Ravintola Ilo can sometimes be a pretty overwhelming place for a visually-impaired person to order food. There are several different stations to order food from, the menus and price lists are usually high-up or far from the counter, and it's always so crowded that I never feel like I can take my time in tyring to understand where to go and what to do. For these reasons, I don't go there often. However, today I went with a group of very helpful friends.
This is the "Kausipurkeri", or burger of the season. It's pulled pork, barbecue sauce, tomato, lettuce, arugula, onions, and mayonnaise on, according to them, brioche, and served with house-made fries and house-made ketchup.
I found the presentation fun. I like the brightly-colored basket, and the fact the fries came in a mug.
I really enjoyed the ketchup and fries. It was easy to tell right away that the ketchup wasn't purely from a jar, which I appreciate. Ketchup is such an easy thing to make, and commercial ketchup can be pretty gross. The fries were seasoned with herbs and spices, and not just salt. This was a really nice touch on their part. It's such a simple move that requires almost no effort, but it instantly takes boring fries to a whole new level. I wish more restaurants would season their fries this well.
The burger itself wasn't anything special. When I have pulled pork on a bun, I want pulled pork, maybe some coleslaw or cabbage or something, and then a bun. I don't want barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, tomatoes, and whatever else was on this burger. if the meat has to be covered in a million different sauces to taste good, then it's not good meat. That being said, nothing tasted particularly unpleasant, so it wasn't a bad experience overall.
The burger, fries, water, and coffee cost €10, which isn't a very good value when compared to several other lunch restaurants in the city center. There were a few groups of people eating at the same time we were, who were dressed nicely and clearly on a business lunch, though, so I would guess Ravintola Ilo is trying to cater more to the "working lunch" market, and not people just looking to get full bellies.
Ravintola Ilo is located on the bottom floor of the Sokos department store, just past the men's clothing department.
The burger itself wasn't anything special. When I have pulled pork on a bun, I want pulled pork, maybe some coleslaw or cabbage or something, and then a bun. I don't want barbecue sauce, mayonnaise, tomatoes, and whatever else was on this burger. if the meat has to be covered in a million different sauces to taste good, then it's not good meat. That being said, nothing tasted particularly unpleasant, so it wasn't a bad experience overall.
The burger, fries, water, and coffee cost €10, which isn't a very good value when compared to several other lunch restaurants in the city center. There were a few groups of people eating at the same time we were, who were dressed nicely and clearly on a business lunch, though, so I would guess Ravintola Ilo is trying to cater more to the "working lunch" market, and not people just looking to get full bellies.
Ravintola Ilo is located on the bottom floor of the Sokos department store, just past the men's clothing department.