Finland for foodies: Smör, Turku

“Smör” is the Swedish word for butter. The connection to the restaurant’s name, featured in the Michelin Guide and led by Head Chef Mikko Pakola, has a surprisingly simple origin. One of the restaurant Smör owners, Mikko Leminen, declared during his school days that if he ever opened a restaurant, it would be called “Smör.” According to Pakola, even the logo has been “borrowed” from a Finnish butter package. The restaurant operates in a charming cellar space, formerly the telephone operator center of the city of Turku.

Describing the kitchen’s operation, Pakola compares it to a 21st-century mobile company, where work is done when it feels right. Pakola aims to be an enabler, saying, “If someone asks if we can do something a certain way, my answer is practically always yes. I want to lead the kitchen in a way that the food we create is not just my food but our food. My role is to set certain boundaries within which each team member can experiment boldly – sometimes even wildly. We have a start-up atmosphere in the kitchen, always trying to come up with something new together. Sometimes it’s absurd, but usually, it’s cool.”

However, boundaries are equally important. Without them, Smör wouldn’t shine at the top of the Finnish restaurant scene. That’s why the Smör menu follows a specific formula: there’s always a fish dish, a vegetarian dish, snacks in between, bread, a warm fish or meat main course, a refreshing ice cream stick, and dessert. This formula has proven successful at Smör and is easy to modify by swapping elements within it.

Smör is a modern Scandinavian restaurant using locally sourced ingredients, preferably from just around the corner. Some of the ingredients come from the restaurant’s own farm. The kitchen team collaboratively decides what to cultivate, and they occasionally visit the farm together to harvest the ingredients. The own farm ensures a smooth flow of high-quality and fresh seasonal ingredients into the restaurant’s kitchen.

Meet the chef Mikko Pakola

The Finnish ingredient which gets your creativity flowing?

Finnish forest mushrooms. Leena, our go-to supplier, delivers them right to our kitchen door. Leena is our mushroom superhero as her smallest delivery is a whopping 60 liters!

The wildest flavor combo you’ve created?

Tar, potato, and salted caramel. It was one wild dessert with tar ice cream, potato apple jam, salted caramel, fried potatoes, and a fluffy meringue.

A song which sets your kitchen on fire?

Rich Love by One Republic. It’s a love song which also tells about booking tables at restaurants you’ve never been to and being as broke as a smashed wine bottle.

When @Smör, taste...

A spruce-flavored ice cream stick dipped in chocolate. We serve it on spruce branches for a full sensory experience.

When @Turku, do...

Turku is perfect for soaking up to the local scene. Take a walk to Ruissalo for archipelago nature vibes, deep dive into history at Turku Castle, and end the day in a local restaurant or a bar – all within a walking distance.

Go visit Smör

• smor.fi
• Läntinen Rantakatu 3, Turku, Finland