Lordi’s Rocktaurant Review, summer 2007 – Rovaniemi, Finland (Lapland)
POSTED: NEW, 2008 Lordi Rocktaurant Review after the remodel and new chef
I’ve now seen everything. A couple nights ago I went to the new Rovaniemi Restaurant called Lordi’s Rocktaurant. Those who aren’t familiar with the group (which I wasn’t until my 80s hair band fanatic of a boyfriend educated me on this type of music) Lordi is a Finnish band from Rovaniemi who won the Eurovision competition in 2006 and will be on the Ozzfest tour this summer. About six months ago they opened up a restaurant in Rovaniemi, Finland that is really a sight to see- it’s like nothing I have ever seen before. Below you’ll find a review of this restaurant (or should I say Rocktaurant) as well as photos. You can view more photos of the restaurant on my flickr account.
Review:
The Atmosphere: This is the main reason for people to come. It is really like no other place. You walk in to the restaurant and are greeted by 80s music (both good and bad depending on your taste in music) and a bunch of scary mannequins of the band members. The tables were like knights and castles type of feeling. (the photos help describe this) There is no hostess or waiter to greet you, you just walk in and pick a seat. The bar downstairs was really cool but it wasn’t open yet. We just walked around. Kind of a basement type area with lots of band photos and memorabilia on the walls- all stuff out of the 80s. (Matti was quite at home) They serve cider so I’m on board. But, again, it wasn’t open.
The Service: One important thing to note, if you are American and used to the fast pace of our restaurant and service industry you’ll be caught off guard. Finland is not a big eating out culture the way we are in the U.S.- you just have to be patient and go with it. You will get your food! That being said. Waiters don’t come serve you but rather you pick up a menu and are given specific instructions on the table to walk up and place your order when you’re ready. This is just my opinion but this seems to be more of laziness of the employees than doing us a service…but that could also be my American restaurant going background. The place was not busy in the least and at a sit down restaurant I would never expect to get up and place my order…again, these are my opinions
Monster’s Disco Hell Bar (downstairs)
The Menu/Food: You can view on the website the full menu but just a review on what we all ordered. (there was English on the menu which was a plus!) You order your meal and you pick a sauce. This process of sauce picking was not explained well. I was not aware of what my sauce was for- the chicken, the salad, on top, on the side. I got the chicken and ordered tomato sauce because it was the only one that I recognized next to Garlic (and again, I didn’t know how it was going to be served). The chicken was great but it is not meant to be served with tomato sauce! I could eat it but will never do that again. The salad had peppers, onions, etc. in it. Matti and his friend ordered the kebabs which they LOVED- both licked their plates clean! Another one of our friends ordered the flat bread- the consensus around the table was that it had no taste. I didn’t try it but they all said it just didn’t taste like anything- not bad, not good, just no flavor (heavy air I called it). Pricing on the items was cheap compared to other restaurants in Finland- our total bill for the chicken and Matti’s Kebab was about 23 euros ($26 or so). We were full but I wasn’t stuffed. Matti and his friend with their kebabs were STUFFED! Oh and your salad can be served on a plate or in a skull bowl like I have below…
Location: I would say the biggest struggle this place will experience is a small location. Rovaniemi is a rather small city and the band is not quite at the level of stardom to have people coming from all over to experience the restaurant experience. though the band is from the town, after a while the atmosphere will not be able to drive customers…it will rest on food and service which…I don’t think will do it. After you get past the atmosphere (which I still haven’t) it is just a regular place with okay food.
Overall: For a tourist it is a must because it is just so crazy inside and a real visual experience. They need to improve service and food offerings for it to make it.
If you had a different (better or worse) experience feel free to post a comment. My boyfriend loved it because he loved the food, he’s local and loves that type of music (and the lead singer is an good friend of his brother’s). His review would probably be different. So, take it as you will and if you go…take a camera!!
For more information about Lordi’s Rocktaurant view my flickr photos and my video page for more visuals!
You can also:
- LEAVE A COMMENT on Frozen-Reindeer about your experiences at the restaurant
- View the Rocktaurant website
Hei Hei and Hyvaa Ruokahalua (Bon Appetit!)
Technorati Tags: Finland, Lapland, Lordi, Finnish Food, Restaurant, Rocktaurant, Rovaniemi, Travel
I wanted to post my opinion of Lordi’s Roctaurant because I’m a Finn and from Rovaniemi, Finland. (I’m the guy from few of those pictures)
I have spent enough time in restaurants in the U.S. so I know that some Americans might think the Rocktaurant’s servers don’t do their job well because they are not seating customers who walk in and are not asking a lot of questions like “is everything okay” while they eat. Personally I would like for the waitress to tell customers to “go ahead and pick your table”. The tables have a little guide telling you what to do from that point on (like view the menu, pick a dish and a sauce, come up to eat when you are ready. We ended up waiting for the waiter for a while before he told us that we can pick any table we want. I didn’t mind this waiting so much because I just kept looking at the cool stuff on the walls.
My opinion of the place is that this restaurant rocks!! I loved it. Food was good and the atmosphere was amazing. Lordi’s own paintings on the wall were just a great addition to the memorabilia/atmosphere. Music was also over the top.. pretty much the same stuff what I have on my iPod. So get ready to listen to some 80’s rock from bands like RATT, Twisted Sister, Helloween, Queensryche, etc.
I’m not a food critic so I won’t go into details here. Menu overall is perfect for Lordi’s Rocktaurant. No need for filet mignon there I had the Monsterman Kebab with a side of mashed potatoes and I highly recommend it.
Lordi’s Roctaurant is an experience and I REALLY hope this restaurant will make it in the long run. My only concern is that there won’t be enough customers in such a small city.
Overall, the Roctaurant had good food, great atmosphere and competitive pricing. I will give it 5 out of 5!!
Lordi, I’ll see you at Ozzfest when it stops in Kansas City and St.Louis!!
I felt the need to follow up on this. It just occurred to me that service in Finland is different than what we’re used to in the U.S. has a lot to do with tipping. In Finland you don’t tip. It took me a few trips to get used to this. You don’t tip. I remember the first time we went to a nice sit down restaurant and I was told by my boyfriend that I don’t need to tip. It was strange but…it makes sense. The lack of attentiveness is because they aren’t working for tips. In the U.S. our waiters and waitresses make their money in tips (I think the pay is $2-$3 an hour and their actual pay comes from tips) This is why service is so much better (In most cases- they at least try harder). Europe is a little looser, less fast paced, more just relax and take it easy. There is no incentive to work harder…
Moi,
My name is Steven. I was just in Finland in May. I left Phoenix at
the beginning of May for Rovaniemi. While I was there I learned of the rocktaurant from a fine waiter at Hotel Santa Clause. He said that we should go check it out since I`m a big fan of Lordi. I must say that the place was a fun feast for the sences. An enjoyable mid-evil, goth experiance with kickin` music and great rock memorabilia. But ,I`m sad to say that we didn`t have time to eat. The menu did look pretty good though. We just had a drink , relaxed, and had to go. But, I will dine there the next time I`m in town. We travel to
Finland rather regularly. It was a bit of a slow day as well. I`m sure the place is rockin` on the weekend. I found the employees to be
very friendly and enjoyed there job. It is well worth a visit. Hey, I
traveled from Phoenix, Arizona to hang-out there. You should visit
too. It`s ROCKTABULOUS!!!!
a Desert Rat
STEVEN
This gets a bit sidetrack, but… Angela, you say that European / Finnish waiters don’t have an incentive since we don’t tip. A slight background might help to understand that (if Matti hasn’t given this).
Finland was mainly a farming country until the II WW. The industrization started at the 50’s. At that time sensible socialistic ideas were pretty well embraced in many European countries. That means that at the same time when the factories were built and economy was booming, the labours’ rights were strong, too.
When it comes to waiters, I think that the idea of fixed salary was based on the thought that it’s inhuman in some way to demand a worker / waiter live in a situation where s/he can’t make monthly budgets since the money coming in is random. Thus it was arranged that the waiter’s service fee is included in the price of the food. This, however, doesn’t have to mean that there’s no motive to do your job well. Usually people want to succeed in whatever they’re doing.
And about dining etiquette in our beloved country. In fine dining restaurants it is considered to be polite to leave a tip to the waiter. And of course you can do that whenever you’re satisfied with the waiter’s work. So, the incentive is there, even though waiters will get their basic “ok” salary anyway.
And philosophically speaking: who decides that speed (fast pace) is the synonym for good service? There was an article in Helsingin Sanomat (Finland’s biggest newspaper) one or two weeks ago about walking speed in different Finnish cities. The article summarized that people in Helsinki walk the fastest in Finland and they walk a lot faster that people in many metropols in the world. But people in Tervola (which is a small county next to Rovaniemi) walked the slowest in Finland. The Lapp people just know that by hurrying you’re rushing to your grave. Enjoy and smell the flowers while you can!
Thanks for the comment Pete. My boyfriend educates me on Finland often and I read a lot myself but the cultures are really just different and that is what I was observing. I love slowing down in Finland but in most of the U.S. it is just not something we’re accustomed to becasue in a capitalist society time is money and that is just the way it is if you try to achieve the type of life most of the world sees displayed as the “average American” in films and TV. When I first went to Finland about three and a half years it took me a month to adjust because I was not used to a slower pace of life coming out of college and spending 16 years studying and working, involved in every activity known to man and living life by a schedule. Now though I LOVE it in Finland (most of the time). My boyfriend and I would love to move there (when I learn Finnish of course). But growing up in the U.S. where you are rewarded based on performance and you come to expect quick service as that is the synonym for good service in the U.S. People pay a lot of money for good fast service and slow service or slow performance will get you fired. Is it right? Well, I don’t really know because it is all socially based and it is all connected. We don’t have free health care or free education. In the U.S. you have to get a job that will cover health care or pay for health care out of your pocket if you can afford it. Lots of people have to work multiple jobs (myself included) to get by with things that you receive almost naturally in Finland such as free education and a government stipend while in school to help with housing (though with high taxes but believe me, the cost of education does not even compare to the taxes.)
My boyfriend has told me though that tipping overall in Finland just doesn’t happen as you made reference to. And I really have to disagree with “people wanting to succeed in whatever they’re doing.” A lot of the times a job is just a job and a means to an end. You might not want to succeed as a garbage truck driver or even a lawyer or doctor but you do want to succeed as a father or a husband or wife so you make it work- that is true of every country.
I LOVE Finland, but, I’m a psychologist and observer and like to note cultural differences and the sociology of it all so I do that often. Please keep reading, I should be back blogging in a week or so when I move to Minneapolis and start taking Finnish classes. By the way was the story you mentioned in the International (English) edition?