Comments on: Lordi’s Rocktaurant Review, summer 2007 – Rovaniemi, Finland (Lapland)

By: Lordi Rocktaurant- NEW and MUCH improved- Dec. 24th, 2008 Review « Frozen-Reindeer

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:51:51 +0000

[...] creating an ambiance of everything kind of “freaky” but in tune with the bands image. I reviewed this restaurant last summer to an overwhelming hit count from people all over the world who are HUGE Lordi fans. The response [...]

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A little downtown shopping (Kauppakeskus Revontuli) « Frozen-Reindeer — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 07:17:58 +0000

[...] Posts Lordi’s Rocktaurant Review – Rovaniemi, Finland (Lapland)Suomikauppa.fi/santaclausshop onlineFinally…Rovaniemi, Finland…we’re here! (Christmas [...]

By: FR_Admin

FR_Admin — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:42:05 +0000

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?

By: Pete

Pete — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 23:13:42 +0000

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!

By: Steven Stawisuck

Steven Stawisuck — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 04:40:05 +0000

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

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 06:15:34 +0000

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…

By: Matti

Matti — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:40:11 +0000

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!!