Where to eat and drink
Dining
A dining room under the weighing hall ceiling, a bar by the quay doors, a morning room with the papers, and a terrace that is open for five months of the year.
The dining room
Vaaka
Breakfast 07:00–10:30 daily · Dinner 17:30–22:00, Tuesday to Saturday
Vaaka means the scales, and the room is the floor they stood on, with the ceiling four metres up and the iron tie-rods crossing it. It seats twenty-two, fairly close together, and from the second table you can see into the kitchen.
The menu runs to four or five dishes and changes when the supply does. The fish comes off the boats at the market square, and the vegetables come from two farms east of the city, which in February means roots and cabbage, and the menu doesn't pretend otherwise. One dish is always without meat and another without dairy.
House guests have breakfast here: rye bread, porridge, cured fish, eggs cooked to order and coffee that is strong by most countries' standards and ordinary by ours. Dinner is open to anyone, but the room is small, so write ahead.
The bar
Lantern Bar
16:00–00:30 daily · 16:00–01:30 Friday and Saturday
It's named for the lantern bracket still bolted outside the old quay doors, where goods used to come in. The room is low and dark and lined in tarred board, and about thirty people fill it.
The bar pours Finnish and Baltic spirits, beer from two small breweries in Varsinais-Suomi and a short wine list, along with cordials the kitchen makes from whatever the season gives. If you're heading up to the gallery afterwards, the stair is through the lobby.
Mornings
The Morning Room
07:00–11:00 daily
A small room off the lobby with six chairs, the Finnish and Swedish papers and a pot that gets refilled instead of being kept warm. There's bread, butter, cheese and whatever fruit is about. Sit as long as you like; nobody will hurry you.
May to October
Quay Terrace
12:00–21:00 when the weather holds
Twelve tables stand on the granite apron between the building and the water, under the lime trees, with the boats tied up alongside from May. There are blankets on the chair backs, because the evening comes off the river cold even in July. The terrace serves drinks and small plates, and there's no full dinner service.
Breakfast is included for house guests. Please book dinner at Vaaka by telephone or by writing to reception, as the room seats twenty-two and fills up on Fridays.
Booking a tableThings worth knowing
Diets
Tell us when you book and the kitchen will work round it. Gluten, dairy, shellfish and nuts are all straightforward. There is no separate allergen kitchen, so if something cannot be made safely, we'll tell you.
Children
Children are welcome at breakfast, at lunch on the terrace and at the first dinner sitting, and the kitchen will make smaller portions of whatever is on that evening.
Dress
The house has no dress code apart from the gaming floor, which asks for a collar, closed shoes and no outdoor coats.
Closures
Vaaka closes on Sunday and Monday evenings, and for two weeks in early January. The Lantern Bar stays open through both.