Restaurant Taikuri & diet restrictions

We decided to go create an experience in the Jyväskylä’s local, well recognized restaurant Taikuri, too see what’s the fuzz all about. We’ve all heard of it, some of us had had something to eat at the place, some of had no experience on Taikuri at all. It was a positive surprise!

When we entered the establishment, a warm, tasty atmosphere filled our surroundings. The place looked like regular restaurant, maybe on the hipster-side. They seem to take pride on their work, and it can be seen in the customer service, as well as overall design of the place and the dishes. We’re talking mostly hamburgers here! The food was absolutely delicious, but pricey. Knowing that Taikuri really invest on local ingredients and they have their own kitchen, it felt like we were supporting local work.

Sade-Tuulia: As someone, who suffers from celiac disease, it’s sometimes really hard to find something to eat at a restaurant. Luckily, the situation has improved a lot lately, but many fast-food places are still stingy about putting in the extra effort for those with allergies. Aren’t we as important customers as the others? The real restaurants have taken a leap to a right direction. When we went to order food at Taikuri, I asked straight up, what can I eat here? To my surprise, any of their dishes could be made gluten free! I was positively flabbergasted. Even the chicken burger could be made gluten free, so that’s what I ordered. Unfortunately, though they couldn’t deep-fry it, I assume in the lack of another deep-fryer and gluten free deep-fry batter. Wheat can’t be mixed with gluten-free, it would take me, and all the celiacs, away the ability to digest it.

Henna: In my opinion, the fact that restaurant Taikuri uses local, fresh raw materials in the kitchen as much as they can is very important. Supporting local food is a better choice while paying attention to environment and to the local companies. Consumers are aware of the origin of the food and therefore, they are able to make sustainable choices. As a customer, I rather pay more about the food that is made by fresh, local raw materials than the food that is served in fast-food places even though it would be cheaper and quicker to get. It was nice that they adduced the origin of the raw materials in the menu. It made experience more enjoyable. Also, restaurant Taikuri is well-known about the environmentally friendly choices and accountability in their agency which is great especially for climate change. I would love to go to the restaurant Taikuri again!

Miia: Taikuri has been one of my favorite restaurants in Jyväskylä since it arrived here few years ago. I haven’t visited it in a long time, so it was really nice to go and see how the place and menu has changed. I go by mostly vegetarian diet nowdays, so I ordered halloum burger this time. Taikuri is well-known from it’s vegetarian and vegan friendly options, and they did not dissapoint this time either. There was so much to choose from! I’m a bit picky eater, so sometimes it’s very hard for me to find a dish you do not have to change, but in Taikuri there were few options I could have chosen without removing anything from the dish. The food itself was really delicious, sweet potato fries were top notch and the service was quick and friendly. I’m also really happy about the fact that the restaurant uses local and fresh ingredients in their food. Even though the food was little pricey for a student-friendly budget ( you do get –10% discount with student card though), I’m still happy to pay a bit more from fresh, local food that is made with love and is little less bad for the environment than basic, meat-stuffed fastfood.

Text and photos: Sade-Tuulia Koistinen, Henna Vimpari, Miia Korhonen (Course Food Culture)