Savoy (restaurant)

The main entrance to Savoy.
Interior of the restaurant.

Savoy is a restaurant in Helsinki, Finland, located on the Eteläesplanadi street. The restaurant opened on 3 June 1937.[1] It is located in a space designed by Finnish architects Aino and Alvar Aalto,[2][3] and furnished by the company Artek, which they had founded two years earlier.[2][4] It was renovated in 2019.[2][5] The Savoy is considered a hallmark of Finnish cuisine.[2][3][5]

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] 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.[6]

  1. ^ Karin Widnäs suunnitteli Savoylle uniikin design-astiaston, Helsingin Sanomat 27 January 2012, page C1.
  2. ^ a b c d "Ilse Crawford Has Updated a Famous Restaurant First Designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto". Architectural Digest. 2020-06-30. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  3. ^ a b Apple, R. W. Jr. (2006-07-16). "Helsinki's Shining Season". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  4. ^ Corti, David Streiff. "Helsinki: Design-Reise im hohen Norden". NZZ Bellevue (in German). Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  5. ^ a b "Nyt.fi | Uudistunut ravintola Savoy onnistui klassikkoannoksissa, mutta keittiö teki myös häkellyttäviä virheitä". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2021-10-03.
  6. ^ "Savoy - ravintolalegenda joka elää". Archived from the original on 2014-06-01. Retrieved 2021-10-02.