4 Best Restaurants in Lapland, Finland

The restaurant of one of Rovaniemi’s best hotels offers a great dinner menu in a calm and stylish setting. Main courses include reindeer and moose steaks, reindeer burgers, sautéed reindeer, smoked salmon, whitefish, and a mushroom-based vegetarian option, followed by berry-based desserts. A set "Arctic Menu" combines the various elements, as does a five-course "Chef's Menu."

Probably the coziest and best place in town to sample authentic, top-quality Lapp dishes, Nili offers a prix-fixe "Rovaniemi Menu" that includes bear-meat consommé, caramelized pork, arctic pike perch, and a final course of homemade "squeaky" cheese, which is a hard cheese that is baked in the oven to soften it and usually served with cloudberry jam. The à la carte menu includes sautéed reindeer—poronkäristys—with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce, a local classic. You can even try a bear burger if you're so inclined.

Unpretentious but original gourmet-quality food at favorable prices is on Gustav's menu. An imaginative addition to the city's dining scene, it serves up a mouthwatering selection of cold dishes—such as whitefish and yogurt with black currants—and hot, including arctic char and fennel-lemon risotto, as well as thoughtful kids' menu. The crisp, freshly-baked sourdough bread with a variety of dips and spreads could be a sumptuous meal on its own. The bar is a lively spot for aperitifs and digestifs, or just drinks without a meal. There are two heated glass igloos for private dining (minimum group of six) on the pavement outside from November till March—although the privacy aspect is a little dubious; bear in mind they are made of glass!

If you're not already surprised to find Mexican food in Lapland, you'll be even more surprised to find authentic and good Mexican food here. A sister property to the cool and popular Café and Bar 21 next door, the restaurant brought in a chef and bartender from Mexico to train the staff so they could create authentic flavors and dishes. Homemade taco combinations are a specialty, with burrito and pike perch options on the main course list. You'll find nice cocktails, too.