Savoy (restaurant)
Savoy is a restaurant on the Eteläesplanadi street in Helsinki, Finland. The restaurant was opened on 3 June 1937[1] in the A. Ahlström Osakeyhtiö building designed by Walter Jung. The interior was designed by Aino and Alvar Aalto together with textile artist Dora Jung and the company Artek which had just been founded. It was common for Aalto to design both the building itself and its interior himself.[citation needed] Savoy has been mentioned in literature as one of his most notable separate interior designs.[citation needed] There have been several opinions about how much he really participated in the interior design of Savoy, for example a drawing resembling the current furniture of architects Jung & Jung.[citation needed]
The main restaurant hall of Savoy is long and narrow, resembling a tram or a saloon on a ship. The original functionalist interior has been mostly preserved: plywood, wood, slammed brick. The restaurant is also known by the nicknames "Aalto's stable", "giraffe stable" and "elephant stable".[citation needed] A further nickname is "Savo OY". The windows on the restaurant hall on the street side have a view to the Esplanadi park. The ground floor has a celebration space. At the time of its opening in 1937, Savoy had four elevators and an air conditioning device keeping the hall clean of cigar smoke, which was unusual at the time.[2]
History
The first restaurateurs of Savoy were the Swedish-born Gustav Rasmussen and Runar Björklund, who was also known as the elite athlete "Pixen". Both of them also had other restaurants in Helsinki. Gustaf Rasmussen, who had previously worked at the restaurant Hasselbacken in Stockholm, Sweden, was the chief restaurateur. Savoy has since been managed by Arctia (originally known as "Yhtyneet Ravintolat"), Scandic Hotels and Royal Ravintolat since March 1999.
The traditions and reputation of Savoy are mostly based on its famous clients. The most famous of them was Field Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, who had his first lunch at Savoy two days after its opening and stayed as a regular guest. The Marshal had just had his 70th birthday at the time. Mannerheim told the restaurant he did not want to hear any recommendations from the chief cook.
It is still possible to sit at the Marshal's table at Savoy and eat vorschmack served with pickles and beetroot, whose recipe is said to come from Mannerheim himself, who saw it at the Officer's Club in Warsaw, Poland,[citation needed] and drink the famous ice-cold, clear schnapps named after Mannerheim. In summer 1977 a photograph of Mannerheim and a small plaque mentioning Mannerheim as a regular guest was hung on the wall near the corner table.
Food
Famous dishes at Savoy include vorschmack, Baltic herring and pike perch à la Mannerheim.
Honours
The Finnish Gastronomic Society has chosen Savoy as Restaurant of the Year in 1999 and 2007.[3]
Restaurant Savoy has been awarded the Nordic swan environmental award.
The ceramic artist Karin Widnäs has designed the hand-made cutlery For Savoy for the restaurant. It has 16 parts and was partly designed by Savoy's chief cook Kari Aihinen. The cutlery is white and has a simple shape. It is part of Helsinki's period as design capital of the world.[1]
Sources
- History of the restaurant
- A. Ahlström AB main office Archived 2020-11-28 at the Wayback Machine at the City Museum of Helsinki
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Karin Widnäs suunnitteli Savoylle uniikin design-astiaston, Helsingin Sanomat 27 January 2012, page C1.
- ↑ "Savoy - ravintolalegenda joka elää". Archived from the original on 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
- ↑ Restaurants of the Year Archived 2017-12-04 at the Wayback Machine, Finnish Gastronomic Society. Accessed on 8 December 2017.
External links
Coordinates: 60°10′1.09″N 24°56′50.25″E / 60.1669694°N 24.9472917°E
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