Bastion Bistro - Helsinki

The inside is very nice, a classic wooden house from the 19th century. The outside is a cheerful terrace which sits between the restaurant and natural prairie. They could have mowed the adjacent lot but thankfully they let it be, and the effect was as if we were in the country. They have pizza and burgers and pepper steak. I recommend caesar salad and shrimp scampi for starters. The wine list features good choices from New Zealand. A great off-the-road dining experience. You must take the ferry to Suomenlinna which leaves every 30 minutes from Helsinki main market square.

The food was nice, my friend and I both ordered pizzas and they were very fresh and delicious. They had a nice area for outdoor seating which was appreciated on a sunny day! The drinks were unbelievably expensive, though, just one soft drink almost half the price of a pizza... But our foods came quick and the customer service was very friendly!

We had to wait 30 minutes for anyone to talk to us on the table, although we had booked the table beforehand and restaurant wasn’t close to full. It took for another 20 minutes to get food, and one of the portions was delivered wrong. Right one was promised in few minutes, but it never arrived. Many other groups were waiting for service for long time aswell. One group came 25 minutes after us, got service immediately and food 15 minutes before us. I guess they had right face or something. Salmon soup was full of onion and peppers, lacking potato and salmon, and as gluten free bread never arrived, I left hungry. My friend’s mozzarella salad seemed rather ok. We didn’t hear any apologies for all the delays, and also wrong bills were given us at the end. This restaurant visit could have been a piece of comedy show, only it wasn’t.

Good food, but hard to book at least in my case the restaurant did not pick up multiple phone calls from abroad to reserve. Great location right by the (municipal, cheap) ferry. Not as allergy friendly as some of the other restaurants on the island.

Unfortunately not a great experience. Had their lunch burger which was OK, except for the meat that was definitely not of high quality. The portion was quite small too. The surroundings were nice though.