/carrot relish that paired well with the pork stew.
Written 22 June 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
M R
Espoo79 contributions
Aug 2016 • family
During summer the restaurant serves buffet lunch, which consists of both traditional and modernized local dishes. There is gravlax, smoked salmon, local smoked fish, mushroom salad, sauerkraut, marinated cucumbers, Karelian meat stew etc. The buffet includes fresh from the oven hand made Karelian pastries - heavenly! If you order in advance (details on restaurant website), you can have a take away package of the pastries. All food is fresh, well prepared and presented, and the service is friendly.
The only reason for not giving a 5 is that if you pay 23e per person for a buffet lunch, you do not expect to have a plastic table cloth! Even a bare table is better in my opinion.
As a side note, the building looks to need some external maintenance to keep the environment beautiful at the top of Parppeinvaara.
Written 3 August 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
L@br@rott@
11 contributions
Jul 2016 • family
Food was very tasty, especially the "säräjuurekset" were really tasteful. And all food and also the Carelian pies you can get gluten free!
The scenery from the terrace is stunning!
Only negative point is that you can smoke on the terrace while other people are still eating!!! Had to take our plates and finish our dinner inside.
Written 10 July 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KNN
33 contributions
Aug 2015 • business
Very nice lunch. traditional Carelian food prepared with care. A lot of choices! The only trouble is that the restaurant stops serving food at 4 o´clock in the afternoon.
Written 7 August 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Edelfelt
Hell308 contributions
Jul 2015 • friends
Enjoy authentic traditional Carelian cuisine! This place was picked by the Lonely Planet guide for a reason! Best Karelian pastries in the world!
Written 15 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Aapo T
Joensuu3 contributions
Jul 2013 • family
I am pretty sure this restaurant serves the best Carelian cuisine in the world. I ate from the buffeet table and everything served in there was top notch. This restaurant is for those who want to enjoy authentic traditional Carelian cuisine.
Written 22 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wallacech
21 contributions
Jul 2012 • friends
We were guests of Finnish friends from Helsinki, Turku and Somero who treated us to lunch in this lovely place. The buffet was very colourful, lavish and delicious ( twice ). Karelian specialities abounded and were outstandingly good. We were even shown by charming local ladies how to make the special pastries of Karelian fame. Starters, salads, entrees, and vegetables were varied and interesting. Desserts were local, fruity and fresh. Non alcoholic drinks including wonderful home made beer were freely available. The building itself was traditional log built open and airy with a wonderful aroma of pine forests. Facilities were modern and spotless.
Altogether very highly recommended. Can'e comment on value as we were guests - but the place was very busy with Finnish familes and lots of well behaved little Finns.
Written 12 August 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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