By the time I got back to the hotel, I was tired enough that I didn’t want to go out for dinner.  Instead, I went back to the hotel restaurant — Piazza Foodfactory — where I had what I guess must be a typical Finnish meal: tapas as an appetizer, and “salmon wok” for the main course.  The food in the restaurant is good, but there’s definitely no sense of place — the decor is that of an upscale food court, and the menu features curries, wok dishes, pastas, pizzas, and burgers.  There doesn’t appear to be any reindeer or bear available, either — plenty of turkey, beef, chicken, pork, tuna, and salmon, though.

At least they do feature Finnish beers; I’d had Lapin Kulta on draft the first night (as well as in Helsinki), which was pretty good.  But I wanted to try a different beer this time, so I had a bottle of Karjala.  It was nondescript.  As it happens, both beers are brewed by the same company, Hartwall, which is now owned by Scottish & Newcastle of the UK.  I’ll have to check out the beer menu at the restaurant to see if they feature other S&N beers (perhaps Newcastle Brown Ale), but I’ll probably go back to the Lapin Kulta. 

The house wines, by the way, are from Ernest and Julio Gallo, speaking of a lack of place.

To be fair, I should mention that the breakfasts at the hotel are more localized; they have Finnish porridge and rice cakes, as well as smoked salmon, smoked trout, tasty breads, and much more.  Breakfast is definitely worth the time!