There are not many places in Helsinki where you can indulge in the traditional English custom of Afternoon tea. One evening, after visiting the Helsinki Noir exhibition at the Amos Anderson art gallery, my friend S and I headed towards Hotel Kämp’s Brasserie where I’d reserved us a table.
Hotel Kämp is regarded as one of the best hotels in Helsinki. The Brasserie has an European style terrace. I love to sit there and watch people passing by.
The hotel resonates glamour from the past. The hotel was the hub for socialites and artist of their time – everyone with a name for themselves gathered here to pass on the latest news and gossip. And have a drink.. or two. After the hotel’s glory days, there was a time when these premises housed an office building. Thank goodness that era is over and the hotel was reincarnated in 1999. The building itself is beautiful and brings a touch of luxury to Helsinki.
The bar is a nice place to gather.
In addition to a normal à la carte, Brasserie Kämp hosts breakfast, Sunday brunch and afternoon tea sessions.
Our waitress mentioned that the Golden Assam tea would bring out the flavours of the menu best. I went with the Assam whilst S chose the English Breakfast St. Andrews.
You can be sure that Kämp’s Afternoon tea is made from the finest ingredients. On the top of the tray, you can see a brioche with a tartar steak topped with some capers and shallots. Can you imagine, that this was the first time I’ve ever tried beef tartar? I was very surprised to find that it was so much better than I expected but I did not become a fan.
I love Afternoon tea because of the traditional finger sandwiches. The smoked salmon sandwiches were lovely. In addition there was herring on orange-fennel bread with horseradish cream and Kämp’s own crisp bread with Peltola blue cheese and cherry jam. The cheese was super delicious and I must try to find some at the grocery store.
The sweets were also first-rate. For example, the chocolate mousse in a chocolate cup was delicious and the macaron was perfect. However, the scones had a strange consistency, so I would suggest Kämp go for the traditional English scone recipe instead. For the scones, there’s three different jams to choose from and whipped cream (I don’t get clotted cream).
Are you a fan of Afternoon tea? Have you had an especially nice tea somewhere on your travels or at home?
xx
The Life and Travels of Mrs Suvi 
So tartar wasn’t “your cup of tea” either :P. But good to know that it’s not bad, at least. I will probably try it one day, but it just doesn’t sound that delicious to be honest. I still remember a Mr. Bean episode from my childhood, where he went to a fancy restaurant, ordered the tartar without knowing what it was and then tried to hide it to peoples purses, pockets and into vases etc. :D.
I’ts nice to see that during the winter time the tower of treats looks different regarding the colouring. This has more toned down colours and ours was more Summery :).
This was a nice post, so thanks for the tip!
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Thanks Jerry for visiting! Hahah what a great story about the tartar!! It would be quite a nightmare trying to hide that 😂😂 I also noticed the tone of light being different in your post 👌😊 Those dark days are coming!!
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Of course :)! Yeah, it really would x). Hmm… I try to be more positive and say that the days of “mood lighting” are coming :D. I don’t like darkness that much :P.
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Looks awesome ! Looooove the afternoon tea tradition ❤
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Thanks Faithie! I am a fan too, I just adore finger sandwiches especially 💓
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Wow, this is a wonderful discovery because I’m a huge fan of afternoon tea. As far as I know there are no places in Tampere either, where one can indulge in the traditional English custom of afternoon tea. One of the things I miss about home is to meet up with my girl friends and chat over a cup of tea. Thanks so much for this post. Hotel Kampi will be my place to go / meet when in Helsinki from now on. 😊
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Great to hear that I inspired you to try Kämp’s afternoon tea. If you go, let me know how you liked it 😀
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I love afternoon tea! Would you say it was a reasonably priced place?
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Hi Rhea! Thanks for visiting and commenting 😍 Unfortunately I have to say that it’s a very expensive place. 😔
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Good to know, thank you!
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This sounds and looks absolutely delicious! I have only been to Kämp for lunch and drinks but never afternoon tea. I did not even know they have such a thing! This is definitely something to try at some point, thank you for the great post.
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Thanks dear! 💕 I have heard that the cocktails aren’t that good so maybe you should stick with other drinks 😆 I love their summer terrace with white sofas, maybe you can give that a try!
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I love this post because of i am a fan of #Afternoontea
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Thank you so much for your kind comment – afternoon teas are the best!
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the goodies to go with the tea look so delish… and what a lovely venue!!
good reminder to slow down sometimes and enjoy an afternoon tea 🙂
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Yes that is true. And it’s a great way to spend time with a friend. Lots of time to chat and catch up with goodies to go along.
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I am a tea person and I love afternoon tea! However, both in Brazil and here in the States the culture goes around coffee. While living in Cape Town was where I embraced the tea habit.
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It’s true also for Finland – everything revolves around coffee. Actually I’d never buy a tea to go but I would a latte. 🙂 Even though I truly love tea. Cape Town – now that’s a place I dream of visiting!
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You’d love it! It’s my favorite place in the world!
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I have never been on Kämp’s afternoon tea, but those finger sandwiches etc. *slurps* … Gotta go some day 🙂
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I know – I don’t know what it is about finger sandwiches and afternoon tea. They’d be very easy to make at home but I never do. Maybe it’s better to keep them as a special treat and stick to rye bread at home 😉
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I being a navite of Assam, one of the largest tea producing regions in the world, just love Assam tea. Will have to go to this place soon. Lovely post 🙂
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Ooh, how lucky – I am sure you have had the best tea back home. 🙂
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Hi, the afternoon tea looks delightful and what a lovely venue to enjoy it in, Chloe.
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Thanks Chloe – I do love an afternoon tea! ❤
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I always admire Hotel Kamp when I’m passing but I haven’t dined there. I just love going out for traditional afternoon tea. Of course, there are lots of options in England but when we were in KL we enjoyed a traditional afternoon tea in the Harrods cafe there! I haven’t tasted steak tartar, I would give it a try but the thought of the beef being raw puts me off slightly!
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The European style terrace is very fancy and they have a great goat’s cheese salad or burger, so you might want to pop in for lunch one day. Your KL afternoon tea sounds lovely, fun to hear that they have a Harrods café these days. I also have fond memories of afternoon teas in KL – at the Shangri-La hotel (in the 80s). xx
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The goats cheese salad sounds divine xx
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This looks like a wonderful thing to do. I love to walk past Kamp…one day I must go in.
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You can just pop in to have a look. Also, they have a great burger if you’re into that!
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What a spectacular venue for afternoon tea …….
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It really is, very historical too!
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