The selected restaurants have been divided into five categories: Gourmet, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The categories serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.
These restaurants are divided into four different pricing categories. The prices quoted below are for an average three-course meal and for half a bottle of house wine or cheapest equivalent per person; they do not include tax or tip.
$$$$ (over €75)
$$$ (€50 to €75)
$$ (€25 to €50)
$ (under €25)
A number of restaurants
around the city offer the ’Helsinki Menu’ scheme: a chance for the visitor to experience traditional local cuisine.
Gourmet Sundmans In the plush surroundings of an Engel-designed house once belonging to a naval commader by the name of G W Sundman, this is known as one of Helsinki’s best restaurants. Specialties include zander, arctic char and reindeer fillet, plus a variety of imaginative puddings, for which the establishment is particularly famous. Closed Sat lunchtime and Sunday. The cheaper ’Sundmans Krog’ is an alternative eatery at the same address.
Eteläranta 16
Tel: (09) 622 6410.
Website:
www.ravintolaopas.net/gwsundmans Price: $$$$
Est.
1887 The main restaurant at the
Hotel Kämp is an elegant venue adjacent to Esplanade Park in the center of Helsinki. It offers classical food and décor (fully restored to its original style during 2003). The cuisine is based on seasonal specialties, so depends on the time of year, but fish and seafood are particularly good here - the terrine of crayfish scallops and salmon is a must. Closed Sat lunch and Sun.
Pohjoisesplanadi 29
Tel: (09) 5761 1204.
Website:
www.hotelkamp.fi Price: $$$$
Business Ravintola Torni Opened in the early 1930s,
Restaurant Torni has a rather staid appearance contrasting with a lively and imaginative menu based on locally sourced ingredients - the ’Helsinki Menu’ is also available here. Three private rooms are available as well as the main 150-seat restaurant. Grilled pickled salmon with parsnip purée, tofu and maize roll with pumpkin risotto can provide a business meal with a difference. Closed Sat lunch and Sun.
Kalevankatu 5
Tel: (09) 43 360.
Website:
www.ravintolaopas.net/torni Price: $$$
Lappi Another interesting alternative is
Lappi, where the cuisine of the Laplanders is celebrated in style. Reindeer, white-tailed deer, snow grouse, elk and arctic char all feature on the menu here, as do traditional cheeses. The menu is available in 11 languages to ensure no-one needs to worry too much about what they are ordering! Open daily 12-2230.
Annankatu 22
Tel: (09) 645 550.
Website:
www.lappires.com Price: $$$
Trendy Bar Tapasta Small (26 seats) but centrally located Mediterranean style venue that becomes a club in the evenings. At lunchtime the fare consists of pastas, soups and salads, plus a wide range of tapas, complemented by Spanish wines and beers. For the summer, there is an outdoor terrace. Closed Sunday.
Uudenmaankatu 13
Tel: (09) 640 724.
Website:
www.marcante.fi/tapasta Price: $$
Restaurant Elite Since the 1930s,
Restaurant Elite has been a gathering place for the creative fraternity, musicians, writers, poets and actors. Paintings by some of its illustrious guests adorn the walls. The menu is interesting, but definitely has a Finnish feel, with fish and meat prepared in rich sauces. Open daily.
Eteläinen Hesperiankatu 22
Tel: (09) 434 2200.
Website:
www.royalravintolat.com/elite Price: $$$
Budget Café Ekberg For lighter snacks and buffet lunches,
Café Ekberg is a perfect venue in which to enjoy good quality at a reasonable price. Salads, bruschetta and soups are the order of the day at lunchtimes, while in the afternoons the on-site patisserie takes over. The café dates from the mid 1850s. Open daily, early morning until early evening.
Bulevardi 9
Tel: (09) 6811 8660.
Website:
www.cafeekberg.fi Price: $
Bar9 Popular with the media crowd,
Bar9 offers a wide selection of bar snacks and meals at affordable prices. Open daily from late morning until the early hours, its menu ranges from an ’all-day’ breakfast to Thai soups, pastas and curried chicken.
Uudenmaakatu 9
Tel: (09) 621 4059.
Website:
www.bar9.net Price: $
Personal Recommendations Ravintola Zetor An idiosyncratic, almost legendary Helsinki venue that really should be experienced by everyone who visits Helsinki. A combined bar/restaurant, it features a décor consisting of tractors, assorted agricultural machinery and other countryside items, creating unique surroundings. Even the website and menus are entertaining, reflecting its slightly zany atmosphere. Open daily until late.
Mannerheimintie 3-5
Tel: (09) 666 966.
Website:
www.ravintolazetor.fi Price: $$
Havis A relatively new addition to the Helsinki restaurant roster,
Havis specializes in top-quality seafood. Located close to the sea, it offers both à la carte and fixed menu meals. Menu highlights include blue mussel soup, zander, tuna and salmon prepared in a variety of unusual styles. Closed Sunday lunch.
Eteläranta 16
Tel: (09) 6869 5660.
Website:
www.ravintolaopas.net/havis Price: $$$
Nightlife:Most of the nightlife is centrally located around Uudenmaankatu and Eerikinkatu and bar-hopping is easily done on foot. The
Helsinkiläiset are fairly relaxed about their dress code; visitors will feel at ease in anything from jeans to eveningwear, depending on the venue. Helsinki seems to specialize in the bar-cum-restaurant - the early shift comes to dine, the later crowd to party. Most stay open until about 0300 in the summer, while hours vary in the winter, often depending on patronage. Discos or nightclubs generally close about 0400. The Finns love dancing to tango music and many restaurants have dancefloors. Outdoor dancing is a particular favorite and can be found at Pavin tanssilava, in nearby Vantaa. The legal drinking age is 18, although some pubs and discos have an age limit of 21 years. The minimum age for nightclubs is generally 24 years. The price of a bottle of beer is approximately €3-3.50, while a glass of wine costs from €3 to €4.
The best guide to the city is
Helsinki This Week published by the City of Helsinki Tourist Office and widely available (website:
www.helsinkiexpert.fi).
Bars: Most of the bars are found on two nearby streets, so a bar crawl will reveal most of Helsinki’s nightlife.
Molly Malone’s, Kaisaniemenkatu 1C, is a lively pub in the generic ’Irish’ style, with regular live music. For surroundings with a difference,
Restaurant Zetor (see
Restaurants) at Mannerheimintie 3, is a must - here one can drink and dine amid a collection of agricultural machinery. The trendy
Bar 9, Uudenmaankatu 9, domain of Helsinki’s movers and shakers. Just beside it is
Bar Tapasta, Uudenmaankatu 13, a hole-in-the-wall bar, always spilling over with a hip crowd washing down tasty
tapas with designer beers.
Bar Corona, Eerikinkatu 11, has billiards, pool and a laid-back atmosphere, where you can either perch at the bar or sit outside on the street. Just next door is
MOSKOVA, normally packed with youngsters enjoying a honey-vodka or ten. Further down the road,
Mother, Eerikinkatu 2, is another popular hangout, while a little further along is
Con Hombres, Eerikinkatu 14, a small, often packed gay bar, which plays some of Helsinki’s best techno tunes.
Café Tin Tin Tango, Töölöntorinkatu 7, is an unusual venue with built in launderette and sauna. The Finnish national passion for tango dancing can be experienced at
Vanha Maestro, Fredrikinkatu 51-53.
Casinos: Grand Casino, Mikonkatu 19 (tel: (09) 6808 0380; website:
www.grandcasinohelsinki.fi/en) is open from 1200-0400 daily, offers the full range of gambling games and machines. Foreign nationals can register as guests. It is Finland’s only venue of its type, and attracts over 200,000 visitors annually. Located close to the main railway station, it is operated by the Finnish Slot Machine Association.
Clubs: It is difficult to know where to place
Café Soda, Annankatu/Uudenmaankatu 16, as it is a café by day, bar by night and nightclub after midnight. DJs spin Helsinki’s best moves and grooves and a young, funky crowd frequent the bar and dance floor. Nightclub
DTM, Annakatu 6, is large, noisy, gay and steaming with pumping techno music. Hotel clubs tend to cater to the business crowd - some of the more popular include the
Helsinki Nightclub, Sokos Hotel, Kluuvikatu 8,
Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 8, and
Hesperia Nightclub, at the Radisson SAS Hesperia Hotel, Mannerheimintie 12.
Club Ooppera is a lively R’n’B and hiphop restaurant in Mannerheimintie, and the nearby
La Tour is open Wed-Sat with a lower age limit of 24.
Live Music: The best source of information on entertainment is found in the daily press or
Helsinki This Week.
The Finnish Music Information Center (
MIC), Lauttasaarentie 1 (tel: (09) 6810 1313; website:
www.fimic.fi), also provides information.
Current top Finnish rock and pop groups groups include Nightwish, The Flaming Sideburns, Ultra Bra, Nylon Beat, HIM, Darude, Bomfunk MC, J Karjalainen, Heikki Silennoinen, Soul-special and Sami Saari. Other favorite singers include Karita Mattila, Arja Koriseva (the queen of Tango music) and Soile Isokoski. A good club for live music is
Nosturi, Telakkakatu 8 (website:
www.elmu.fi). For major rock concerts, the venue is
Tavastia Klubi, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6 (website:
www.tavastiaklubi.fi).
For jazz, the
Storyville Live Jazz Club, Museokatu 8 (website:
www.storyville.fi), has a different band on most nights, including the
Helsinki City Jazz Orchestra. A newer venue is
JUMO, Pursimiehenkatu 6.
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