Best Bars

Adventures in the mix

Mecca is at the very top of this list because of the synergy between its bar and restaurant. Fresh ingredients from chef Petteri Luoto’s kitchen are used in the drinks; exotic touches in the cocktails are apparent in the cuisine and décor.
The venue has a solid reputation as a pioneer of Helsinki [...]

Carry on Kämping

“That’s the place where everyone drinks champagne,” orthodox monk Father Andreas once said about this legendary establishment. Kämp Bar and Kämp Club at Hotel Kämp shift more fizz per square meter than anywhere else in Finland. Their champagne selection is the country’s largest, with 45 main varieties plus some speciality vintages.
“About half of [...]

The original

On the ground floor of the celebrated Hotel Torni, American Bar was established in 1960 and is one of the oldest cocktail bars in the country. For many Finns, it defined the very idea of what a cocktail bar should be. It has an elegance that is not always in tune with changing fashions [...]

Heavy metal breakdown

Sling In has been a favorite of both restaurant industry professionals and cocktail aficionados for years – and it’s not hard to see why. The lack of snobbery and passion for fostering cocktail culture are evident in even the smallest details.
At the bar, customers can browse a computer that features the names and [...]

When I wake up, in my make-up…

Without Teatteri, there would be no Finnish tabloid newspaper industry. This is the venue of choice for disco-mating celeb-girls and ice hockey players who dance on tables, take their clothes off, or fall asleep on the bar – all reported in the gossip columns the next day.
The focus for [...]

14th floor elevator

Hotel Torni reaches nearly 70 meters into the Helsinki skyline – illegal actually since the original proprietors never got planning permission for such a tall structure. All the same, the hotel has been around for 76 years now and no one seems keen to tear it down. The view from the 14th floor [...]

An oasis of beer and whisky in the ‘burbs

A beer and whisky pub can thrive some distance from the city centre. All it takes is the best selection of Scotch single malts in Finland, lots of energy, and countless microbrews.
Pikkulintu (”Little Bird”) in the Helsinki suburb of Puotila is the creation of host Markku Ristevirta. [...]

Catch a fire

The signature drink at Café Kuluma in Oulu, northern Finland, is the Rammstein. When someone orders this flaming cocktail, the lights are dimmed and the German heavy metal is turned up. To eleven. It’s a big hit with the locals, especially at weekends.
The berry-flavored Rammstein was first mixed by restaurant manager Jani Rantaeilola, [...]

Stop press

Just as the book was about to go to print, we discovered that Via Enoteca had new owners: the dynamic duo from Demo (see page 24). The guarantee of good food and good service is still in place, and the aim of keeping the establishment among Helsinki’s best bars. Watch this space.
Quattrocentro vini
“We stock [...]

High interest rate

Old Bank has the most dignified interior of any beer house in Finland. The atmosphere however is hardly solemn and the clientele quite varied. On weeknights it’s the hippest after-work destination in Turku and a must for every business party; on weekends the clientele is younger and they don’t enjoy the luxury of [...]