Mat Distrikt
Mat Distrikt is a restaurant where everything is made from scratch. The menu at Tehtaankatu features sustainably raised meat from familiar producers. Despite this focus, vegetarians won't leave the restaurant hungry. The experience in the heart of Helsinki confirms: sharing a meal is one of life's greatest pleasures.
RESTAURANT BORN OUT OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Behind Mat Distrikt is a team of top professionals: Teemu Aura, Antti Paasonen, Riku Stenros, Janne Ahola, and Maiju Åstedt have together created a comprehensive concept, each contributing with their expertise. This experienced team ensures that Mat Distrikt is a restaurant with a lively atmosphere!
The restaurant's ambiance is unpretentious. The location on Tehtaankatu has been operating as a restaurant for over 50 years before Mat Distrikt opened. The completely renovated interiors have transformed into a cozy neighborhood restaurant, with large windows opening onto the street. The owners describe feeling an immediate need to have the place; it was, in a sense, love at first sight. This same love is conveyed to the customer in everything they do. The simply decorated dining room invites you to spend an evening with friends or family, enjoying shared moments. The evening is accompanied by cheerful chatter, and the night can continue with the help of good cocktails.
MEAT FROM THE DRY AGING CABINET AND SEASON'S BEST VEGETABLES
Mat Distrikt strongly follows the seasons, and the menu changes frequently. Daily offerings are casually presented on a board, and with new ingredients, the previous season's dishes make way for equally charming ones. Mat Distrikt relies on high-quality meat. Instead of a basic steak, patrons can taste a true trend delicacy: Dry Aged raw-matured meat. In this globally trending preparation method, beef is hung in a cabinet, intensifying the flavors and making the meat extremely tender. Raw-matured meat is served at Mat Distrikt, almost exclusively through a smokery or charcoal grill, accompanied by the season's best vegetables on the plate.
The passion for craftsmanship is evident in the raw aging cabinet ordered from Italy and placed prominently in the restaurant. Besides the central display and meat quality, the restaurant's website assures that they also adhere to sustainability: Mat Distrikt only offers sustainably raised meat from producers they know. The vegetarian options stand proudly alongside the excellent meats. Vegetarian dishes that rival the quality of meat dishes ensure that the promise is kept, and vegetarians certainly won't leave the restaurant hungry. Mat Distrikt's six-course menu is also available as a vegan or vegetarian version.
LOVE AFFAIR WITH FOOD, WINE, AND VERMOUTH
Whether you choose to indulge in intensely flavored meat or opt for vegetarian dishes, the restaurant's sommelier Antti Paasonen ensures that the drink side is in order. Regarding wines, collaboration is established with many already familiar producers who share the same values. Classics form the foundation of the wine philosophy, complemented boldly by some more unusual choices. The overall offering is intriguing, and the Vermuteria adds a fun twist to it, with an extensive list of vermouths from small producers in Italy and Spain. When the restaurant is fully booked, dining is also possible on the Vermuteria side.