14 Best Restaurants in Helsinki, Finland

Situated on the north side of the Esplanade amid stylish design boutiques, this 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 spinkled between its folded layers. Salads, filled bread rolls, and other enormous confectioneries are on offer, 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.

Just a short walk from the Stockmann department store, this cozy restaurant has become a lunchtime favorite; come evening it's given over to artists and journalists. Menu highlights draw on Scandinavian and Russian elements and include reindeer, fried vendace, perch, trout, and cèpe mushrooms. Chilled chocolate cheesecake makes a superb dessert. The high ceilings and understated interior lend a Scandinavian air of simplicity and elegance. Happily, some things never change, and Kosmos has retained its character since 1924. 

A 1930s functional design interior provides the backdrop to the innovative contemporary cooking at this hotel restaurant. Interesting combinations on the menu might include herring with a salad of new potatoes, pepper steak à la Torni, and chocolate cake with berry salad.

Named for the architect Carl Ludvig Engel, this café on Senate Square serves traditional lunch fare, and it's also open for breakfast. Portions are hearty—you can fill up on a huge bowl of the tomato basil soup or the cold smoked salmon sandwich; for a lighter snack, try a savory karjalanpiirakka or one of the smaller open-faced cold-cut 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 summer cinema is held in the courtyard, which is also the venue for recitals and other events.

Located by the sea, with views across to Suomenlinna, this café has been a favorite with locals since the 1950s. They come for the coffee, ice cream, pastries, and light lunches that include soups and salads made with traditional Finnish ingredients and to sit on the terrace on sunny days after seaside strolls in and around nearby Kaivopuisto Park. The lunch menu, which changes daily, includes fresh fish specialties, fish or root-vegetable soups, and a steak dish.

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 Baltic herring, 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. 

A five-minute walk from the somewhat 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, 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.

Helsinki's café boom and an increasing demand for Continental-style bars helped give birth to this hybrid, on a lively street just south of the city center. The trendy menu includes salad with goat-cheese croutons.

Look for a giant propeller and anchor to find the main door of Nokka in the redbrick buildings near the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral in Katanajanokka, overlooking the marina. This innovative restaurant specializes in seasonal fare with fresh Finnish ingredients provided by smallholdings across the country and the forests of Lapland. The rather limited but excellent a 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.

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. The boat trip to this island (€6 added to the bill for the ferry trip there and back) from the Ursininlaituri jetty only takes a few minutes, and it's well worth it. Given its location, the maritime theme here is obvious enough, but it's not overwhelming or tacky. A great starter is the assortment of archipelago appetizers, with roast lamb and alder-smoked salmon fillet choices for the main course. A full vegetarian menu is available. Like other island restaurants in Helsinki, Saari is a popular venue for the traditional late-summer, often vodka-fueled crayfish party.

Right beside city hall and a handy place to take a break from shopping in Market Square, this building retains marble columns and deep wood panels that harken back to the days when it was a bank rather than an elegant restaurant, fitted as it is today with very plush and luxurious furniture. Toast Skagen, a Nordic classic, is a good bet—it's shrimp, mayo, and chives on toasted bread, topped with a generous dollop of whitefish roe. Pan-fried Baltic herring is another classic. A full five-course chef's menu costs €65, while the price of a more compact three-course Scandinavian menu is €45. Salutorget has adopted with gusto the very British concept of afternoon tea, served Monday to Saturday from 2 to 6 pm.

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.

Given that its airy dining room was designed by 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 usually includes reindeer fillet and a changing menu of inventive fresh fish dishes, such as juniper-smoked lavaret with chanterelles and grilled Mangalitza pork.

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.