Where to eat in Helsinki

Where to eat in Helsinki

1. EatSouth

   Adlerfelt

   A restaurant (housed in a magnificent 250-year-old building) with cool Nordic food, interesting drinks and good moments.

2. EatCentral

   Amarillo

   Tex-Mex cuisine for Finnish tastes. Steaks, burritos, fajitas, burgers and salads. All food is very tasty but don't expect completely authentic Mexican cuisine.

   15:00 to 21:00 mostly·Main courses 20 € to 40 €

3. EatCentral

   Bangkok 9

   A Thai cuisine restaurant in the City-Center complex in central Helsinki, opposite the central railway station. Offers authentic spicy Thai cuisine. Interesting decor. Usually a bit crowded.

   12:00–20:00 mostly·Main courses €16 to 20

4. EatInner East

   Bar Loosister

   Good selection of burgers and beers on tap. Chicken wings with four different sauces, the hottest one "hot as fuck" is absolutely scorching hot.

   14:00-00:00 mostly·Burgers around EUR 16

5. EatSouth

   Bar No 9

   Popular bar that also serves a variety of dishes with a twist of cross-kitchen style, priced from €4.90-15.90, most main courses under €10. Tends to be packed at lunch and dinner time.

6. EatKamppi and Southwest

   Barbarossa

   Good price-quality ratio pizzaplace, always fast service. Very small location though, so you might have to eat your pizza elsewhere.

7. EatCentral

   Bastard Burgers

   A hamburger restaurant, where burgers are served with beef produced only on Finnish farms.

   Mon–Thu 10:30–22:00, Fri Sat 10:30–01:00, Sun 12:00–21:00

8. EatSouth

   Behnford's

   British and American store selling food, drinks, candies and other stuff.

9. EatCentral

   Belge

   A reasonable selection of Belgian beers, a nice range of bistro fare, and a good location for people watching. The dining room upstairs is non-smoking. The menus in the dining rooms are served inside Tintin comic books in Finnish, so you can read them while deciding what to order.

   Main dishes €12–17

10. EatWest

    Benjam's Bistro

    You want home made Italian cooking in Helsinki? Here it is. Benjam's is run by an Italian family. Atmosphere is cosy, but some of the food comes directly from the supermarket, tortellini and many desserts, for example.

    Main dishes €10–15

11. EatKamppi and Southwest

    Bites Burgers

    Tasty burgers made to order, with a regular, vegan, vegetarian and special option that can be further customised. They have a good selection of sodas and craft beer. In their Kamppi location there's also an inner yard open during the summer with live music most nights. They also have a restaurant in Vallila and in the Kaivopiha food court.

    €10-12

12. EatInner East

    Bites Burgers

    Tasty burgers made to order, with a regular, vegan, vegetarian and special option that can be further customised. They have a good selection of sodas and craft beer. They also have restaurants in Kamppi and the Kaivopiha mall.

    €10-12

13. EatInner East

    Blinit

    Another Russian eatery specialized in blini with different fillings. Also pelmeny and soups (borscht specially recommended) on daily offer.

    Mon-Thu 11:00-21:00, Fri-Sun 11:00-22:00·Lunch menu €7

14. EatSouth

    Boathouse

    On Liuskasaari island, Boathouse offers seasonal kitchen and a wide selection of wines.

    May–Sep

15. EatSouth

    Cafe Samovarbar

    Lovely cafe in the toy museum with proper espresso, ice cream, local snacks and wines, with a terrace overlooking the sea.

    11:00–17:00

16. EatWest

    Carelia

    Finnish-French with a strong fish and seafood emphasis. Oysters and other seafood in winter, local fish in the summer season. Located in the premises of an old pharmacy with some of the pharmacy interior still intact. One of the best (if not the best) wine cellars in town: there are 37 different champagnes alone on the wine list.

17. EatCentral

    Caverna

    A large restaurant located in the basement, offering a diverse buffet mainly concentrating on Spanish cuisine. Various kinds of appetisers, main courses and desserts on offer, all for a fixed price of €39 (alcoholic drinks cost extra). For the main course, you select the meats when they are still raw, the restaurant cooks them for you and brings them to your table.

    11:00–21:00 mostly·Buffet €39

18. EatInner East

    Cella

    Established 1969, this is one of the oldest restaurants in the Kallio district, serving classic Finnish food with lots of grease and salt. For a "real" restaurant (not fast food) in Helsinki it's reasonably priced, around €10-20 for main dishes. The chef himself often serves the food, complete with a sexist joke or an insult, and may even force feed you the leftovers if you don't finish your meal! Also serves as a pub with a decent selection of beers, ciders and single malts.

19. EatSouth

    Central

    One of the oldest restaurants in Helsinki, dating back to the 1890s. It has been in its current location since the 1960s. Serves a wide variety of common restaurant fare in Finland: salads, pastas, steaks and hamburgers.

    12:00–23:00 mostly·Main courses €16-33

20. EatCentral

    Chilli

    Mikonkatu 8

    Cheap kebab, shawarma, and falafel. Large portions, though be warned that this isn't your traditional Middle Eastern fare. Pitas come with something akin to spaghetti sauce inside. Filling choice, especially on a budget.

21. EatCentral

    China Tiger

    One of the best Chinese restaurants in Helsinki. Excellent food, a nice atmosphere and really good service. Extra points for the interior design.

    Mon–Fri 11:00–23:00, Sat Sun 12:00–23:00·Lunch €9.2, mains from €12.8

22. EatCentral

    Classic Pizza

    A classy, fashionable pizzeria with a wide variety of pizzas on the menu. Some of the toppings might be rather unusual, such as grilled chicken, pickled cucumbers, beetroot, crayfish, bratwurst, coconut milk, or Finnish leipäjuusto cheese. But the end result is a tasty culinary treat anyway. For dessert, there's a pizza with ice cream and fresh fruit. The restaurant has several locations around the Helsinki capital area and elsewhere in Finland, but the most central one is in the Stockmann department store, on the basement floor. The restaurant is rather self-consciously a pizzeria. Although many other pizzerias in Helsinki also serve kebab, there are only pizzas on the menu here, and even the staff wear shirts saying "Sorry, no kebab".

    €14–17

23. EatSouth

    Demo

    An unusual high-class restaurant geared towards the young and trendy, Demo's decor is minimalistic, but the food is of excellent calibre. There are no menus, only set courses pre-chosen based on what is fresh and available for the evening. Easily deserving of its Michelin star. Reservations essential.

24. EatKamppi and Southwest

    Eerikin Pippuri

    One of the more popular kebab places in town. On the same street as many bars, so good for a midnight meal as well.

25. EatWest

    Elite

    In the 1930s, many artists, actors and other creative personalities lived in Töölö. Elite opened in 1932, and the restaurant almost instantly became a living room for them. The restaurant still has a feel from those days including paintings from the era on the walls, and some dishes are named after the famous patrons from those days.

26. EatSouth

    Elm

    Mediterranean restaurant, serving food made with fresh and authentic ingredients.

    Mon–Thu 11:30–14:30 & 17:00–22:00, Fri 11:30–14:30 & 17:00–23:00, Sat 13:00–23:00·Lunch €13-16, main courses €12-36 Menu Elm €42

27. EatSouth

    Event Arena Bank

    Free flow lunch restaurant that offers a spacious and luminous environment to spend the lunch hour. The daily Lunch Club menu consists of four different choices all for €9.20. There is choice of Scandinavian style home-cooking, Mediterranean or Asian delicacies, salad bar and soup of the day or vegetarian meal.

28. EatWest

    Farang

    Farang serves fresh, unique dishes from South-East Asia in a modern decor. Try one of the tasting menus if you can't decide what to have.

    Tue-Sat 17:00-00:00·Mains €20–25, tasting menus €55–64

29. EatKamppi and Southwest

    Faro

    A rather nice restaurant and bar located right at the seashore, offering nice views. Serves lunch and à la carte menu. Lunch is affordable, if not quite cheap, but the à la carte menu is a bit on the pricier side. Also functions as a bar. Serves a variety of cuisine, lunch varies daily.

    Lunch €10 to €13, main courses €20 to €30

30. EatWest

    Finnjävel

    Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant serving Finnish food. The place contains two restaurants: Salonki for serving Finnish cuisine with the rich flavours of the Northern wilderness, and Sali for serving casual, yet elegant Finnish food in a cosy atmosphere.

    Salonki: Tue-Sat 17:00-23:30; Sali: Tue-Fr 11.30-23:30, Sat 13:00-23:30·Menu Salonki: EUR 98-126; Menu Finnjävel: EUR 59; Finnjävel's Better Lunch: EUR 39

31. EatKruununhaka and Katajanokka

    FishMarket

    High quality seafood restaurant with a relaxed atmosphere. Although on the expensive side, you can eat lunch there at more moderate prices. FishMarket is easy to reach by Trams 1 and 1A.

    Mon-Fri 11:30-23:00, Sat 17:00-23:00

32. EatKamppi and Southwest

    Fisken på Disken

    The name means "The fish on the table" in Swedish, and the restaurant indeed focuses almost exclusively on fish and seafood. Located on the fifth floor of the Kamppi shopping centre amongst other restaurants, easy to find as it's right next to the escalators. Rather crowded so reservations are recommended, although not mandatory. Try the fish and chips, available at €16.

    Closed · opens 11 am·Main courses €10 to €28

33. EatSouth

    Fredan Murkina

    Very simple and inexpensive lunch place, no gourmet-stuff going on here, but the sort of food Finns eat at home made fresh on site. Run by a friendly husband and wife team, this kiosk/restaurant melange a stone's throw away from five corners serves one of the cheapest healthy warm lunches you can eat in central Helsinki. Take away also possible if the few tables are full. Soup €4.50, lunch of the day was €5.70 or €7 depending on portion size (Sep 2015).

    Open Mon–Fri lunch time, closed around midsummer.

34. EatInner East

    Freeesh

    A sushi buffet restaurant in the Kalasatama neighbourhood. The sushi is fresh and tasty. The restaurant is very popular and a bit small, so prepare for queues. Soft drinks included in the price but alcoholic drinks cost extra.

    Mon-Thu 11:00-15:00, Fri 11:00-19:00, Sat 12:00-19:00, Sun 12:00-19:00·Lunch buffet €13.90, evening and weekend buffet €16.90

35. EatSouth

    Gaijin

    One of Helsinki's finest Asian cuisine restaurants, serving a mixture of Japanese, Chinese and Korean cuisine. Famous for its tasting menus. As the restaurant is very popular and a bit cramped, prior reservations are recommended, although not mandatory. The food is a bit expensive but extremely tasty, and the staff are very friendly.

    Closed · opens 5 pm·Main courses €26-42, tasting menus €62-66

36. EatSouth

    Gastone

    Nice restaurant with an Italian flavour. Reservations suggested, particularly on the weekend.

37. EatInner East

    Grand Georgia

    Ravintolalaiva Wäiski

    Wäiski is the only year-round restaurant boat in Helsinki. You cannot travel anywhere with it, as it is firmly docked at Hakaniemi Pier. Both indoor and outdoor seating and fair prices. However the boat is sometimes rented for private parties and conferences and in that case you need to go elsewhere. A Georgian restaurant since 2018.

38. EatKamppi and Southwest

    Halikarnas

    One of the most famous Turkish restaurants in Helsinki. Famous for its Mediterranean-style buffet, served not only on working days but on weekends also (it's a bit more expensive on weekends though), but also serves quality Turkish à la carte dishes. The coffee, although served from a nondescript thermos can, is one of the best coffees available in Helsinki. Spacious with stylish Turkish decor, with artwork depicting ancient Mediterranean cities on the walls.

    11:00-23:00 mostly·Buffet around €10, à la carte dishes €14–22

39. EatCentral

    Harald

    A Viking-themed restaurant that tries to keep its cuisine as close to the authentic Viking cuisine as possible, but still keeping in with today's tastes. In practice, the food is extremely tasty, but a bit overpriced. The decor is Viking-themed, the staff dress up in Viking-themed costumes, and even the menu contains Viking-era descriptions. The menu is obviously very meat-oriented, but there are some vegetarian options available. Try the duck or beef dishes, they're very tasty. The restaurant servers its own beer, it's worth trying.

    11:00–22:00 mostly·Main courses €18–35

40. EatSouth

    Havis

    The successor of the legendary Havis Amanda and still the best upscale seafood restaurant in town.

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Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Helsinki (CC BY-SA 4.0).