If you want an easy dinner in Oulu somewhere with a bit of character, De Gamlas Hem serves pinsas, burgers, fish and chips, salads and small plates at €4–18 in a wooden art nouveau villa from 1906. The restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday from 15.00 to 21.00, the kitchen serves from 15.00 to 20.00, and you can book a table online.
Dinner in Oulu: how Finns eat in the evening
In Finland, lunch is the main hot meal of the working day, and people eat their evening meal early too, so restaurants start and finish earlier than many visitors expect. A kitchen that opens in the mid-afternoon and takes its last food orders at eight is quite normal here.
When you plan dinner in Oulu, booking a table is normal, and many restaurants, including this one, take reservations online. Service is included in menu prices, so tipping is not expected.
A relaxed evening restaurant in an old house
The house describes its evening restaurant as easy-going, warm and unpretentious. You do not need a special reason to come: drop in to eat, have a coffee or simply spend a while in the old house. A recent reform brought more relaxed food, clearer dishes and more reasonable prices. The idea is a living-room-like meeting place where good food, warm service and an easy atmosphere come first, “ilman turhaa pönötystä”, as the house puts it: without unnecessary stiffness.
What makes the evening different is the room. The original tiled stoves (kaakeliuunit) are still in place and the log walls are exposed, so a pinsa and a glass of wine come with more than a century of history around them. The food is everyday; the setting is not.
Dinner hours in Oulu: Wednesday to Saturday
The restaurant is open Wednesday to Saturday from 15.00 to 21.00, and the kitchen serves from 15.00 to 20.00. In practice, order your food before eight; after that you can stay at the table until closing. From Sunday to Tuesday the evening restaurant is closed, but five o’clock tea is served Monday to Saturday from 17.00 to 18.00 (€10.50, included for hotel guests).
The same kitchen runs the whole day, and the restaurant hall seats up to 40, with a terrace in summer. If you know the place from our lunch guide, the evening is the same room at a slower pace.
What’s on the menu for dinner in Oulu at De Gamlas Hem
The menu is printed in Finnish, so here it is course by course.
Pinsas (pinsat). Pinsa is a light, crisp Roman-style flatbread. Pinsa Salami comes with tomato sauce, mozzarella and salami, and the Margherita with tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan. Both cost €9.
Mains. Hemmetin juustoburgeri is a double cheeseburger; “hemmetin” is a mild Finnish exclamation, so read it as “one heck of a cheeseburger”. Two 75 g beef patties, cheddar, house paprika mayo, pickled onion, pickled cucumber and salad, with fries and house mayo. Kala ja ranskikset is fish and chips: crispy breaded fish, fries, pickled cucumber and house tartar sauce. Both are €18.
Salads (salaatit). The Caesar has salad, Caesar dressing, egg, parmesan and croutons, with a choice of alder-smoked salmon (leppäsavustettu lohi) or breaded chicken (€16). Halloumi & punajuuri is halloumi and beetroot: warm grilled halloumi, roasted beetroot, cherry tomatoes, pickled red onion, roasted seeds and a honey-balsamic dressing (€14).
Small plates (pikkupurtavat). Bruschetta is toasted country bread with fresh tomato salsa, basil, parmesan and olive oil (€9). Loaded fries come two ways (€10): with BBQ pulled pork, garlic mayo, pickled chilli and parmesan, or with savuporo, shavings of smoked reindeer, plus parmesan, lingonberry mayo and spring onion.
Desserts (makeat). Köyhät ritarit, literally “poor knights”, is Finnish-style French toast with whipped cream and strawberry jam (€8). Jäätelö is ice cream (€4).
Northern flavours and meat-free choices
For a taste of the north, order the reindeer: a traditional meat in northern Finland, here with lingonberries, small tart red berries that grow wild in Finnish forests. The alder-smoked salmon is the other northern touch.
Meat-free choices are the Margherita, Halloumi & punajuuri and the Bruschetta. No dish is marked vegan, so if you eat vegan, ask the staff.
| Course | Dish (as printed) | In English | Price | Codes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinsat | Pinsa Salami | Salami pinsa | €9 | L |
| Pinsat | Margherita | Tomato, mozzarella and parmesan pinsa | €9 | L |
| Burgeri | Hemmetin juustoburgeri | Double cheeseburger with fries | €18 | L, (G*) |
| Kala | Kala ja ranskikset | Fish and chips | €18 | L |
| Salaatti | Caesar | Caesar salad, alder-smoked salmon or breaded chicken | €16 | L, G; croutons (G*) |
| Salaatti | Halloumi & punajuuri | Halloumi and beetroot salad | €14 | L, G |
| Pikkupurtavat | Bruschetta | Tomato bruschetta | €9 | L, (G*) |
| Pikkupurtavat | Loaded fries | Fries with BBQ pulled pork or smoked reindeer | €10 | L, G |
| Makeat | Köyhät ritarit | Finnish-style French toast | €8 | L |
| Makeat | Jäätelö | Ice cream | €4 | L, G |
Reading the allergen letters
Finnish menus mark dietary information with letters. The legend on this menu:
- L – laktoositon, lactose-free
- G – gluteeniton, gluten-free
- V – vegaaninen, vegan
- V* – saatavana vegaanisena, available vegan
- M* – saatavana maidottomana, available dairy-free
(G*) means the dish is available gluten-free. Lactose-free is not the same as dairy-free, so if you avoid all milk products, say so when you order.
A wine list is linked from the evening restaurant page. The menu may change; the current version is on the evening restaurant page (in Finnish).
Who it suits
The prices make it an easy evening. A pinsa and a glass of wine after work, a burger with a friend, or small plates before a concert or the theatre suit the house better than a long formal dinner. This is not a fine-dining occasion, and it does not try to be one.
The early hours suit families too, with food on the table well before bedtime. And for a visitor, dinner in Oulu here comes with a piece of local history.
A dining room with a story
The villa at Kirkkokatu 54 was completed in May 1906 to a design by the architect Victor J. Sucksdorff, as a home for elderly educated women. It was protected in 1985 and reopened as a hotel and restaurant in 2018. According to the house’s own story, Swedish fighter pilots stayed here during the Winter War.
The menu adds that life has been enjoyed here since 1906 and the gentlewomen’s home has become, as the house puts it, “Oulu’s most atmospheric neighbourhood kitchen”. The story of the house tells the rest.
The F19 cabinet downstairs
F19, the cabinet downstairs, is an 11 m² bay-window room for six to eight, named after the Swedish volunteer air wing that stayed in the house. Dinner there has no room charge, which suits a family occasion or a small celebration. F19 bookings go through sales at sales@degamlashotel.fi or +358 75 325 7605. See the facilities page, and for larger parties the group menus.
After dinner in Oulu, a room in the same house
If dinner is part of a trip, stay in the same building. The house has 22 rooms: 16 in the 1906 main building and six in the courtyard building. Room types range from a 10 m² single to a 23 m² suite. Check-in starts at 15.00, when the restaurant opens, and breakfast and five o’clock tea are included in the room rate.
The Oulu Staycation package (page in Finnish) adds a glass of sparkling wine on arrival, a locally handmade chocolate-tasting gift and 10 % off the restaurant, for €39 on top of the day rate for two, booked at least 24 hours ahead. Book rooms in the hotel’s own booking engine.
Getting there and practical notes
The restaurant is at Kirkkokatu 54, 90120 Oulu, in the wooden-house district of Heinäpää near the city centre. Put the address into your map app and it will show the easiest route from wherever you are staying. For the rest of your visit, VisitOulu collects the region’s sights and events.
The house has its own parking area on the courtyard side; ask about parking when you book your table. The allergen legend on the menu is printed in both Finnish and English, and the staff can tell you more about any dish.
The protected 1906 building is not fully accessible, so mention any mobility needs when booking.
Booking a table for dinner in Oulu
The quickest way to reserve dinner in Oulu at De Gamlas Hem is to book a table online. You can also book through reception on +358 75 325 7600 or info@degamlashotel.fi (Monday to Saturday 7.00–22.00, Sunday 7.00–19.00). For the F19 cabinet or a larger group, contact sales on +358 75 325 7605 or sales@degamlashotel.fi. All contact details are on the website.
Frequently asked questions
When is the evening restaurant open? Wednesday to Saturday, 15.00–21.00; the kitchen serves 15.00–20.00. It is closed Sunday to Tuesday.
How much does dinner cost? Dishes cost €4–18: pinsas and bruschetta €9, loaded fries €10, salads €14–16, the burger and fish and chips €18, desserts €4–8.
Are there meat-free or vegan options? The Margherita, Halloumi & punajuuri and the Bruschetta are meat-free. No dish is marked vegan, so ask the staff.
How do I book a table or the F19 cabinet? Tables online, or through reception on +358 75 325 7600. F19 through sales on +358 75 325 7605 or sales@degamlashotel.fi; dinner there has no room charge.
A pinsa, a burger or reindeer fries in a 1906 villa is a short trip from the centre of Oulu. See the restaurant page, book your table online, and if the evening turns into a night, book a room in the same house.
