Via Karelia – Eastern Delicacies

You're welcomed by the wafts of meat stew, prepared in a wood-heated oven. A clock ticks in the main room, and sunlight paints warm stripes on the woven rag rugs. When you travel on Via Karelia, you will enjoy golden butter on rye bread, crisp on the outside and soft from the inside, fish, pies in many forms, and long stewed root vegetables. The norther you go from the Gulf of Finland, the stronger and simpler will the flavours become. Even though the basic ingredients and methods are quite the same, each entrepreneur will add a pinch of local specialties, care and friendliness, making each meal unique and unforgettable.

We have included as many regional specialties as possible. Near Vironlahti you can enjoy Baltic herring and other salt-water fish, and South Karelia will treat you with hand-made Karelian pies and crunchy loaves of local bread, rieska. In Savonlinna, you can taste delicious Saimaa trout, and for desert, grab a juicy curd pie fresh from the market place. Fresh berries, mushroom and game are prepared into hearty meals. You can enjoy salads made from early vegetables, garnished with wild herbs, such as lady's-mantle and dandelion, or have a welcome drink of birch sap, rhubarb and strawberries. Main dishes include delicious black grouse pot and long stewed turnips – and let's not forget reindeer soup. Why not try cloudberry fool, cake with raspberries from Wärtsilä, or spruce sprout parfait for desert.

We all, along the route of Via Karelia, want to help you – our appreciated tourists – find the lovely flavours and friendliness. We are proud of everything we have to offer, and want to welcome you back and back again. Lovely food garnished with local culture, self-made art, history, humour and our peaceful nature, will surely make your holiday unforgettable in these eastern regions of our country.

Travel all the way or stop and go like a pilgrim – however you travel, remember to pause every once in a while and take time to listen to yourself. You're the one making the choices. We are offering the best of our best. Welcome, have a taste!

Via Karelia – Eastern Delicacies

Where to eat on Via Karelia on map

List of where to eat on Via Karelia