The weather has been absolutely awful in Helsinki for the last few days. Luckily the breakfast at GLO Hotel Kluuvi’s restaurant TRAY cheered us up on a grey Sunday morning. The TRAY – Chill & Share is a new restaurant that operates in connection with GLO Hotel Kluuvi in the centre of Helsinki.

Knowing that the breakfast is served until 12.00 on weekends, we had booked a table on at 10.30. Upon our arrival, the waitress told us that since it was the rush hour, she had reserved a table for us outside the restaurant which was on the side of the shopping centre. The TRAY is actually quite small and since it is also the place where all the hotel guests are having the breakfast, the tables can run out quite fast. The idea to have the breakfast in a hall of a shopping centre was not the most pleasant. However, the waitress suggested that if we waited for a moment, there would probably be a free table inside the restaurant as well. Luckily we had to wait only for a couple of minutes to get seated inside the restaurant.
Indeed, the small size of the restaurant turned out to be a functional problem. During the rush hour (from 10 to 11) it was really crowded and the queues people were forming to get the food blocked the already narrow ways quite efficiently.

The food was served in two different places: bread and warm dishes on one table, cold cuts, fruits & cheeses and sweet treats etc. on another. The division was logical but jumping from a table to the other just increased the crowdedness. The breakfast buffet consisted of fresh bread, porridge, few warm dishes, a selection of different quality cheeses and cold cuts, herrings, salmon, smoothie and yogurt with your choice of toppings, croissants and some sweet treats such as chocolate cookies and donuts. So to summarise, it had all the basic elements a hotel breakfast usually has. GLO Hotels being a highly appreciated hotel chain, my expectations of the restaurant’s breakfast was maybe too high. I was hoping for something surprising, something that would have made this breakfast a bit more special than it was. Maybe the best thing was the quality bread selection and the spinicah & potate omelet instead of traditional scrambled eggs. However, the basic stuff still worked and we got our stomachs filled, no problem!

I give credits to that everything was very nicely set to the tables. It made the food look extra fresh and delicious. The staff clearly made sure that the tables were clean and filled with the goods. These small things can really have a great impact to the total experience. It was also nice that the breakfast was until 12.00. The rush hour eventually passed and it got easier to move around. I also liked the interior design and the milieu, there was a cosy feeling. It didn’t feel too much like a hotel’s restaurant and I’m guessing that this is also the TRAY’s aspiration. Though connected to the hotel, it is a restaurant that wants to be found by everyone, not only by the hotel’s guests. I really could see myself having a lunch or dinner there and next time I probably should test the restaurant as it is. Their concept sounds fun: the cross kitchen and street food inspired dishes are served in big platters and meant to share with someone. I’m also pretty sure that I would get the reserved table inside the restaurant since it wouldn’t be filled with the hotel guests. Or actually, how am I supposed to know? I may need to go and find that out another time.

GLO Hotel Kluuvi / The restaurant TRAY
The hotel is located in the very center of Helsinki, Kluuvikatu 4, right across to the Karl Fazer Cafe. Breakfast (18 €) is served 6.30-10.00 (Mon-Fri) and 7.30-12.00 (Sat-Sun). Otherwise the restaurant serves dinner every night of the week and lunch from Monday to Friday.
https://www.glohotels.fi/en/hotels/glo-kluuvi/restaurant