"Tampere's first Michelin-listed table — book Kajo for Vellu Lampinen's foraged tasting menu of crayfish chawanmushi."
Kajo sits at Rautatienkatu 12 in central Tampere, and in 2025 became the first restaurant in the region to enter the Michelin Guide Nordic Countries — a landmark for a city making its name as a Finnish dining destination. Chefs Veli-Matti “Vellu” Lampinen and Marko Simunaniemi run a produce-led fine-dining kitchen, sourcing 70 to 90 percent of ingredients locally, biodynamically or organically through direct ties to regional hunters, fishers and farmers.
Chef Lampinen butchers his own meat and fish and uses each animal down to the last morsel, building a tasting menu that leans on Nordic produce and Asian technique. Signature courses include chawanmushi with peas and crayfish and sea buckthorn with lime leaf and Arctic cloudberry, with game in season and foraged notes throughout. It is a top ($$$$) bracket evening for the region, and a set tasting format with an option to pair Finnish and European wines course by course.
The room is intimate and design-led, the kind of small, considered space that suits a long tasting rather than a quick meal. Service is warm and knowledgeable, walking you through where each ingredient was caught, shot or grown. As the region's only Michelin name it draws bookings from across Finland, so reserve well ahead for a weekend, and allow a full evening for the menu and pairings.
For an anniversary, a proposal or a special first date, Kajo is Tampere's destination table: a long tasting, an intimate room and the region's first Michelin recognition behind it. A memorable anniversary and proposal dinner, and a serious first-date statement.
Not for a casual à la carte meal or a large group — Kajo is a small, set tasting-menu room built for a long, considered evening.
Kajo is at Rautatienkatu 12 in central Tampere, in Finland's Pirkanmaa region.
Chefs Veli-Matti 'Vellu' Lampinen and Marko Simunaniemi lead the kitchen, with Lampinen butchering meat and fish in-house.
Yes. Kajo entered the Michelin Guide Nordic Countries 2025, the first Michelin recognition for a restaurant in the Tampere region.
Kajo serves a set tasting menu; signature courses include chawanmushi with peas and crayfish and sea buckthorn with lime leaf and Arctic cloudberry.
As the region's only Michelin name it draws bookings from across Finland, so reserve well in advance, especially for weekends.
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