Gaijin

Amazing restaurant and excellent food! Choose one of the two set menus they have. You will not be disappointed!

9 course classic tasting menu:
Lots of seafood and interesting fusion combos. Loved the ribs, made just like my father did back at home. Pork buns also a big favorite. But the best course was the Japanese sushi w yuzu wasabi sauce! Nvm, also really liked eel dish.
Drinks:
Had the recommended warm cocktail and was pleasantly surprised by it! Very tasty, had notes of olong tea with Asian liquor and was very warming and welcoming

The service was great. the atmosphere was wonderful. The cocktails were delicious. Now the food was tasty, however, need to be described a bit more accurately. It may simply be a downfall of the Asian fusion genre, but nonetheless… We ordered the Szechuan beef and oxtail. There was absolutely no Szechuan peppers or Szechuan flavoring to the dish. It was incredibly savory and supple but not Szechuan. Second, we ordered a side dish of choi sum. Choi sum is a Cantonese word for a dark green leafy vegetable on a stalk not unlike Chinese broccoli. The description in the menu noted that it was sauteed watercress. When the dish came out. It was not watercress but choi sum. Also done well though sweeter than a traditional Cantonese dish. In addition. I found it funny since the waiter made note that the influences included specifically northern China and the two Chinese influences dishes were distinctly southern China. We also ordered the xo scallops. Xo sauce is again quite a common dish in southern Chinese cooking. There was little xo sauce in the scallops. Though delicious it was more Bonita flake flavored. All in all the food was delicious but it is certainly loosely based and influenced on different Asian regional foods. Its a pretty standard Asian fusion place. It isn’t anything amazing or standout creative but the ambience is pleasant and the drinks are good while the food is tasty it is not quite authentic.

Absolutely one of my favorite places in Helsinki! The atmosphere is relaxed and buzzing with great service. The food is to die for, I’ve never been disappointed. If you don’t feel like going for the full dinner just sit at the bar and have a small dish or two, try the drinks, they are delicious!

Great cozy yet contemporary atmosphere. We had a reservation for sunday evening, and they had a tasting menu for the day. We ordered 6 item tasting menu. Before this I started with a Hattori Hanso cocktail which was an espresso infused cocktail. Suprisingly nice!
Highlights of the dishes were the Oysters for the starter. A strange looking concoction that slipped right in your gullet and mixed together wonderfully. Secondly the Ribs were AMAZING and feel off the bone! My Vegetarian GF had one and LOVED THEM so you can be sure they are good.
A bit expensive as to be expected, but we definetly want to return for some special occasion.

Delicious. I had the pork belly bun, shrimp dumplings and Mongolian beef. Not sure I’d recommend the Mongolian beef: it was four very large chunks of meat, nicely-​cooked but overall a bit simple for my taste. I probably should’ve ordered the drunken chicken instead. The bun was terrific, particularly the kimchi aioli. Dumplings were great: delicate wrappings and served with excellent dipping sauces. Service was careful and restrained (Finland!); restaurant is dark, minimalist in style and reasonably quiet.

We went to Gaijin on a Sunday which was an excellent choice — they had two menus on offer, 3 courses for 35 Euro and 6 for 55 Euro. The three course menu was above my expectation and it was filling, too. The main course (roasted salmon with a truffle-​miso infusion, fennel purée, romanesco and pickled radishes) was both innovative and not too far out there. But the dessert trumped all. A black tea flavored white chocolate mousse with peach sorbet and black pepper meringue. Presentation of the food was above average.
The cocktail I had was also great — Harushinki or something like that — and better value at 12 Euro than the 7,50 Euro Asahi beer my boyfriend had.
Overall an amazing value for the Sunday menu.

Nice and and cosy atmosphere. No waiting for anything, 6 cources in one hour! Interesting mixes of tastes, as to be expected at a place serving Asian fusion. Recommended although a little bit high on price.

Tasting menu was amazing! Food was delicious and filling at the end of the meal. We recommend going here for those want to experience Asian fusion fine dining. Definitely will return when we’re in Helsinki again.

When the Finnish people next to you start talking about how good the food is and that you made an excellent choice to go there, they are either drunk or really, really enthousiastic. It was the latter.
Gajin is a really great pick for everyone that wants to spend a great evening of fine dining. The atmospere is not uptight, but very relaxt.
We chose to have the gajin tasing menu with the accompanying wines. The small asian diches are fantastic, all of them taste unique and super good. Look at the photos! I would make sure to get a table at 8, so there are no other tables behind you. Service can be extremely fast with bringing the dishes. That is the only downside. Other than that this restaurant is very good!

One of my all time favorite restaurants in Helsinki is for sure Farang. Fortunately the owners of this lovely place also have two other restaurants in the city one of which is Gaijin.
Gaijin follows Farang’s footsteps a bit, but is still a completely different experience after all. Their menu takes you to North Asia and also manages to surprise with a unique combination of tastes and flavors. The interior is more cozy and intimate then what you might know from Farang.
I would highly recommend a tasting menu here as well. Those menus of around eight to ten small dishes will make your taste buds celebrate.
Enjoy some Soft Shell Crab with apple and fennel, flavored with honey, mirin and hazelnut. And get carried away by the tenderness and taste of the Baby Back Pork Ribs.
Gaijin also has really nice cocktails. You should consider having one as an apéritif.
Prices are in the same range at Farang. But the money you pay definitely pays off. Don’t forget to make a reservation in advance!

Gaijin is definitely one of the best restaurants in Helsinki. The food is amazing and especially the service blows me away every time. I absolutely love this place! Best thing to do is to get the tasting menu with the wines, but you can also just have something small and enjoy their incredible drink list! Ps. Try the baby pork ribs, mussels and pork buns to go to food heaven!

This was a real positive surprise. Was actually supposed to have visited Farang but it was closed on sundays so went to Gaijin instead. The restaurant has a fairly standard asian-​fusion feel to it but could have been a bit more cosy but overall ok. The food on the other hand was the positive surprise, took the large tasting menu and I have to say that all of the dishes was really good. Would definitely consider coming back

Because I have the best boyfriend in the world, we went here for my birthday dinner. As a native San Franciscan, I fancy myself a bit of a fish snob. The Butterfish was to die for. I think we ordered an extra bottle of wine just so I could stretch out the dining experience itself.
To start from the beginning: the interior is very sleek and zen, the crowd is real mixed bunch — from what looked like a frat boy reunion at one of the long tables to the left of the entrance, to the older couple who looked like they were headed to the theater next to us, to the young couples on the terrace out front… Gaijin attracts all kinds.
The signature specialty drinks were like slushies for grown-​ups, wine prices are not too steeply marked up, and their small starters are out of this world. Order a couple of each of their dim sum-​like (but way better) starters– you will eat them all. Even if your jaw is wired shut. You’ll find a way. Dessert was amazing (I can’t remember what it was but it was heaven on a plate) and our server was the most adorable and sweet redhead who made the night super special.
This is a great place for any occasion– special or not. One of my top 5 favorites in Helsinki. Eat here now!

Gaijin is an excellent choice for Asian food in Helsinki. I am often a bit suspicious of the places that mix all types of Asian food (I did identify some Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes on the menu) as it often tends to be a place that does not really do anything well. That is not at all the case at Gaijin — they appear to master most of the dishes they serve up.
The only slight disappointment was the veal gyoza that were a bit flat in taste. What can also be said is that all of the dumplings are overpriced –would expect at least 4 gyoza for that price (now received 2). The pork on salad leaf (SSÄM MINI) and the vegetarian dim sum were great.
For the mains the gaijin hot pot, beef ssam gaijin and the bulgogi were all great. The yakitori chicken is also good but a dull choice considering the other options on the menu.
The cocktails and drinks are also very good and the wine list was decent. They also made an effort to have a few more beer choices than normal but the Asian beers offered are not really the best options available. All in all still a very good dining experience.

Gaijin was recommended to me by numerous Helsinkites and to my lucky discovery, I ended up in a hotel just steps away from this pan Asian (with a strong Japanese/​Korean bent) restaurant.
Do not miss the PORK BUNS. They’re the closest to Momofuku’s I’ve had in Europe. I’m especially fond of the togarashi mayonnaise on these babies.
Ditto the DRUNKEN CHICKEN was a masterpiece of flavour explosion. I spooned its residual sauce on my rice and contemplated tipping the bowl and pouring the honey-​soy remnants into my mouth. The sauce was actually that good!
Order the KIMCHI PORK SHU MAI. You won’t need more than one or two of these each given their supreme savoriness.
Skip the XO GRILLED BEEF. This Chinese style marinated beef arrived slightly above room temperature and somewhat single-​noted in flavour.
The cocktails at Gaijin also deserve a shout. I had a well-​balanced grapefruit drink but was tempted by many creative concoctions including one fresh watermelon juice number and another featuring egg whites and passionfruit.