
Arctic Tasting 23-26 September
A delightful food event for food enthusiasts of all kinds! In Arctic Tasting, local restaurants and cafés compete against each other to create the most delicious tasting dish. The winner is voted by the customers.
Savoury and sweet, at lunchtime and in the evening, from Wednesday to Saturday! Come along, enjoy some tasty treats and rate the dishes you try.
During Arctic Tasting, 23 restaurants and cafés across the Oulu region are competing for the best tasting dishes in different categories. There’ll be delicious savoury and sweet treats, as well as lovely drinks. And these dishes cost just €5 or €7!
Be sure to rate the dishes you try, as the winners will be chosen by the customers. And you could be a winner, too: everyone who rates the dishes will be entered into a prize draw, with great prizes up for grabs, including restaurant gift vouchers! Check out the dishes on this page and start your tasty adventure on September 23rd!
Taste the dishes & drinks
Below, you’ll find the dishes available for during Arctic Tasting. Click on an image to see the more details. The menu opens by clicking the + button.
Savory dishes 7€

Sourdough-bruschetta, wild herb pesto, house made bread cheese and beetroot – Bistoria Patio
Home made sourdough bruschetta. Wild herbs collected from my ownyard, 7 km away. The oil used in the pesto is Kujalantila organic rapeseed oil. The bread cheese ins made in-house, from Koivulantila colostrum.

Smoked salmon croissant – Chez Flo – Ranskalainen leipomo
Crispy croissant dough made with churn butter and an added traditional Finnish flavor combo: warm smoked salmon and dill cream cheese! This fusion of two taste cultures is completed with pickled red onion, oh it’s so good!

OC SLIDER by J&S – J&S Burger
J&S burger`s popular OC Burger in slider size! Named after the Oulu Cruising car community and served in a soft Martin`s bun eith local beef, an onion ring, house-made mayonnaise, sweet pepper jam and BBQ sauce.

Arctic Tasting Special – Wild Mushroom & Arctic Honey – Kallen Pizzat x 45 Special
Kallen Pizza’s big pizza slice is a generous piece of crispy artisan pizza! Created especially for the Arctic Tasting, this special combines international pizza culture and flavors of the arctic: rich parmesan cream and the deep umami of wild forest mushrooms, finished with fresh thyme, Maldon sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic and local Harmaala honey from Oulunsalo.

Hailuoto's Glow – Kujalan Burgeri
Hailuoto’s Glow brings the familiar Kujala Burger into autumn glory with northern ingredients. A juicy full-meat patty made from Kujala Farm’s artisan-certified pasture-raised meat and Jukola Cheese’s rich birch-smoked cheddar are stacked between a soft brioche bun. Kujala’s own BBQ sauce adds smokiness to the burger, and onion caramelized with cranberry syrup gives a delicious sweet-tart berry flavor. Northern autumn in the form of a burger!

Enchanted Salmon Pie – Magnolia Coffee & Bakery
A delicious and succulent salmon pie inspired by the pure flavours of the North. Carefully prepared to delight with its rich taste and wonderfully soft texture.

Oula's malt bread and cold-smoked pike – Oula Kitchen & Bar
The flavors of the northern waters meet the fresh malt bread made in Oula’s kitchen: Freshly baked Oula’s malt bread with cold-smoked pike mousse.

Smoked reindeer flatbread – Ravintola Kummeli
Smoked reindeer pinsa romana with pickled chanterelles, lingonberries and arugula.

Steak and stout pie – Ravintola Lasaretti
Tender local beef braised with Varikko panimo’s Imperial Stout and served inside golden, crispy pastry.

Nettle blini, charred vendace, vendace mousse, vendaceroe – Ravintola Nallikari
Nettle-flavored sourdough blini, charred bothnian Bay vendace. Vendace mousse, smoked vendace mayonnaise, vendase roe.

Salmon patty fried in lemon butter, chanterelle beurre blanc, and parsnip-potato purée – Ravintola Pekuri
This dish makes use of the flavours of autumn’s harvest season. Hätälä’s salmon patties are joined by local chanterelles and root vegetables.

Creamy smoked whitefish soup and barley flatbread – Ravintola Roast
Traditional and creamy smoked whitefish soup served with barley flatbread.

Whitefish tartare – Ravintola Ule
Tartare of Smoked Whitefish with Roe, Cucumber, Apple, Buttermilk and House-Made Archipelago Bread.

Smokehouse salmon – Smokehouse 299 Tyrnävä
Tyrnävä potatoes served with smoked Norwegian salmon and a traditional egg sauce.

Sea Lapland Lamb Burger – 'Rosvoburgeri' (Robber's Burger) – Stadionravintola Heinäpää
Grilled sourdough flatbreads filled with delicious Sea Lapland lamb roasted robber-style, red onion, fennel-cabbage coleslaw, and pickled cucumber.

Arctic Burger – Terwa Food Truck
Burger made using ingredients from local producers.

Local Fish & Chips – Tuba
Deep-fried Bothnian Bay whitefish served with thick-cut fries and cucumber mayonnaise.

Smoky pepperonipinsa – UP Bar & Lounge
UP Bar&Lounge’s smoked pepperoni pinsa delivers a delicious taste of Northern flavors. Served on a crispy, airy crust, it features rich smoked pepperoni from local producer Kotivara and creamy smoked cheese from Kuusamon Juusto. A wonderfully savory and smoky treat that you won’t forget!
Sweet dishes 5€

Blueberry croissant – Chez Flo – Ranskalainen leipomo
A crisp croissant dough made with churned butter, cream cheese with lemon balm, and a rich bilberry confit originating from the forests of Finland are the perfect combination of the best offerings from two food cultures!

Nettle crepes – Kahvila Kiikku
Warm crepes with nettle powder, whipped cream and syrup of Spruce tips

Cloudberry Tiramisu – Kallen Pizzat x 45 Special
Kallen Pizza’s signature tiramisu gets a northern twist for the Arctic Tasting. Creamy mascarpone and cloudberry jam are layered with savoiardi bisquits infused with cloudberry liqueur and birch water. The dessert is finished with wild cloudberry powder from Syöte and Chocosomnia’s toasted white chocolate.

Arctic Blueberry & Lemon Cheesecake – Magnolia Coffee & Bakery
A baked blueberry and lemon cheesecake in which sweet wild blueberries and fresh lemon create a perfect balance of flavours. Its velvety texture and the pure tastes of the North make it an irresistible treat.

White chocolate and strawberry – Oula Kitchen & Bar
The white chocolate and strawberry dessert of Arctic Tasting brings a little bit of summer to the cooling autumn evenings. This dessert puts a smile on your face: Roasted white chocolate ice cream with strawberry consommé.

Lasaretti's Irkku Stout cake – Ravintola Lasaretti
A rich, moist chocolate cake made with local stout beer and topped with a velvety vanilla cream cheese frosting.

Butter bun with browned butter and almond crumble, served with cardamom coffee – Ravintola Pekuri
A delicious homemade butter bun with brown butter, served with cardamom coffee.

Northern Berries – Restaurant Ule
Northern Berries, Oats and Cream Cheese.

Rowanberry-vanilla ice cream, apple crumble, and rowanberry sugar – Stadionravintola Heinäpää
Delicious vanilla ice cream made in-house at Stadionravintola Heinäpää’s own kitchen, given a taste of autumn with rowanberries, and finished with apple crumble and rowanberry sugar.

House Special Tangy Cranberry Caramel Cheesecake – Varikko Panimo
Our juicy cheesecake hides tangy cranberries and tasty caramel inside. The whole thing is topped off with a drizzle of cranberry syrup from Kujala farm.
Drinks 7€/5€
Cocktails 7€ / mocktails 5€

Salt&Berry – 1bar
Salt & Berry combines the freshness of Northern berries with the smooth sweetness of toffee. A velvety flavour journey for everyone who loves a touch of indulgence.

Shadows in paradise – Cocktail Company
Strawberry brings the final sweetness of summer, while raspberry cuts through bringing bright dryness to the drink. Birch leaves adds a soft herby touch for balance, and to finish everything off with lemon and gin to give it a tad more dryness and freshness.

Arctic Bilberry Tonic – Kallen Pizzat x 45 Special
Rich aromas of arctic bilberry and bitterness of tonic water come together as a wholesome cocktail experience.

AC Oulu Mocktail – Stadionravintola Heinäpää
A mocktail where blueberry and citrus fruits come together, creating a refreshing navy-blue treat.

Lingonberry Sour – Teerenpeli
A velvety smooth, lingonberry-like sour and slightly sweet drink that is a trendy and elegant tribute to Finnish wild berries.

Blueberrythyme -spritz – UP Bar & Lounge
UP Bar&Lounge’s Blueberry Thyme -Spritz combines local blueberries with aromatic thyme and crisp bubbles. A perfect berry-herbal treat!

Varikko's Tropical Radler – Varikko Panimo
Unlike a traditional radler, this fruit celebration combines the tangy freshness of sour beer with the vibrant, refreshing tropical flavors of mango, pineapple, passion fruit, blood orange, and peach.
Restaurants on a map
Good to know
When can I buy the dishes?
The dishes are available during Arctic Tasting 23-26 September, during the restaurants’ and cafés’ opening hours. Some venues serve their dishes during lunchtime, others in the evening, while some have longer opening hours. Information on the dishes available and opening hours can be found on this page, but we also recommend checking the opening hours on the venues’ own websites. If any dishes sell out during the event, we will do our best to provide updates on this page and on social media.
How do I vote?
You can rate each dish or drink that you try. Make sure you rate each dish only once! You can access the form on this page. The voting closes on Sunday 27th September, and the winners from each category will be announced on Tuesday 29th September.
The voting opens on this website 23rd September.
Winners and prizes
Customers are invited to rate the dishes they have tasted. Among those who submit a rating, we will raffle off restaurant gift cards and product prizes.
A winner will be selected from each category: savoury, sweet and drinks. The winning dishes will be announced on 29th September on Arctic Food Lab & Oulu2026 social media channels and on this website. At the same time, we will hold a prize draw among everyone who has taken part. We will contact the winners of the audience prize draw personally.
The dishes
The information on this website regarding the tasting dishes are provided by restaurants and cafés. If you have any dietary questions on allergenics or special diets, please contact the restaurant directly. You can find contact information when you click the image of each dish.
We reserve the right to make changes.
