I'm a big proponent of picking places to eat based on how hilarious their names are. This approach…read moredoesn't usually yield the best food, but I found an exception in Pupu. Ordered a salad because I had no other choice but it was pretty solid. The place is pretty cramped and tiny so probably not the best place to bring a big group of friends but great for a laid back 1 on 1 lunch. Portions are pretty "large" which is good. Great tunes as well

From the owner: Valmistamme premium-salaatteja puhtaista raaka-aineista…read more Suosimme luomua- ja lähituottajia aina kun se on mahdollista. Kokoamme salaattisi pikavauhtia heti tilauksen saatuamme. Valmistamme kaiken itse omassa keittiössämme. Take-away tai paikan päällä.

We had an assortment of great food at this relaxing corner restaurant near Helsinki city center…read more The service was excellent, but it was a slow evening, so we had all the attention we needed at the right pace. We had the organic beef Klitch burger with goat cheese and tapenade, with potato wedges that were fried just right. It was very tasty and filling. Also had the tiger prawn avocado salad, which tasted healthy and good, but was a bit light on dressing flavor. My wife had assorted tapas which she really enjoyed. If you are looking for a quality meal in a relaxed setting, this is a great place to go!

Food was fine ..service was terrible ..everything else falls to bits when service is terribleread more

This restaurant has absolutely yummy food and the service of the family who works there is very…read morewarm and friendly - i had the meal with a soup + salad + entree and side - it was all yummy - I could eat there everyday

Really great vegetarian place to eat in Helsinki. Just a few streets over from the outdoor seaside…read moreopen market. This eatery prepares a few selections daily, so the menu is always changing (the way it should be), and left up to the whims of the owners and cooks. Walk in, get in line, pay attention to the ordering process. The staff does speak English but most guests appear to be locals on their lunch breaks. We sat at a table that had a few open seats which gave us the opportunity to chat with the locals a little bit. We opted for the soup and salad, and the portions were very generous. The soup was a summer soup with lots of cauliflower and dill - Delicious! It is important to note that all the foods we ate were whole foods (not processed), with lots of flavor. A little bit goes a long way to quenching your hunger. Being someone who usually has no problem clearing a plate it was a struggle to make my way to the bottom of the soup bowl despite how delicious it was. You won't be hungry for a long while after eating either. The eatery is on the small side, so if you see a line outside you may not be able to find a place to sit. Don't let that stop you from trying this place - It seemed like they were set up for take-out, and there are plenty of parks nearby to have a picnic. We really enjoyed our meal here from a number of different perspectives. Staff was warm and friendly despite a modest language barrier and us not knowing the ordering format. The locals that we shared our table with had been equally warm and friendly. The food speaks for itself. Five stars on all accounts. It is places like this that serve to remind us what our own hometown is lacking. There is a good chance I would eat here every day if I could.

I decided to try Hoku at the recommendation of our AirBnB host and Yelp. 40 reviews on…read moreYelp...that's impressive for Finland! This place lives up to the hype. Since it is located on the 5th floor of Kamppi Square and has floor to ceiling windows, the views are reeeeal nice. The boyfriend and I came for lunch at 11:30am on a Friday and were seated without a reservation after we placed our order and paid at the counter. I tried the Kalua Pork & Tiger Prawns (14€) while the boyfriend went with the Salmon Teriyaki (15€) after reading the glowing reviews on here. The Kalua Pork dish was super tasty and had more broth than I was expecting; I was glad it came with a bowl of rice. The salmon was SO moist with a teriyaki sauce that wasn't too overbearing! Needless to say we finished both our dishes without a bite to spare. The portions are medium-sized. If you come starving, it may not be enough to make you feel 100% satiated. However, the sophisticated atmosphere and unique & flavorful dishes made Hoku a great experience.

Hoku is really small place, but their portion are really H-u-g-e and lunch-time the place is always…read morefull. Salmon Teriyaki with potato-salad as japanese-style.. yes please! On dinner-time you have to make a reservation if you are coming with big groupie or 2 people. For 1 person... Sometimes there is window-place for walk-in people, so just try your luck if there is the place for you. Their Dinner-menu is sort and not so long. The price are ok. Must try Hoku's Chicken Katsu!

The food is good and the pasta portions are bigger than they appear on the photos because they…read moreserve in deep dishes . I was disappointed by not getting bread with the meal because the sauce was very good. there is not table service , they have beer and wine . I would repeat for lunch , not dinner .

Great service and wonderful food! We found Cafe Bar 9 while out walking and decided to stop in…read more Very glad we did. We will definitely be back.

We were very cold and wet from a nasty weather day and wanted to try something warm. Also wanted…read moresomething local to Helsinki as well and Yelp said this one would satisfy our taste buds. Not a single tourist in site, everyone speaking Finnish so we knew this was the perfect spot. Had only 30 minutes before lunch ended so we ate quick and snapped as many pictures as I could. Very interesting salads with unique dressings, most them couldn't tell what in the world made them taste so good. Helsinki proved to be awesome and to not copy Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Finland borders Russia on the East side which might be why their foods are so different and yet so delectable. Would be better to visit when the weather is warmer with some sunshine. For sure would return to this place as it was superb!

Love the unpretentious lunch hidden in the street corners of Helsinki city centre here. You kind of…read morehave to look for a place as it doesnt have street front...just a sign they put outside to say they are open...and you kind of have to brave yourself to step in a small corner inside the streets to actually get to the restaurant. There are all types of clienteles here and you pay right when you arrive, get your plate, grab your food from the buffet line and seat whereever the table is free. Pretty casual and stress free...and the staff there do run like a well-oiled machine. They clear thr empty plates and clean the tables, and refill the food in tje buffet line as much as they can. The buffet line has a section for vegetarian and regular hot meal food. There's also a separate corner to grab your own tea/coffee as you wish, too. For ~€12 and quality all you can eat lunch...this is a very very good deal! I did try everything from the buffet line and they all tasted fresh! I had 2 full plates and a cup of tea..and didn't feel bloated after eating so much afterwards at all. If I had time to come back to Helsinki again, I would definitely want to have lunch here again. I debated goinf back there again my last day in Helsinki but unfortunately didn't have enough time to go back there...else I would be back there again! Give yourself and your friends a nice casual lunch when you are in Helsinki and you will be happy to stopped by for sure!

Im a huge fan of Pilpel, which is a Israeli falafel shop in London. So when I learned from my…read morecolleague that there's a falafel shop with a similar concept in Helsinki, I begged him to try it out right away. Fafa now has several locations in Helsinki and we went to their latest venture - the shop located near Kamppi. I was very happy to see a Sabich salad featured on the menu; Sabich means typically the addition of aubergines and boiled eggs to the pita or salad. I went for the spicy option and was positively surprised by the genuine kick that the chilli sauce added. My colleague went for the "normal" falafel pita sandwich. My salad was ok to good - flavourwise it was spot on, but I disliked the fact that they puffed up the salad with too much lettuce. Now, don't get me wrong: I ordered a salad after all and now I'm complaining about too much lettuce? - Well, as I mentioned earlier I love the Pilpel chain in London and when they do these kinds of salads, actual lettuce is only part of the equation and the rest is made up of spiced cabbage (both white and red), tomatoes, hummus, onions etc. My colleague was mightily happy with his falafel pita/sandwich and I have to say it looked quite delicious. Overall, I was quite happy with my visit here...and I will definitely return when I visit Helsinki next time. (Oh, only this time I will not sit in, as the smell of fried falafels really stays in your clothes for quite a while ;-)

Server sneezed, wipe the nose with his hands and proceeded to prepare my food without cleaning his…read morehands. Cauliflower is burned.

Classy yet casual coffee shop and dining place, with lunch buffee during weekdays. The buffet price…read moreis around 14 euros, well in par with the quality. During busy hours, this place can get very noisy - which is perfectly ok. Today's buffee contained traditional Finnish meatballs and gravy, as well as kaalikääryle, that is, a typical cole-wrapped ground meat paste. Both were tasty, and enjoyable. Dessert coffee was as tasty as can be expected.

What a fun place. Good food and decent prices (especially for Finland). I had the reindeer which…read morewas perfect. The decor was bright and cozy. A Finnish gin & tonic is a must-try cocktail.

This place has it all except free wireless internet. I gave it a four because, come on, every place…read morein Helsinki has free internet but this place. The food selection is affordable and excellent. The salad bar is fantastic! The prices are affordable. I will go back for sure!

Terrific Turkish food frequented by many Turks. Casual. Inexpensive. They have a fantastic mezze…read morebar with all kinds of fresh vegetarian appetizers/salads that would be of a meal in itself, included with entree. A number of grilled meats. I had felafel, rice, hummus and the mezze bar. Children welcome. Owner very friendly. There's a buffet at lunch. No alcohol.

No, I don't go around looking for just the buffets when I'm in a new place. I might happen to…read moreinclude some if they look appetizing and seem to enjoy a good reputation. That said, I did go to this restaurant, Istanbul Grilli, while in this city on a stopover. (I ate at a restaurant of another ethnicity using a menu the other night I was here.) They did have a buffet going when I visited. This part of the globe has really short days during the colder months and really long days during the warmer months. Thus, it was dusk when I arrived here to eat, so I don't recall if it was the end of the lunch buffet or the beginning of a dinner buffet, if such a thing even exists. There is also a menu to order from. At Istanbul Grilli, there seem to be two major serving stations: the one toward the left and further back seems to have the meats, chicken, and main dishes and the one to the right and closer to the front seems to have the salads, fruits and vegetables, and some desserts. There is also an area where things like coffee and tea get put together. Some food selections were 3 star items and some things were 4 star offerings. It was good, but it didn't rock my world. (That's probably because I keep trying to like Turkish food as much as I like Greek food.) I don't believe they had kunefe, which I really like, but they had something like baklava. The interior is clean. It's on a major street close to the center, so there are big windows all around and the lighting is good. The service leaned amicable. The price is a good value and fair for this slightly more expensive country. It's also easy to get here, being close to Helsinki's center. The Metro seems to weave across the city and surroundings in an east-west manner, so it won't get you close enough. However, one can easily hop on just one tram or bus and/or walk to reach this restaurant. These latter observations kick up Istanbul Grilli to a solid 4 stars. In addition to that, the restaurant is popular and one will see customers who are locals, probable expats, tourists, and people of Turkish and Middle Eastern extraction. If such a diverse clientele frequents this eatery, that is also indicative that it's a worthwhile stop.