Restaurants | Ella Wehkalamme’s Tiktok account became a huge success: now restaurants pay for her to come eat for them too

When Helsinki Ella Wehkalampi27, sits down at a restaurant table, would like the waiters and chefs to do their best.

He makes review videos of his restaurant visits on the social platform Tiktok, which are almost invariably viewed tens of thousands of times.

Wehkalamme’s videos are already so popular that some restaurants want to invite him to eat as a sign of commercial cooperation.

But if it’s a collaboration, can the viewer trust that the review is sincere?

“I’ve always told restaurants that I have to give my honest opinion about the food and the atmosphere,” states Wehkalampi.

“But if the place was really really bad, I would send them a message after the fact that I can come and pay for the food myself and give development suggestions at the same time. However, this has not happened so far.”

Wehkalam started making Tiktok videos about a year ago. He was studying in Tallinn at the time, from where he started giving his followers tips about restaurants, nightclubs and other interesting places.

Unexpectedly, the videos started garnering a lot of attention and views. Since Wehkalampi knew that he would soon move from Tallinn back to Helsinki, he decided to expand his content to the other side of the Gulf of Finland as well.

He noticed from social media that many interesting new restaurants had opened in Helsinki since the beginning of the year. Wehkalampi compiled a list of about 15 restaurants from them, which he planned to go through in the form of a video review.

He made his first review of Mat Distrikt in Ullanlinna and showed a video of his restaurant list. Comments began to accumulate under the video, hoping that Wehkalamme would also test several other restaurants.

“I collected everything on the list, and today it has dozens of places. I haven’t had time to visit all of them this year,” he says.

You really have to hurry, because so far Wehkalampi has already presented almost 70 different restaurants in its videos.

In Wehkalamma has no training in the restaurant industry, but he has always loved going to restaurants and worked as a bartender himself.

“I remember from childhood when we lived in Ruskeasuo and visited with my parents sometimes at the White Lady restaurant. It was always so great,” he recalls.

At first, Wehkalampi made restaurant reviews on Tiktok out of his own pocket, and he made a lot of money. However, it wasn’t long before restaurants started inviting him to free lunches and PR events.

“I was really surprised, but on the other hand, this brings really good visibility to the restaurants,” he says.

Not all of Wehkalamme’s reviews have turned into commercial collaborations, but he still eats at interesting places at his own expense. He still says that he dares to give constructive criticism to restaurants, if there is a reason for it.

For example, in a recently published video, he said that he had to return his pasta portion at Kallio’s highly popular Harju 8 restaurant because there was too much pepper in it. However, the waiter handled the situation professionally and Wehkalampi got a new dish instead.

According to Wehkalamme, Tiktok in particular is fertile ground for restaurants, because due to the unpredictable algorithm, the restaurant presentation may unexpectedly end in front of the general public.

According to him, many people today want to know in advance what kind of experience they can expect in any restaurant. According to him, reviews made by social media influencers can be more approachable than, for example, long restaurant listings found on Google.

“Many have said that if they feel like going to a restaurant, they might first look through my videos and share them with their friends in order to find a place that everyone likes,” explains Wehkalampi.

The real thing Tiktok reviews have not yet resulted in a day job, but Wehkalampi would continue to be interested in working with social media.

He studied business economics in Tallinn and plans to continue in Finland for a master’s degree, perhaps in marketing. Working as a restaurant critic for Some has given him valuable experience in content production.

“I have received a lot of encouragement to continue working with social media. Now I have to take a look and calculate how I will continue from here.”

Wehkalam at HS’s request suggested the best remembered restaurants in Helsinki. The restaurants are such that Wehkalampi has not made commercial cooperation with them.

Le Coucou Vert, Kamppi: “A new entrant on the Boulevard. I ate heavenly duck here. Lovely green, velvety curtains and a good feeling.”

Plein, Vallila: “You may also find gems outside the inner city of Helsinki. We had an excellent menu and wine pairing here.”

The Bull & The Firm, Sörnäinen: “The atmosphere here is so relaxed that it feels like going to eat in a friend’s living room.”

The Room by Kozeen Shiwan, Kruununhaka: “One of the most memorable restaurant experiences. Kozeen Shiwan is also known from Master Chef, and his pop-up restaurant only has a few seats around the kitchen. All the dishes were prepared in front of us and the menu told about Kozeen’s own life story.”