Alfred, your next dinner in Oulu

It’s so rare for me to do venue reviews on my website but newcomer to Oulu (Finland), Alfred deserves a shout-out. So take a little journey with me to northern Finland while I tell you about this absolute gem of a fine dining experience without the fine dining price tag.

By the way, if you didn’t know, my husband is from Finland – Oulu in fact. So I’ve spent quite a bit of time there over the years. If you’re after recommendations for Finland, drop me a message on Instagram.

Alfred stands out in Oulu

Honestly I only learned about Alfred because I spotted while I was out. My husband was picking me up and I found myself waiting outside the venue. Looking in I could see the dining area with its stylish romantic lighting and modern interior. It immediately signalled to me that this place is different.

Oulu is a small city of around 200,000 people and the fourth largest in Finland. Given this, the hospitality scene is naturally smaller than what you’d see in larger Finnish cities like Tampere and Helsinki.

There are a few fine dining options in Oulu, with a focus on Finnish and Nordic-inspired cuisine. If you’ve had a look through their menus you’ll see their prices are eye-wateringly high.

Book ahead

Alfred’s prices are not sky-high. In fact, they are quite comparable to a number of local restaurants, many of which are chains serving run-of-the-mill fare.

Perhaps for this reason, and their unique and intriguing menu, Alfred is booked out weeks in advance – even for lunch.

If you’re planning on going, definitely book ahead.

When we visited at Christmas / New Years 2023, it was three weeks before we could get a dinner booking.

Accomodating for coeliacs … and babies!

Like a typical gluten free person (and probably a typical mother) I was planning ahead of our visit. I had quite a few chats over Instagram with the Alfred team before booking.

The staff were so helpful with gluten free questions and their coeliac knowledge. At the time of our visit there was no flour being used in the kitchen and their homemade bread was made off-site.

Even better, when I arrived I noticed the bread preparation station – outside of the kitchen. No worries about cross contact where meals are prepared.

The team were also super accommodating with our daughter, putting in a high chair and making sure we had enough space next to our table for her pram.

What we ordered

The menu is written in a sort of strange poetic way. It makes it a bit thick when you are trying to see what the food actually is 😅.

As well as the typical starters, mains and dessert there’s a selection of what I’ll call tiny plates – little morsels that go well with their house-made bread. Yes, they even make their own gluten free bread 🥰.

Starters

The starters were so tempting that my husband and I insisted on buying a few. But all of us ended up getting the steak main, you can’t ignore a classic.

Beef tartare with truffle mayonnaise, portobello mushrooms and comté cheese – minus the sourdough crumb.

Burrata with fresh basil pesto, roasted tomatoes and olive oil.

Salmon sashimi with lemon mayonnaise and a special sashimi broth prepared by a Japanese chef.

Mains

This is my main, grilled flank steak with broccolini and celery purée, finished with a bordelaise red wine sauce.

Dessert

For dessert I got chocolate mousse which came with chocolate cake (GF by default), raspberry gel and raspberry sorbet 😍 it was lovely!

Alfred, Oulu

Alfred is open six days a week in Oulu. These details were correct at time of publication, check their website or Google Maps listing for the latest information.

Address: Pakkahuoneenkatu 24, 90100 Oulu, Finland.
Hours: Monday – Friday, 1045hrs – late. Saturday, 1400hrs – Midnight. Sunday, closed.

Curious about all things gluten free in Finland? Have a browse of my Finland highlights on Instagram. I’ll make it in to a post here soon, I promise!