Welcome to My Best Helsinki
RESTAURANT REVIEWS
alexanderplats, baskeri & basso, boulevard bronda, demo, farang, ateljè finne, gaijin, kuurna, mat district, olo, ora, pastis, pompier, savoy, spis, strindberg, toca (CLOSED: Alexander Nevski. We loved it - still miss it. One of the few places you could get real caviar. very nice room, friendly service, Food was great. Many other's had to fold, too...but this one we really miss.)
CAFES: aalto,angelica, antin kaffeliiteri, carusel, carusel esplanade, chapman, ekberg, engel, esplanad, fazer, ursula, senaatti, tamminiementien kahvila
Many
top
restaurants in Helsinki are closed during the whole month of July,
some
for even longer. If
you
are planning a "foodie vacation"
in Helsinki during
the summer,
July is probably not the
best time to do it. July,
which usually is
the warmest summer month, is
"vacation month" in
Finland. Most Finns start
their vacation around
the 21st-24th of
June,
when "Midsummer Eve",
a huge
holiday in Finland, is celebrated. Check in
advance.
We love Helsinki restaurants. There are - and have been - an impressive number of high quality restaurants for a while now. Both formal and casual, and small places that serve remarkably high quality food - and wines. We favor these kinds of restaurants now.
We apologize for the (unfortunately needed) heavy (but removable) WATERMARKS, but along the years too many of our imges have been hijacked.
RESTAURANT
SAVOY
Savoy has been known as a quality eatery
since it opened in 1937. Many top Finnish chefs
have worked their magic in its kitchen over the years.
The decor was designed by, among others, Alvar
Aalto, the famous Finnish architect. (See "history"
on the Savoy home page.)
While it has been wuite a while for us, we hear from friends that Savoy is still going -mostly- strong.
While I appreciated the genuine historic interior, for me the charm of Savoy is sitting on the summer terrace, overlooking the Esplanade Park, over its treetops and toward the beautiful, newly restored buildings along the Northern Esplanade and the beautiful glistening white Dome a little further away.
The service was professional and friendly and much less self important than it had been years ago when we dined there last. The food is world class. The nice house champagne, Gosset, set the mood. The amuse bouche just melted in our mouths.
Our appetizer, a langoustine ravioli with lobster and vegetable ragoût absolutely delicious. Our friend also enjoyed hers, a beef carpaccio.
For our main courses my husband and our friend had grilled sea trout, sauté of new potatoes and chanterelles, smoked roe and sauce Rémoulade . They loved it.
The restaurant was very accommodating about substituting some ingredients. They were more than happy to let me have the before mentioned main course with fried fillets of Finnish perch (which I love in the summer - and cannot get in New York, sigh!) instead of the grilled sea trout. Delicious.
The Tahiti vanilla soufflé, marbled cherry ice-cream and compote of cherries flavored with hops, was good but not exciting. With the food we shared a bottle of Volnay, 1989, Camille Giroud.
Address: Eteläesplanadi 14, 00130 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- (0)9 - 6128 5300
RESTAURANT SAVOY, summer 2010. Click to enlarge. 
Delicious lobster at RESTAURANT SAVOY, summer 2010. Joyous re-visit: We found delicious food and very friendly and professional service. Cannot wait to go back to Savoy.
The best herring plate I have had, ever. Enjoyed at RESTAURANT SAVOY, summer 2010. 
I would go back just for this. Click to enlarge.
ALEXANDERPLATS represents pretty much everything we want from a restaurant. The super fresh food is delicious, perfectly prepared and the staff is welcoming and super nice. High-end without being pretentious.
And lets not forget their wine selections: they have two lists. Both have nice offerings. If you want to "dive deeper" into their wine cellar, you can ask for the other list. We have done both, depending what we are in the mood for each time we are lucky to be there.
There, of course, is something for prety much everyone.
It is an elegant and high-end brasserie style restaurant, while also being relaxed and very friendly. It has a section with white table cloths, and also a more "relaxed" area close to the bar. We like both, and have dined in both, depending on our mood.
The space is open and spacious, with large windows looking out toward the Esplanade Park. The bathrooms, downstairs, are roomy and very clean.
This is one of our absolute favorite restaurants, and has been for a while now.
Eteläesplanadi 22
00130 Helsinki
info (at) alexanderplats.fi
Esplanade Park, btwn the North and South Esplanades. THis image pretty much right next to Alexandersplats.
BISTRO BASKERI ja BASSO - and BASBAS
"Simple" food focusing on fresh ingredients.
Lots of small bites, plus main courses.
Cozy space, aiming at an international, relaxed atmosphere.
Wines from both small and big producers.
Instantly popular, and voted one of the best restuarants in Finland.
On the website, scroll down for image gallery and for a google location map.
Address: Tehtaankatu 27-29 (entry via courtyard), 00150 Helsinki
Phone: - 050 - 467 3400
Friendly, accomodating service and delicious food and wine.
"Here we make everything ourselves. The dishes are seasonal and handcrafted, and we take great pride in what comes out of our kitchen. The shining star of our menu is meat, but not just any steak. We only offer sustainably grown meat from producers we know. Despite this, vegetarians never leave the restaurant hungry."
Address: Tehtaankatu 12, 00140 Helsinki
Phone: +358 41 311 9355
Email: info@matdistrikt.fi
Esplanade Park, in the very center of Helsinki. It is located between the North and South Esplanades.Summer 2022
Restaurant Nokka's summer patio, Katajanokka, Helsinki.
RESTAURANT OLO
Olo is Helsinki’s version of The French Laundry in Yountville, California or Per Se in New York City. Olo offers tasting menus, which the three of us ordered. Our meal lasted 4 hours.
Like the French Laundry in California and Per Se in New York, Olo is quite expensive. Having said that, the food quality, food preparation and table presentation are all world class. The wine list is extensive and well thought out, although we thought the mark-ups were higher than usual.
Offsetting the many positives, our experience was marred (and we do not know if this policy still exists in 2023) by what we considered to be nickel and diming that never should happen at a high-end restaurant. Even though we ordered tap water (Helsinki famously claims some the best, if not the best, tap water in the world), we were shocked to see charges for multiple carafes of water (not bottles, but carafes, filled from a tap) on our bill. It was particularly shocking in context because we consumed some rather expensive bottles of wine and champagne.
Notwithstanding that the meal was satisfying on all levels – we felt happily stuffed – the waitstaff pushed a cheese plate on us, making us believe it was part of the prix fixe tasting menu. The cheese plate itself was identical to that offered by another Helsinki restaurant, Alexanderplats (one of our personal favorites), located just a few blocks away.
Lo and behold, a charge for the cheese plate appeared in the bill (at almost twice the price of Alexanderplats).
After we complained, Olo ultimately removed the cheese plate charge, but kept the water charge, justifying it on the ground they had “filtered” it.
We understand that some restaurants in Europe, including some in Helsinki, do sometimes charge for tap water, but none of the other restaurants we ate in during our November 2021 trip did so.
Nor during our later trips.
We visit Helsinki twice a year - and not one restaurant has charged us for tap water, filtered or not.
See facts about Helsinki tap water.
If you can afford Olo, the food and wine is not likely to disappoint, and we note that the service was excellent and friendly. But be alert to the issues we describe here.
The restaurant is open for dinner and lunch.
OLO recieved one
Michelin star - again - in 2013
Address: Pohjoisesplanadi 5, 00170 Helsinki
Tel: 010 320 6250
Email info@olo-ravintola.fi
"Olo" = "being" or "feeling" in Finnish, depending on the context. Philosophically speaking it conveys the idea of a state of existential being.
Quite delicious filled tomato appetizer at Postres, Helsinki. The restaurant closed in Helsinki in 2014 and "re"-opened as a cafe in the historic part of Porvoo. If you go there, check it out.
Click for larger image.
Delicious fish at Restaurant Postres.
Click to see larger image.
RESTAURANT DEMO
is an ambitious, small place
and was popular tvery popular from the start, in 2003. We have been told that
the
food
is very good, fresh and, for the quality and
level
of cooking,
very reasonably priced.
Reservations
highly recommended
weeks in
advance.
The menu changes daily. We hear
Demo
offers the best "bang for the buck" in quality
food
Helsinki right now.
Demo recieved one
Michelin star - again - in 2013.
Chef
Owners:
Tommi Tuominen &
Teemu Aura, who opened the more casual restaurant Grotesk in
Nov. 2007.
Phone: (358)- (0)9 2289 0840
Address: Uudenmaankatu
9-11, 00120 Helsinki
Email: demo@restaurantdemo.fi
Located in the beautiful, historic Ullanlinna neighborhood, this small restaurant is focusing on local ingredients that are are ethical, pure and local.
They also prepare lakto-ovo menus, pescovegetarian and vegan menus if you give them advance notice - and need to know about any allergies, etc.
Address: Huvilakatu 28, 00150 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- 400- 959-440
Email: hello@orarestaurant.fi
Open Tue-Sat from 6 pm
ESPLANADE PARK, Restarant Kappeli patio. Click to enlarge:
Restaurant Kappeli and patio, midnight early July in Helsinki. More about Restaurant Kappeli on restaurant page 2.
RESTAURANT KUURNA
Kuurna is -and has been for a while now -a popular
bistro in the historic Kruununhaka neighborhood.
A trailblazer of Helsinki's bistro-boom since 2005, they are still going string.
They use high quality ingredients and say that they serve the kind of food they love to eat: "pure, interesting
and always enjoyable."" They serve both classic and natural
wines, sourced from ecologically and socially sustainable producers.(Lucky for us, since we favor classic wine.)
Address:Meritullinkatu 6, 00170 Helsinki
Phone: (358)-044 755 4555
Email: info@kuurna.fi
RESTAURANT FARANG
Southeast-Asian inspired modern cuisine.
Farang is the brainchild of two Chez Dominique alumni,
Tomi Björck and Matti Wikberg, have worked abroad for years,
Björck in London and Sydney (Longrain), and Wikberg in Thailand
and Australia.
The pastry Chef Susanna Vuori has worked in Paris and in London.
Farang opened its doors to a very happy public in August 2009 and immediately became one of the favorite restaurants in Helsinki to many a food loving Helsinki resident.
Farang was voted number 1 on the "50 best restaurants in Finland, 2011" - list. Not too shabby!
Address: Ainonkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- (0)9 454 4212
Email: info@farang.fi
RESTAURANT GAIJIN
This is the second "Asian" influenced restaurant by (Tomi Björck and Matti Wikberg) the owners of the super popular Farang, above.
Where Farang serves food inspired by Southeast, Gaijin's cuisine is inspired by Japanese, Korean and Northern Chinese cooking, preparing (and combining) the traditional foods of these countries with a modern twist.
The immense popularity of both these restaurants shows that there is a market for high quality "ethnic" and fusion cuisine from all over the world, and maybe right now especially cuisine from all over Asia.
Address: Bulevardi 6, 00120 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- (0)9) 698 0101
Email: info at gaijin.fi
Gaijin on fb
At the same street address, one same owner: BOULEVARD
Address: Bulevardi 6, 00120 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- 10 322 9387
Email: info@boulevard.fi
Boulevard on fb
-tasting menu
-a la carte
-lunch
Popular place with the cuisine inspired by flavors, scents and colors from Morocco, Lebanon, Tunisia, Greece, etc.
RESTAURANT TOCA
"Italian, Finnish and global tastes."
Address: Unioninkatu 18
00130 Helsinki
Phone: (358) (0)44 59 222 22
Email: toca@toca.fi
Michelin guide
RESTAURANT POMPIER
Casual, friendly and popular restaurant for lunch and dinner.
Adress: Eteläesplanadi 8 ( Kaartinkaupunki neigborhood), 00130 Helsinki
Phone:09 66 33 00
Reservations: varaukset@pompierespa.fi
There is a second POMPIER, called:
POMPIER ALBERTINKATU (katu=street)
Open for lunch and for private events. Also popular.
Adress: Albertinkatu 29, (Kamppi neighborhood) 00180 Helsinki
Phone:09 66 33 01
Reservations: varaukset@pompier
Most photos on My Best Helsinki can be viewed in a larger format by clicking on the photos. Please see the copyright notice on the bottom of the page. Legal notice about unauthorized copying and / or posting of our images. Interested in buying our images? Please contact us. Thank You.
July 2010, old location view from inside Cafe
Strindberg onto the restaurant's
patio and over Esplanade Park, in the
center of Helsinki.
STRINDBERG
is two different restaurants.
Downstairs, Cafe Strindberg offers sandwiches,
salads, cakes, pastries and coffee (espresso, cappuccino,
latte etc.). They also serve wine and beer. The staff is friendly and thee i table service, so can choose a table and just sit down.
In the
summer, you can sit outside and enjoy the
Esplanade park and some great people-watching.
Upstairs, Restaurant Strindberg serves delicious
fare at both lunch and dinner. Window seats
overlook the Esplanade park. Images and menus for the upstairs restaurant.
During our latest visit to Helsinki, January 2023, we visited Strindberg several times for lunch. Both the Cafe and the restaurant upstairs. The staff is very friendly and food - and the espresso) and pastries and cakes were quite delicious. So we, quite happily, kept coming back.
Address: Pohjoisesplanadi
33, 00100 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- (0)9 6128 6900
Email: myynti@noho.fi
Delicious Shrimp Sandwich at Cafe Strindberg.
SPIS is a small restaurant that seats 18 people.
The cuisine is based on the "freshest nordic ingredients".
The menu is largely vegetable based, with at least one fish or meat main course.
The wine list focuses on artesanal wines. There are also a selection of fine nordic brews.
Address: Kasarmikatu 26, 00130 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- (0)45 - 305 - 1211
E-mail: info@spis.fi
Spis on fb
PASTIS "Best French restaurant in Finland"
Pastis on fb
Address: Pieni Roobertinkatu 2, 00130 Helsinki Phone: 0300 472 336
E-mail: varaukset@pastis.fi
(for reservations)
French classics with a nice modern twist. Great wine list.
This is a lovely restaurant. The food is delicious.
Address:Eteläesplanadi 20, 00130 Helsinki
Phone: (358)- 10 322 9388
E-mail: info@ravintolabronda.fi
"The culinary philosophy of Bronda is based on the best ingredients available and entirely handmade food.
Bronda’s dishes heavily reflect Europe and particularly the owners’ favorite countries which are Spain, Italy and France."
"
Bronda’s food is based on the flavors of the major European culinary countries around the Mediterranean Sea."
Bronda on fb
Lovely South Harbor summer evening view from Allas cafe andd pools on Katajanokka shore. Summer 2022. Click for larger image.
ATELJÈ FINNE Is located in a space that used to house a sculptor's, Gunnar Finne's, studio. This is a popular restaurant, that cranks out consistently good food, made out of fresh ingredients. Friendly service, nice atmosphere, fresh fish. Popular for brunch, too. ATELJÈ FINNE is owned by the same talented people, who own Restaurant Kuurna.
Address: Arkadiankatu 14,
00100 Helsinki
Phone: +358 10 281 8242
finne@ateljefinne.fi
Be sure to check out our
SUMMER RESTAURANT - LIST that features restaurants
on different islands, just a few
minute boat ride from the center area.
Below, just one of these "hidden" Helsinki gems
that are worth a
visit: Klippan island & Klippan restaurant & bar.
CLICK ON PHOTO for place names and a much larger view:
We have not had a chance to visit these two restaurants,
but our agents in Helsinki have enjoyed their dinners
at both establishments:
General about Finnish Cuisine and Helsinki Restaurants:
For years, Finland has been one of our top destinations partly because of its excellent and constantly evolving culinary scene, that encompasses not just the Scandinavian way of cooking, but also integrates international flavors and styles.
Every time we travel back to Helsinki, there is something new and exciting going on in the restaurant scene. The culinary know-how and the skill level of many of these chefs is truly impressive and often delights even the most demanding and spoiled patrons.
We live in New York and are spoiled rotten by the abundance of high culinary skills, both in "fancy" and casual restaurants here, but we still find dining in Helsinki restaurants quite enjoyable. And just like everywhere else, of course there are also bad restaurants in Helsinki. But to hear someone bash the culinary skills of all Finnish chefs, based on one or two bad experiences (or based on ignorance), is just plainly silly.
North Esplanade by the Market Square in Helsinki. The light blue building is the City
Hall. Uspenskij Cathedral in bgr, in the Katajaokka neighborhood.
Remember, in Finland the dates
are marked: day /mo / year.
General about
wine pricing in Helsinki Restaurants:
Be aware that Finnish restaurants generally appear to mark-up
their wines to a higher degree than comparable American
restaurants.
Also good to know: A smoking ban in Finnish restaurants took effect June 1st, 2007.
Website feedback: So many restaurants, so little time! Unfortunately we never have the time
to
explore all the splendid restaurants we would like to while in Helsinki.
We would love to hear from fellow Helsinki travelers & foodies. Please
let us know WHICH RESTAURANTS YOU HAVE ENJOYED IN HELSINKI
Looking at Suomenlinna fortress island shoreline and its old lighthouse. Incredible light blue light of a Nordic midsummer night. View from Särkkä island (=part of Suomenlinna) after delish dinner at Särkänlinna restaurant.
