Flavors · Savonlinna

lörtsy

Thin, flattened half-moon pastry, fried in oil, filled with meat or apple jam. It’s Savonlinna’s specialty, sold at the market square next to the steamboat passenger harbor.

Traditional dish from Savonlinna, Savônia do Sul

Also known as: lörtsyt, lihalörtsy, omenalörtsy

Updated November 2026

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lörtsy — Savonlinna, Finland

The lörtsy is a thin dough pastry, closed into a half-moon and fried in oil. It becomes flattened and wide, much thinner than the lihapiirakka, the common meat pie found at Finnish stalls. There are two classic versions. The lihalörtsy, savory, is filled with ground meat and rice. The omenalörtsy, sweet, is filled with apple jam, the most traditional sweet filling, and is reminiscent of a jam-filled doughnut.

Savonlinna tourism markets the lörtsy as the city’s own specialty, and Visit Finland also links it to Savonlinna. It’s street food: the market square is at the passenger harbor, where the steamboats that tour Saimaa depart, and the railway station is right next to it. The market stalls and the fair café sell the pastry hot throughout the day.

With the lihalörtsy, the custom is to fold the pastry in half and put condiments inside, such as mustard, ketchup and cucumber salad. Fillings have diversified: besides meat and apple, there are smoked salmon and vegetable versions. The town’s bakeries make lörtsy, and each local usually has a favorite.

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Where it comes from

Savonlinna , Savônia do Sul
Savonlinna is the lörtsy town: the pastry is sold hot at the market square next to the steamboat passenger harbor.

Ingredients

Wheat flour dough with leavening, fried in oil. Savory filling of ground meat and rice or sweet filling of apple jam. Versions with smoked salmon or vegetables.

How it is eaten

Hot, eaten by hand. The savory one is folded and served with mustard, ketchup or cucumber salad inside; the sweet one is eaten with the fair café coffee.

When it is eaten

Everyday food, more sought after in summer during the market square and steamboat season.

Your questions

Questions about lörtsy

What is lörtsy?

A thin half-moon pastry, fried in oil, filled with meat and rice or apple jam. It is Savonlinna’s specialty.

Where to eat lörtsy in Savonlinna?

At the market square next to the steamboat passenger harbor, and at the town’s bakeries. The railway station is beside the square.

What’s the difference between lihalörtsy and omenalörtsy?

The lihalörtsy is savory, with meat and rice, and is eaten folded with mustard, ketchup or cucumber salad. The omenalörtsy is sweet, filled with apple jam.

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