17 Best Restaurants in Helsinki, Finland

Situated on the north side of the Esplanade amid stylish design boutiques, this popular café is a great place to sample a giant version of the korvapuusti, roughly translated as a "slap around the ear"—a sweet bun fresh from the oven and made all the more delicious by virtue of the cinnamon sprinkled between its folded layers. Mix-and-match salads, filled bread rolls, and other enormous confectioneries are on offer as well, eased down with some of Helsinki's best coffee or something stronger if required. It's a good option for evening snacks as well as lunch. 

Located on the shoreline of the newly developed Hernesaari residential district, Löyly is a brilliantly conceived sauna restaurant, housed in an angular and elegant wooden structure, a minor architectural wonder in itself. Customers have three separate options or can indulge in all three in a single visit: bathing in the spacious sauna with an invigorating sea dip; lunch or dinner in the restaurant; and a relaxing drink on the shoreside terrace. There's also a popular Saturday brunch menu in the winter. The à la carte dinner menu includes Finnish dishes such as pike perch and reindeer, while the lunch selection includes moose meatballs and salmon soup. Löyly (it's the name in Finnish for the steam released when water is tossed on the sauna stove) is especially popular with the younger, trendier set, as well as convenient for disembarking cruise-ship passengers, and has been included in Time's 'World's Greatest Places" list.  

Award-winning chef Eero Vottonen has steered Palace to Michelin-star status with a single, sumptuous seven-course menu that utilizes fresh Nordic ingredients, from duck and salted trout roe to Norwegian scallops and lobster. Offering magnificent view of the South Harbour, it's on the 10th floor of a former hotel. Very upmarket, and a venue for special and perhaps more formal occasions.

The entrance is hidden away in a courtyard close to the Hietalahti shipyard, but this bustling bistro is worth the effort to hunt down. An open kitchen serves tapas-style meals at candlelit tables, and the adjacent BasBas wine bar also serves snacks to accompany its fine selection of wines. The Bistro has been supplemented next door (at the same street address) by BasBas Kulma & Dinery, which boasts a charcoal grill and draws on the same excellent wine selection. 

Named for the architect Carl Ludvig Engel, this café on Senate Square serves traditional lunch fare, and it's also open for breakfast, with porridge, muesli, croissants, cheeses, eggs, and fruit on the menu. Lunch portions are hearty—you can fill up on salmon soup, meatballs, reindeer stew, or the cold smoked salmon sandwich; for a lighter snack, try a savory Karelian pie (karjalanpiirakka) or one of the smaller open-face sandwiches. Locals stop in for coffee, wine, and desserts, which include seasonal treats such as lingonberry cheesecake, fruit tarts, and an excellent Sacher torte. The outdoor Kesäkino Engel summer cinema is held in the courtyard, which is also the occasional venue for recitals and other events.

Opened in 2003 by chefs Tommi Tuominen and Teemu Aura and the holder of a Michelin star since 2007, Demo serves food of the very best quality without the stuffiness of some high-end restaurants; this is a place where you can comfortably laugh out loud. The core menu combines classical French and local ingredients, and the restaurant offers six- and seven-course seasonal "surprise" chef's menus. The wine cellar is among the best in Finland—some 400 wines and counting, with Burgundy a specialty

A short distance from the town center, Elite is a welcome place to recharge with a drink at the bar or meal after visiting Temppeliaukio Church, which is a five-minute walk away, and the Sibelius Monument—especially in summer, when there's outdoor seating. In addition to the Finnish classics of fried vendace, salmon soup with rye bread, and select game, a fixed "Artist's Menu" is offered, including an option for recommended wine pairings and a main course choice of charred trout or sirloin steak. Its elegant art deco interior and spacious layout are popular with artists and writers. 

If you like finding the true character of a city and enjoy local color, try looking in simple, friendly restaurants like this one, whose name means "moon." The menu combines Finnish specialties such as perch, salmon, and reindeer with imaginative international fare. It's especially convenient for nights at the opera, as it's close to the Opera House, and the delightful covered terrace is open year-round. Diners can choose from an à la carte list or go for one of two fixed-price four-course house menus.

A five-minute walk from the austere Neoclassical Parliament House, on the same street as the National Museum and close to the "Church in the Rock," this casual local gem is the kind of restaurant travelers delight to discover. The main courses have a pan-European flavor and the decor is elegant modern Nordic, but the "classics"—the sort of hearty food that grandma used to make—are what this place is about. Seasonal game is popular in the colder months; in summer the menu lightens to include quality salads and fish. But whenever you come, you're in for good-quality, wholesome, Finnish organic ingredients at their best. Roasted butternut squash is an excellent starter. Pan-fried breast of pheasant makes a terrific main-course follow-up. Diners can choose between one of three set menus, including a delicious vegetable-only option, and a varied à la carte selection.

Look for a giant propeller and anchor to find the main door of Nokka in the redbrick buildings near the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral in Katajanokka, overlooking the marina. This innovative restaurant specializes in seasonal fare with fresh Finnish ingredients provided by small holdings across the country and the forests of Lapland. The rather limited but excellent à la carte menu might include pan-fried fish, lamb, mushrooms, and local cheeses, while vegetarians are well catered to in the four-course "Menu Green."

Olo is perfectly located close to the historic Senate Square and the harborside Market Square. Its Michelin-star-winning menu, originally inspired by chef Jari Vesivalo's childhood memories, varies from season to season. Diners need to set aside three hours to sample the terrific five-part tasting menu, some of which is so beautifully presented it seems too good to eat. Wine pairings are offered for each stage of this gourmet fusion of Nordic and international ingredients, served in a calm and elegant setting. Reservations are essential.

There's the flavor of Hyannis Port and the Kennedys in this lovely restaurant—stunning views of yachts and mansions and other islands in the Baltic Sea abound. A great starter is the assortment of archipelago appetizers, with roast lamb and alder-smoked salmon fillet for the main course. A full vegetarian menu is available. Set menus and à la carte options are on offer. A meal here requires a ferry ride to Sirpalesaari (€6 added to the bill for the ferry trip there and back), but the trip from the Ursininlaituri jetty only takes a few minutes, and it's well worth the short voyage. Given its location, the maritime theme here is obvious enough, but it's not overwhelming or tacky. Like other island restaurants in Helsinki, Saari is a popular venue for the traditional late-summer, often vodka-fueled crayfish party.

Sitting at the mouth of Helsinki's South Harbour, this summer restaurant, which specializes in but doesn't exclusively offer seafood, sits on Klippan island in a handsome wooden pavilion. There's hardly a seat in the whole restaurant that doesn't offer a stunning view: from the Empire-era buildings to the north to the sea fortress of Suomenlinna to the south, with yachts and cruise ships floating by. This is a favorite venue for the often boisterous August crayfish parties. Veal entrecôte makes a sumptuous main course, as does roasted Arctic char, finished off with espresso brûlée. There are four fixed menus available, including one for vegetarians. The ferry to the island leaves from the southern end of the Olympia Terminal.

Savotta means "lumber camp," and the hearty food those lumberjacks would want is reflected on the menu here. Located on Senate Square, directly across from the Lutheran Cathedral, the 250-year-old building is adorned with knickknacks from a bygone era. The food is traditional Finnish food at its best—no effete New Nordic nonsense here—and meat dishes (including wild game) predominate. Elk and reindeer make an appearance, though there are plenty of fish and vegetarian options. The "Provision Master's Menu" comes with a starter for two consisting of goat cheese, pâté-like reindeer rillettes, pickled chanterelles, smoked pike, arctic char, smoked salmon roe, and a host of other delicious delicacies. The most popular main course is reindeer round-top roast and smoked potatoes. Pair it all with the strong unfiltered traditional beer called sahti. Dessert is a house-made ice cream flavored with licorice. The cheerful staff are informative when it comes to questions about this very Finnish cuisine. One more bonus: unlike too many other top Helsinki restaurants, it's open on Sundays.

Given that its airy dining room was designed by iconic Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto and overlooks the Esplanade, it's no surprise that the Savoy is a popular spot for business lunches or occasion dining. This was Finnish statesman Marshal Carl Gustaf Mannerheim's favorite restaurant (in the late 1800s); he is rumored to have introduced the vorschmack (minced lamb and anchovies) recipe here. Savoy's menu is described as "Finnish-French with a slight Russian touch" and was conceived by Chef Helena Puolakka. It consists of a changing menu of inventive fresh fish and meat dishes, embracing pelmeni, berries, mushrooms, duck, and whitefish.

At the foot of village-like Korkeavuorenkatu—“high hill street”—within easy reach of a cluster of boutiques and cozy cafés, Sea Horse was founded in 1934. Originally famed for its fried Baltic herring and authentically local feel, it gained a higher profile in the 1990s when lauded in national and European publications for its excellent steaks. Sea Horse gives a convivial taste of down-to-earth, no-frills Finnish restaurant life.

The original branch of the local bistro Story started in Vanha Kauppahalli—the Old Market Hall near the South Harbour—and that's where it's still going strong as a popular lunch restaurant. It offers tasty and affordable snacks, breakfast, brunch, and lunch, including especially irresistible burgers, but there are vegan options too. Other branches have since opened across the city, and they all offer dinner as well.