SKY: luxurious Lappish cuisine with a view

On my last evening in the Lapland capital of Rovaniemi, I was looking for a really nice place to enjoy one last Lappish meal before my departure. I asked a number of the locals which restaurant they thought I should try; nearly all said, “SKY Restaurant.” SKY is located at the Ounasvaara Ski Resort area at which earlier in the day I had fun snowshoeing and tobogganing. SKY derives its name from the amazing views that greet and entertain diners. Large plate-glass windows expose the dining area to a star-lit sky and city lights below.

The restaurant is located atop one of the ski runs, where I imagine if you were eating lunch you’d observe skiers racing down the slopes.

The ambiance of SKY is formal, but not stuffy—The service superb and the presentation exceptional. Most of the food is locally grown and sourced…for example; the seafood comes from a well-known fishing village called, Inari. The Lapland staple meat of reindeer comes from Salla where the lichen (a regional delicacy enjoyed by both people and reindeer) is picked by hand by the staff throughout the surrounding area. The chefs at SKY try to utilize all the local seasonal delicacies throughout the year, and, the ideology is to use no processed foods. The chefs are akin to where the ingredients come from and also train the staff on the sources by often sending them to the origin of the ingredients. This level of dedication certainly shines through as evidenced by my server’s knowledge…she was able to answer all of my ignorant indigenous culinary questions.

For a region with no vineyards, I was also impressed by the extensive wine selection…and, again, how well informed my server was as she described each one in great detail prior to each course being served. My meal was prix fixe, so each course was paired perfectly by either the chef or on-site wine steward.

Each course was not only decadent and full of flavor, but also artfully presented. The main course of reindeer filet was not just plated beautifully, but the presentation as it was brought to the table was something that I’d never experienced before. As the dish made its way to the table, I noticed a glass dome over the plate, but could not see through it. As the server delivered the entrée, I could then see that the glass dome was full of smoke. I really wanted to take a photo, but before I knew it, the server had removed the dome and released a plume of wonderfully scented spruce smoke into the air. It was quite dramatic and amazing how the smoke flavored the food. The following items are what I tried during my dining experience:

First course was a traditional onion soup paired with G.H. Mumm Cordon Rouge Brut.

For an appetizer, I had the Rainbow Trout from Vanttauskoski, it had roe of trout, fried king crab and pickled winter vegetables. This dish was served with a “Le Haut Mesnil” Sancerre wine.

For the entrée, it was roast of reindeer…a reindeer filet with parsnips, cep and spruce smoke. This dish was paired with Masi Costasera Amarone Classico Riserva red wine. The wine was absolutely fantastic and a vintage I’d never had before.

For dessert it was a milk chocolate and blueberry concoction served with Château Roumieu Sauternes, a mildly sweet dessert wine.

It wasn’t just enough to have dessert, so to finish the evening off we had cherry marshmallows and salty caramel chocolates served with Martell V.S.O.P cognac.

If you’ve ever eaten at SKY, I’d love to hear what dishes you’ve tried and/or like best. Please leave a comment below and share with my readers and me.