Restaurants in Helsinki
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Café Engel
This heavenly spot in the Senaatintori hums with tourists and university students alike. There’s always a good selection of cakes and enticing meals often of a vegetarian bent such as a beetroot lasagne. It’s a cultural hub with films shown in the courtyard during summer, irregular piano recitals and a plump English-language magazine selection.
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Klippan
There’s no better way to appreciate Helsinki’s seaside location than by heading out to the myriad of island restaurants. The most famous is the stylish, spired Klippan, which is set in a villa on Luoto island, and famous for society weddings and crayfish parties.
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Tori
Buzzing with a bohemian crowd and recognisable by the vinyl record on the door, this is the city’s anytime favourite. The decor is snappily revamped in 1950s interior kitsch, complete with period fittings, while the menu runs to beetroot-and-blue-cheese pasta, and a reinvention of meatballs with a brandy sauce. Breakfast is a build-your-own adventure or go for the porridge, while lunch sandwiches are good for the cash-strapped.
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Café Delicato
At the cornerstone of Helsinki’s Little Italy (OK, it’s really just this place and a restaurant across the road), this deli makes an ideal ciabatta grab. You have to make the tough choices between fresh fillings like olives, gravadlax with spring onion and dill, or gutsy salami and Roma tomatoes, but otherwise there couldn’t be a better Italian job in town. There’s also authentic strong coffee plus a selection of slices.
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Juuri
Who has time to sample every Finnish dish and risk having a plate of yuck to finish? Juuri’s sapas (Suomi tapas) gives you a chance to sample the classic in tiny portions, such as lingonberry marinated salmon on slivers of maltbread, or cabbage leaves stuffed with crayfish. The mains aren’t bad either and include grilled wild-boar ribs and raspberry-marinated Arctic char, which stay true to Finnish roots.
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Zetor
Ever wondered where the Leningrad Cowboys would park their pointy shoes? This whacky restaurant and pub has a kitschy Czech tractor theme from the mind of Finnish film-maker Aki Kaurismäki. Cabbage rolls, salmon soup and other traditional dishes complement the Finnish booze including sahti (traditional ale flavoured with juniper berries), but ease off if you’re finishing the night with a tractor ride.
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Savotta
A little too themed for some tastes, this representation of a logger’s mess hall does traditional Finnish working food. Waitresses in peasant tops bring karjalanpiirakka (rice-filled savoury pastry) starters before moving on to meaty fare such as elk, bear stew or the Forest Foreman’s Plate, which is served in a skillet with much flourish. If you enter into the spirit of it, it’s a good night out.
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Kosmos
Designed by Alvar Aalto, this place could qualify as an institution on that fact alone, but the Hellenic sculpture and artsy associations lift it to another level. The Finnish antipasto (including smoked reindeer and Baltic herring) is the ideal start before moving on to meaty mains such as Russian chicken breast served with roe and sauerkraut, and lamb kidneys with pilaf.
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Bossa
When winter is getting you down, this place with its lipstick-red interior, bright mosaic and mojitos can whisk you off to the warmer climes of Brazil. Film-maker Mika Kaurismäki brings some of his new home country back to his countrymen with dishes like a coconut-heavy fish stew and roasted lamb chops. Sunday boasts a ‘sambalounas’ with dancing added to the menu.
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Vanha Kauppahalli
The kauppahalli (covered market), built in 1889, is one of the best in Finland and, although touristy, is a great place to nose around. The kauppatori, also known as the fish market, is good for salmon chowder, cheap snacks and fresh produce such as berries. Most food stalls set up plastic chairs and tables on summer afternoons.
reviewed
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Olo
A relative newcomer on the fine-dining scene, Olo is refreshingly unpretentious with a dining room of muted greys and whites. The menu is playful with a saddle of lamb sauced with Madeira and forest mushrooms or tender piglet. All meals come with house-baked breads (try the fruity malt) and the wine list is broad enough to appeal to all palettes.
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Karl Fazer Café
Another historical cafe worth delving into, this is a huge space with lots of character, classic decor and a small terrace. Founded in 1891 by the Finnish confectionary-making family (you'll see Fazer sweets and chocolate everywhere), it does amazing ice-cream sundaes and also sells cakes and tea to take away.
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Papa Giovanni
Close to the gallery and station, 'the papa' is a favourite among Helsinki's pasta eaters. Downstairs is a spaghetteria with reasonably priced pasta dishes and an Italian-style cafe; upstairs is a stylish restaurant and wine bar with high-backed chairs and a tempting range of Italian soups, salads and mains.
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Boathouse
On the island of Liuskasaari, Boathouse is a circular two-deck restaurant, with ferries from the jetty at Merisatamanranta. The restaurant does great seafood, which is best sampled with the seafood platter or a tuna steak. Instead of a guestbook, visitors pin notes to the lobby’s chandelier.
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Konstan Möljä
You can almost smell the sea in the maritime interior of this old sailor’s eatery. It’s real working-man’s food with a huge buffet that includes soup, salad, bread, meat (always reindeer) and vegetable dishes. If à la carte mains will break the budget, stick to the buffet – if you can resist Baltic herrings.
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Café Esplanade
This large, busy space is a perfect spot for a variety of needs and wants. Oversized Danish pastries and excellent Finnish pulla, a traditional wheat bun, are good accompaniments to coffee (bottomless) or espresso; for lunch, there are spectacular salads and a variety of wines served by the glass.
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Café Lasipalatsi
The warm interior is popular year-round with lunching city suits, while the terrace throngs during after-work drinks. The ravintola (restaurant) upstairs is plusher, but stick to the lower deck for the best value, including the popular lunch special that runs to pasta and soups with great breads.
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Chez Dominique
Helsinki’s best French restaurant has moved to a larger location but has maintained its pair of Michelin stars. The menu sticks to French classics such as Dover sole and Anjou pigeon with Finnish flourishes including set menus (from four to nine courses) that include divine pulla (cardamom buns).
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Savoy
Originally designed by Alvar and Aino Aalto, this is definitely a stand-out dining room with blonde wood and Artek furniture throughout. Dishes source the best in local ingredients with an eye on sustainability and conserving your food miles with highlights such as the roasted partridge with duck liver.
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Sea Horse
Established in the 1930s and largely unchanged since, Sea Horse is the lovable uncle of Helsinki’s dining scene. Sometimes service may be hard of hearing, but they dish up real Fenno faves like cabbage rolls and reindeer fillet, in generous enough portions for you to forgive them their eccentricities.
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Fazer
This classic cafe can feel a little cavernous, but it’s the flagship for the mighty chocolate empire of the same name. The cupola famously reflects sound, so locals say it’s a bad place to gossip. It is ideal, however, for buying Fazer confectionary or enjoying the towering sundaes or slabs of cake.
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Satkar
Adding to Helsinki's international array of eateries, Satkar is a great place to stop for an inexpensive and hearty lunch. This Nepalese restaurant provides plenty of North Indian dishes, including tandoori and thalis. There's a fixed-price multi-course set menu with a vegetarian version available.
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Wanha Laamanni
Top of the town in both geographic and culinary terms, this old Judges’ Chambers serves up Finnish faves like reindeer and the unique tar-flavoured salmon. The building itself is a rambling late-18th-century conversion with a roaring fireplace and sprawling terrace that’s ideal for people-watching.
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Nokka
Look out for the giant ship’s propeller out the front of this distinctively Finnish place. Dishes use local cheeses and game, blended with berry wines to create Suomi sensations. Once a warehouse, the brickwork is warmed by rustic design and its wine cellar remains a highlight.
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Demo
A favourite with Helsinki’s chefs, this fashionable spot does modern European food such as artichoke ravioli or roasted goose breast for a surprisingly good price. The location means it attracts bright young things who delight in their liquorice ice cream or rhubarb sorbets.
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