ABOUT US

Royale Estrad is located in the prestigious premises of the Swedish Theater in the center of Helsinki. The restaurant is run by Michael Björklund together with his business partner Thomas Strandvik. They also operate the Niska restaurants located in Vaasa, Helsinki, Turku, Tammisaari, and Mariehamn.

We serve lunch, dinner, and handle the intermissions service at the Swedish Theater. We also organize events and gladly accept bookings for larger groups, corporate events, and other private gatherings. Don’t hesitate to contact us at estrad@royalehelsinki.com.

WHO ARE WE?

Michael ”Micke” Björklund

Michael ”Micke” Björklund is a chef who needs no introduction in the Nordics. Already at a young age, he was a familiar sight at the large culinary scenes. He has focused on highlighting Nordic food, products, and producers. In his back pocket, Michael has titles, such as Chef of the Year, both in Finland and in Sweden, a fifth place in the Bocuse d’Or chef championship, and being the Finnish Food Ambassador in the New Nordic Food programme. For the wider audience Michael is known from several popular TV shows and cookbooks. Michael also won the popular Swedish TV show Robinson (Survivor) in 2020.

Micke also runs several restaurants. On Åland, he runs Smakbyn and Åland Distillery Restaurant. He also runs Niska together with Thomas Strandvik in Mariehamn. There are Niska restaurants also in Vaasa, Helsinki, Turku, and Ekenäs. Michael is also a part-owner of restaurant HEJM and FRÖJ in Vaasa.

Thomas Strandvik

Thomas Strandvik is a seasoned entrepreneur and has worked in the food and beverage industry for the past 23 years. Together with Michael Björklund, he has run Niska since 2011. Today, the Niska chain has five restaurants: in Mariehamn, Ekenäs, Helsinki, Turku, and Vaasa. Niska serves Plåtbröd (Nordic pizza).

Thomas lives on Åland together with his wife, two children and a dog. He loves to fish during the weekdays – so much so, that he works as a fishing guide on the side, when he is not working with the restaurants. Thomas and Michael are very different from one another and complete each other well. Thomas’s strengths are in holistic thinking, HR issues, trends, and finances. Unknown to many is the fact, that once upon a time, Thomas and Micke were in the same grade when studying to become chefs at Ålands Hotell- och Restaurangskola.