We arrived in Helsinki knowing that we had a wait of about two hours before we could collect the keys for our apartment. We decided to find a nice place to settle down, have some food and wait it out before properly exploring. We didn’t have to wander far when we spotted Da Vinci on the corner of the main road and saw some of the food people had on their plates. I love looking to see what other people have so that I can find it on the menu and see if I’d like it. I must look like such a food creep. We parked ourselves on the outdoor seats, stacked and racked our cases and settled in.

Pesto Fusilli

There is always one black sheep! The one non-salad order was my friend’s pasta, which by the way, was the most delicious pesto pasta I have ever tasted. Pesto often reminds me of being a student when I’d spent all my money, and I had to resort to pasta with a few spoons of pesto mixed in – not a bad meal, but a bit boring. If my salad wasn’t so incredible, I’d have suffered the most hideous food envy. The pasta was perfectly al dente to my taste and coated in this creamy, almost buttery textured pesto. The herbs, cheese and nuts were perfectly balanced – it was simply gorgeous and the best I’ve tasted.

Salmon Salad in Coconut & Passionfruit

What this salad lacked in aesthetics, it made up for in taste. Coconut milk and passionfruit were shaken into a dressing for the smoked salmon salad. It was tropical and fruity but also really light. It was so beautiful. A simple mixture of leaves tossed in the dressing, smoked salmon and toasted pine nuts – beauty in simplicity.

Goats Cheese & Summer Fruits Salad

This was my ideal salad in many ways…let’s start with aesthetics. How beautiful does my salad look?! The salad leaves were sprinkled with juicy blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, toasted pine nuts and a grilled goats cheese round. It was then decoratively drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It was absolutely divine and I could’ve eaten it several times over! Again, it was so simple yet delicious! I had no idea that summer berries and goats cheese worked so well together!

Da Vinci serves beautiful food but it’s a strange place – it looks like a restaurant but they operate like a cafeteria in the sense that there is no table service. The staff weren’t overly friendly if I’m honest, but not rude either. I’d definitely go back for food though, it was perfect for a casual but really tasty lunch! I’m not sure if they have table service for evening meals, but if the pasta was anything to go by the food there would be delicious for an evening meal.

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Da Vinci Restaurant & Bar

Mannerheimintie 22-24

00100

Helsinki

(09) 640065

http://www.davinciristorante.fi

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