Surprisingly good food in this hidden location in Helsinki. We were visiting Helsinki during…read moreMidsummer, and so many restaurants were closed. I was advised that Bryggeri Brewhouse might be open so got a reservation. When we arrived, I was told that the reservation represented seating inside with table service, but it was a beautiful evening so we opted to merely order from the fast casual counter and have the food delivered to us at a patio table. Our food was really good. I started with a serving of the salmon soup which had been recommended as a Helsinki specialty by our guide that day. I have nothing to compare this soup to, but it was outstanding. Great flavor, perfectly prepared salmon. The starter serving was more than enough for an entire meal, so I shared with the rest of our table. For our main courses, my wife had the sloppy joe sliders and I had the wild elk meatballs with mashed potatoes. The meatballs were wonderful, perfectly done, good flavor and matched well with the potatoes in the gravy provided. My wife found the sloppy joes to also be very tasty with a bit more kick than such an offering in the United States. The buns they were on were perfect and the entire serving very large. One other dish to comment on that was ordered at our table was the Chicken Burger. Do not get thrown off by the name burger and expect a ground chicken patty. This is a full-size chicken breast perfectly fried and with excellent condiments and sauces. So, food, 5 stars. When it came to the beer, there are only a few of the offerings available at the patio stand, so I was not happy with choices given this was a brewhouse. I learned later, after my first bland lager that I could just go to the main bar inside and get the full offering. So my second beer was excellent, the Sofia. This entire experience would have been a 5 except for a couple of faults. One was that food took a long time to arrive and came sporadically, and second is that the full complement of beers should be offered outside or the bartender there should inform patrons that they are limited, but 20 steps away they can order from the full list. If looking for a nice casual night out in Helsinki, I can highly recommend this restaurant.

Fantastic on-tap options; kitchen looks really good. Service set-up is understaffed and…read moreoverwhelmed, resulting in long waits.

On my first night in Helsinki, I came across this restaurant, but I wanted something more casual…read more When I walked by the restaurant on my final night, I decided to dine here. When I inquired about a seat outside, the employee suggested I look for a seat under an awning in case it rained. Fortunately, it never did. As I never dined here previously, my waitress explained the menu which had three sections: - Small, which were tapas - Medium, large enough to be a meal by themselves - Large, their largest & priciest entrees I ended up opting for the €65 5-course tasting menu. Consisting of three starters, one main course, and a dessert course. Rather than opting for €45 wine pairing which included three 12 centiliters of regular wine and one 12 centiliter of dessert wine, I just ordered a single glass of wine. Throughout the evening, the courses were timely served without feeling rushed. I never waited too long for the next course; yet had sufficient time to digest the current one. By the end of the third course, I was concerned about being hungry by the end. Once I finished the fourth/main course, I had just enough room for the dessert course.

I've lived in Helsinki for 2 years and this is my new favorite restaurant. Only opened a couple…read moremonths ago. We've eaten here twice and both times left very impressed. They have a varied and interesting menu combining small plates and larger ones with seafood, poultry, meat and vegetarian options. Last time we had the five course tasting menu for 49€ and it was a bargain! We used to live in California and there was a 2 star Michelin restaurant close by. The food here was just as good for half the price! We sat at the open kitchen/bar and the staff chatted with us amiably while whipping up gourmet food, plating beautifully, and serving with perfect timing. My only problem is that by writing this review I might help them get as busy as they deserve to be.

Excellent location for a nice quiet dinner with great food in the center of Helsinki although…read moreportions tend to be on the smaller side. They serve a homemade malt bread which I had never had before, a touch of sweetness but savory and definitely delicate at the same time but the butter is absolutely fantastic and a flavor I cannot pinpoint but unique and delicious. The celeriac (vegetarian) dish is a must have, flavorful and delicate at the same time. The dessert portion is really tiny (the cake slice could only accommodate three blueberries on top!) but it is nice and the cream igelayo is soft and delicious. I think prices are a bit steep for the portions but I guess they are in line with similar establishments in Finland. Definitely recommend.

Fine dining in this part of town is the norm, therefore , I expect the very best …read more Nevertheless, there was an atmosphere which cannot be fabricated. laughs and chatter from almost every table...loved it ! I had the Toasted duck and others had the pike perch. they were both extremely tasteful. the combination of vegetables and ingredients was something to look forward to . I with I would've had an appetizer because the portion was a little small for my big appetite. We had the Tarte Tatin for dessert, which is basically vanilla ice cream over heated apple pie. service was good . I would repeat to try other dishes . Reasonable prices, considering the area.

Nice looking cafe on the main esplanade of Helsinki. Came in late winter for the salmon soup -…read moreunlimited with bread and coffee for 16.9 euro. They definitely don't skimp on salmon - large tender chunks. Soup was creamy but not too rich. A variety of bread along with whipped butter and pumpkin spread. Need to get the dark rye bread - Finn's love this. Nice ambience although a tad noisy. Mostly locals the evening I went.

The location of this restaurant was formerly a chapel, and today it is including a café and a…read morerestaurant. Inside, the café has a cozy, lively, and relaxing atmosphere that makes it an inviting place to spend time. The café offers a salmon soup buffet along with a wide selection of pastries, sandwiches, and salads. The restaurant, on the other hand, is well known for its reindeer dishes. I really loved the location, which is perfect to visit during a day of sightseeing or as a stop between exploring Helsinki. Personally, I enjoyed the café more than the restaurant. While it isn't fine dining, the café offers healthy, simple dishes and a great variety of local favorites. The restaurant has a good selection of menu options; however, aside from the reindeer dish, I found the other items to be quite salty. The service throughout our visit was very good.

I ordered the Ribs from the starter menu. An absolute MUST HAVE!!! Fall off the bone ribs! Haven't…read morehad ribs this good since I left Texas. Has a nice Asian twist to them. Highly recommend!!!

This place feels very old timey! The interior decor and lighting made it feel like I was in the…read more1970s or something. We came in for dinner on a Friday night with no reservation and we sat at the bar. The place got very busy and they even had to turn people away because there was no room. I guess you should try to make a reservation if possible! The menu is a bit limited and seemed to focus on traditional Finnish food. I was probably most interested in the meatball plate but it looked like too much food (also was like 24 euros which seems steep for meatballs), so I opted for a full sized tomato basil soup. I guess it was also a bit pricey at 18 euros for just soup and some bread so maybe not the best value. I did think the soup was okay, a bit on the saltier side so I had trouble finishing all of it. It did pair nicely with the bread but I didn't get that much bread for the amount of soup I got. The soup had a glob of goat cheese and basil which I thought paired nicely. My husband ordered the stew plate and he liked it but thought they didn't really give you that much meat. I agreed. The mashed potatoes were quite good and creamy but the dish kinda felt like it was just a very expensive plate of mashed potatoes and gravy. The blueberry dessert was not bad but I don't really like jam/jelly that much though so I couldn't eat too much of it. It did pair nicely with ice cream. Overall, interesting ambiance but probably not the best restaurant for me.

Date of visit: 8/29/2024…read more Both appetizers were great: - escargot with garlic 5/5 - tomato soup with basil 5/5 Entrees not so much: - Classical Meatballs (beef & pork) 3/5 - sautéed reindeer (traditional food from Lapland) 3/5: I thought I'd give reindeer a try since I'm in Finland. Couldn't stand the smell. It's simply sautéed with hardly any seasonings which makes the scent of the meat more prominent. It's served on a bed of mashed potatoes that's actually very good. - Fish of the day ala Mannerheim 4/5: I had to order this coz I ended up not eating the reindeer :( Today it was white fish served with wild mushroom sauce. The sauce was delicious. The fish I wish had crispier skin but overall it was a better dish compared to the reindeer. Like with all other Finnish restaurants, this comes with a price tag too. Oh well, lol

This another outlet of roaster Torrefazione and it is by far the best one. There is plenty of…read moreseating and so far it has not been very crowded when I have been here which has really benefited the quality of the coffee made (not as uneven as their other place). The coffee is a bit dark for my taste but still some very good coffee available. In addition to the good coffee I must also recommend the salads that are excellent, especially the parma and the salsiccia salads. The smoothies are also fresh and delicious.

Have you been to La Torrefazione's second place at Kluuvi? Also Fratello sets standards when it…read morecomes to great coffee. And not just the taste convinces. It's also fun to watch them preparing it. Would you like to have some pastry with your cappuccino or latte macchiato? Well, they have a big variety. Or maybe you should even consider a ball of delicious Swiss Mövenpick ice cream. Fratello's location and interior might not be as great as at La Torrefazione on Aleksanterinkatu. Anyway it is definitely a must for coffee lovers.

This place offers authentic napolitan style pizzas, as indicated by the certification at the door…read more What a difference between the ordinary and this one - the only downside is that after this experience, one does not want to have those standard pizzas anymore. Very friendly service, and excellent service. Located conveniently at the proximity of the open air market place. We will return here when possible.

Service was friendly, pizza was outstanding. As I was walking by, I couldn't help but notice the…read moreplace had a lot of customers, so I knew it must be quality food. I stepped in and got a table immediately. I had the standard margarita pizza and it was so delicious.

The best we ordered shrimp pasta & Greek salad; the pasta is truly unique, and the service is warm…read moreand friendly.

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 .

Coffee is great! Pastry was great!…read moreService was great. If we didn't know what something was.. they explained what it was close to that we may know. The ambiance was good. Cozy, lots of people at all times. Hard to find a table. We kept coming back, even late at night.

Karl Fazer Cafe is a must visit in Helsinki as it's the first cafe in Finland that Karl Fazer…read moreopened, starting the coffee trend for the country, as Finnish people are known to drink some of the most coffee in the world! And Karl Fazer is famous for being a chocolatier, so Fazer chocolate is a must try, too. Fortunately for me, Karl Fazer Cafe was located right across from my hotel, so I had easy access to chocolate and coffee here. The cafe was very popular, and what's nice is that they are open the entire day, serving meals or something lighter. They also have a chocolate shop on one side of the cafe that you can grab and go. For one of my visits here, I tried the geisha dessert, which is a specialty, along with a Fazer mocha. They were both good, and I was pleasantly surprised that the geisha dessert was a mix of chocolate and hazelnut since the lilac color threw me off, so was afraid it would be a fruity dessert. But it turned out to be better than expected. Another visit, I tried the cinnamon bun, which was solid. It wasn't the best in town, but solid - and definitely better than anything I'd ever get back home. If you're in Helsinki, Karl Fazer is a name you'll hear - and you'll need to try the famous chocolate and pay a visit to the first cafe of the country. It's easily walking distance to many sites as it's in the city center, and has outdoor seating. Glad to have checked out a place of Finnish history.