Where to eat inexpensively in Helsinki: an overview of cafes and restaurants, reviews of tourists. Guide to Helsinki. Eat. Travel Tips on TripAdvice Dinners. Tamara's choice

Of course, the Finnish capital cannot be called the cheapest European city. And it’s cheap to eat here, as in the same Riga it doesn’t work out. Next, I would like to tell you where to eat in the center of Helsinki, since the main part of popular shopping centers and attractions is concentrated here, and, accordingly, the largest number of Russian-speaking tourists coming here is located here. Naturally, prices in this area are the highest in the city, and yet, nevertheless, there are establishments - several food outlets where you can eat relatively inexpensively, and it is worth mentioning them in more detail.

The first place is the Golden Rax buffet, it is known to many who have visited Finland at least once. This is a large chain, it is very popular, the establishments of this chain are located in all major cities, there is also an establishment in the center of Helsinki. His address is Mikonkatu 8, Helsinki. Schedule of work: Monday to Thursday from 11:00 to 21:00, from Friday to Saturday from 11:00 to 22:00, and on Sunday from 12:00 to 21:00. One of the restaurants of the RAX chain is located right in the center of Helsinki. Previously, these restaurants were called "Golden Rax pizza buffet", but now, after branding, they have become known as "RAX buffet". Buffet (Buffet) - this concept all over the world means the same thing, we refer to it as a buffet, that is, self-service and the ability to eat everything that is presented in a restaurant, paying a fixed price for it. RAX restaurants offer traditional European dishes. Pizza, meatballs, salad bar, sausages, lasagna, chicken wings, stews and vegetable soups, as well as many other delicious things.

Prices at the buffet for adults are 9.95 euros, on weekdays from 11 to 14:00 the price is 8.95 euros. For children from one to four years old, meals in the buffet will cost 2.5 euros, and for children from five to ten years old, you need to pay 6.95 euros. Dessert buffet with pie, donuts, ice cream and hot drinks plus €2.95 on top of the regular buffet. If without a buffet, then a dessert buffet will cost 6.9 euros. Mono take away food: pizza, salad, hot food for 1.95 euros / 100 grams. All menus have a 10% student discount on everything. In order to receive this discount, you need to provide an ISIC card. Everything works very simply, go in and go to the checkout, for example, to the Buffet, you are given a plate and a glass, then you pay at the rates given above. After that, boldly head to the counters on which the food is located and choose whatever your heart desires, what you like - take utensils such as spoons, forks, knives and eat everything that you have typed with pleasure. To eat the first course, you will need to take a small deep plate located near the thermos with soups, this is already included in the amount you paid earlier for the Buffet. Everything else, be it pizza, hot dishes or salads, you eat in any unlimited quantity. It should be borne in mind that in some establishments they limit the number of approaches to food. That is, you can fill your plate only once. But the RAX network does not belong to such establishments, and this is very good, it turns out that you can come up for food as many times as you like. After you eat the dishes you need to clean up after yourself. The addresses of the "RAX buffet" Buffet chain in Helsinki can be found on the official website. It is in this particular institution that there are always a lot of Russian tourists, sometimes it becomes a shame for ours. Sometimes people get so much food and then they can’t eat when they only pay for two buffets, but they eat three of them and sometimes even four of them when they try to bring food with them and such not very beautiful cases are no longer a rarity here.

The second place to eat is located nearby at Mannerheimintie 3 B , Helsinki. This is UniCafe Ylioppilasaukio. The institution is open from Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 19:00, and on Saturday from 11:00 to 18:00. UniCafe are bistros, the so-called student canteens. Although not only students eat in these institutions, it is just for them that discounts are presented here. This institution has a name - "Ylioppilasaukio". To get here you need to go a little deeper from Manerheim 3, this is where the entrance to the bistro will be. The entrance is modest, which cannot be said about the institution, its size is very impressive. You can sit at one of the tables or at the common bar. There is a coffee shop where you can drink coffee, as well as eat delicious pastries. The main part of the room is still occupied by the dining room. The "Complex Lunch" system is well used here, it is similar to the Buffet, but there are some differences and limitations. From hot dishes you can take only one, and in the salad bar you can take as much as you need. Sauces, condiments and ketchups for free. Drink and bread are also free. A set lunch will cost seven euros. With a student card, you can eat for only 2.6 euros, and with a postgraduate card from these universities in Finland for 4.5 euros.

I will say right away: I am not a gastronomic tourist, so this is a very practical guide. In most cases, the main thing for me is that it is tasty, short-lived and preferably not very expensive, since the money will be useful for other purposes. Especially in Helsinki where the shopping is. At the same time, I like to try something so authentic that they don’t do it anywhere else (or do it, but not like that).

If you want to eat fast

For my taste, going to McDonalds in Helsinki, like in most European cities, is not worth it - it tastes better in Russia. If you want fast food, it is better to choose a local equivalent of Hesburger. It is in the building of the Kamppi bus station, in the Finnkino cinema opposite it, in the building of the railway station. Hesburger is slightly more expensive than Mac, but it is considered that the quality of the products there is higher.At the checkout, you can ask for a menu in English.From myself, I recommend trying a burger on black bread (Ruishampurilainen, 5 euros).

A slightly less obvious option for a quick and inexpensive snack is a grocery store. There is one in the center, for example, on the “-1” floor of the Sokos department store and, of course, in Stockmann. You can take ready-made sandwiches, but it is better to buy sliced grain or black bread, cheese and sausage / ham, yogurt and chocolate. Even better, take something from the local deli with a large selection of salads, fish, etc. I like the red fish snail, for example, as well as the local sweetish Maksaalaatikko liver casserole (not sold at the deli, but in the main supermarket hall), which can also be eaten cold. There are benches at the exit from the store, so you can kill the worm right there.

Sandwich in the interior

Another option for a simple bite is to go to one of the many cafes that serve sandwiches, salads, ready-made or prepared at the bar, and desserts. Such places usually do not promise gastronomic discoveries, and the set of dishes is practically the same, but in general it will be edible. The most beautiful of this type of "sandwich" is the historic cafe Aschan with an interior in the style of the national-romantic version of the northern modern (Pohjoisesplanadi 21). To make it easier to navigate the terrain - this is the left side of the Esplanade, if you go to the sea from Mannerheimentie, near the port itself.

More options in the center: cafe Esplanade(Pohjoisesplanadi 37), Ravintola Factory on the top floor of Aleksi department store (Aleksanterinkatu 13) and cafe Fazer(Kluuvikatu 3). The first two also offer excellent Finnish fish soup (salmon, potatoes, cream). The Ravintola Factory provided free coffee with soup.

In Faser, the prices for salads bite, it is better to go there for coffee or cocoa and products of the confectionery brand of the same name - sweets by weight, chocolate and chocolate Easter eggs, which are now sold in cafes all year round. Fast free Wi-Fi is a bonus.

If you need internet with coffee and sandwiches, it will also help out Starbucks opposite Stockman (Esplanadi 39). And be sure to look into the next room - a wonderful bookstore with a large selection of magazines in English.

Another good famous patisserie - Cafe Ekberg(Bulevardi 9).

Must visit

In addition to the Aschan cafe, where it’s just very beautiful, I highly recommend the “tureen” Soppakeittio in the old covered market in the port. Walk along the Esplanade to the end, turn right onto Södra kajen and see a long one-story building of beautiful old brick architecture by the water.

Inside, go to the right corridor and a little further than the central hall with a bar and there will be a "tureen". Many tourists go to neighboring cafes more noticeable, but in vain!

Everything is simple here: only soups and only three items on the menu - if you're lucky, they won't eat something by your arrival. But very tasty! Especially in the cold season, a bowl of this soup after a long walk in the neighboring district of Ullanlinna with its beautiful Art Nouveau tenement houses and cozy villas is just what the doctor ordered.

A solid-sized plate will cost 8-10 euros. The local seafood soup is especially good. The soups are a bonus with water, delicious bread and butter sauce made from some kind of greens. Take it - you won't regret it.

National Specialties

You can go to a restaurant for venison Zetor(Mannerheimintie 3), which is very close to the railway station. You can get to it both from Mannerheimentie and through the shopping center right in front of the station. There are steaks, and stew, and pasta for a sandwich. Dinner for two will cost 50 euros or more. National cuisine in Helsinki is not the most budgetary pleasure, but for the sake of completeness of impressions it is worth trying at least once.

Almost the only exception will be the already mentioned traditional soup with salmon and cream (fish, potatoes, broth, hearty, but not too heavy and without exotic taste) - about 10 euros per plate.

Zetor's additional bait is a cheerful interior on the theme of agriculture: a tractor in the middle of the hall with tables built into it, chain-link mesh, checkered oilcloths, etc.

There are also venison dishes in the famous "glass" on the Esplanade - Kappeli(Eteläesplanadi 1).

If you want national cuisine with a claim - you are in a restaurant Saaga(Bulevardi 34) with Lappish cuisine. Please note, unlike Zetor "and it opens only in the evenings.The place is atmospheric: subdued lighting, chandeliers made of horns and other ethnics in the interior, waiters in folk costumes. Dishes are served either in a pot, or on a stone, or on a wooden saw cut. It's all fun to say the least.

Friendly staff will be happy to tell you about each item on the menu - visitors who read another stunning title often have questions. The check will be approximately the same as in Zetor (without wine). You can take one of the menu options for a more complete acquaintance with this variant of Lapland cuisine, but the portions will be small.

From personal impressions: the fish in tar sauce was good, as was the venison, but the bear meat broth turned out to be too peculiar for me in the aftertaste. Spruce shoot parfait — ice cream served with muesli and a scoop of carrot jam the size of a serving of ginger in Moscow sushi — is delicious too. But if you do not know that it is a spruce, you can hardly guess.

It is often difficult to find a place to have a good breakfast in Helsinki in the morning: most places open their doors only from 11 o'clock. In this case, it is worth stopping at the 24-hour S-market supermarket, which has a culinary department with hot and cold dishes by weight. So, you can buy a mixed salad or a full breakfast in one container, which will cost 5 euros.

Mannerheimintie 9

Great cafe, located just two minutes from the central railway station. A set lunch is served for 8 euros. Salads and side dishes can be taken as much as you want. Pretty cozy and democratic place.

Mannerheimintie 3

If you are a seafood lover, be sure to check out Soppakeittio Tapaste, located in the Hakaniemi covered market. The place specializes in Spanish cuisine soups. Guests are treated to shrimp, salmon and mussels, the cost of dishes is from 8 to 9.5 euros. A nice bonus - hearty portions and free bread and water with the meal.

Hakaniemen kauppahalli

A popular place among Russian tourists, ideal for dinner. This establishment provides a buffet, which you can approach until you are satisfied. Salads, meatballs, pizzas, soups, lasagna and more - a full plate will cost 10 euros.

These establishments are recommended to pay attention to the MOBY SPL ferry company, which operates regular cruises to the capital of Suomi on a comfortable Princess Anastasia ferry, equipped with all amenities, a children's room, a SPA area, a large Duty Free and a large number of restaurants and cafes. The nearest departure is scheduled for May 24, the ticket price is from 19.5 euros per person. In June, the ferry will depart on the 1st, 7th, 9th, 15th, 21st, 23rd, 29th. You can read more about Moby SPL promotions.

In the Finnish capital, the cuisine of different countries is well represented: from French to Nepalese. But if you can find a French bistro or an Italian pizzeria in any more or less decent European city, then Finnish cuisine is not prepared almost anywhere in the world. Except, of course, Finland. And since you are here, then acquaintance with the traditional food of this country should be a mandatory item on your program.

First of all, in Helsinki, of course, it is worth ordering fish- deep-fried, salted or smoked with any spices, in any form it will be great, and most importantly amazingly fresh. In addition, Finnish cuisine is a paradise for all meat lovers who should not miss the chance to try some venison or bear meat dish. It is an essential element of traditional Finnish and Lapland cuisines. Another popular dish is ear, prepared from trout or salmon, is also recommended for use. All national dishes are very satisfying, and may even seem heavy to some, but you should not despair, you will not remain hungry anyway.

Helsinki, of course, is not a cheap city, if not expensive, and the price tag in its restaurants once again confirms this fact. But, as you know, there is always a way out, and even here you can save money, while avoiding visits to McDonald's. Firstly, buffets, often organized at shopping centers, are not bad at all. Most of them operate on the basis of a buffet, and are quite adequate: 8-10 euros, and you can eat as much as you like. The main thing is not to be greedy, so that later you would not be painfully ashamed in front of your stomach. Many small open cafes are located on the Market Square on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Here for some pennies you can eat fried fish, potatoes or pancakes with lingonberry jam and at the same time admire the sea. All this yummy is prepared right on the spot, on special braziers. You can also taste the salad with smoked venison, and if you like it, immediately buy a kilogram (or maybe even a few) for your home. Such establishments are loved not only by tourists, but also by the Finns themselves, which already says a lot. However, if you still don’t feel like dining on the street or it’s raining (which is not uncommon for the capital of Suomi), then welcome to one of the places selected for you by Tripadvice.

Pretty pretentious restaurant between the Market Square and the main metropolitan boulevard Esplandi was nominated for the "Best Restaurant in Helsinki 2009" award. Lunch menu from 30 euros, dinner with a change of four courses - 71 euros. However, the price tag and pathos are fully justified by excellent national cuisine.

Another restaurant with Finnish and Lapland cuisine, and much less biting price tag, lots of meat and fish dishes. The interior is in traditional Lapland style, excellent service - everything is conducive to visiting there.

Salmon soup - 9 euros
Fish plate with smoked meats for two - 50 euros

A place with a hundred-year history, the first owners of which started their business at the end of the century before last from a small stall on the Market Square. Pleasant interior, paintings, engravings, old photographs - ships and sea romance are everywhere. Lunch from 10:30 to 14:00

Sea cocktail - 15 euros
Large steak - 21.50 euros

Restaurant and bar in the heart of the city, next to the shopping galleries of Stockmann, and the atmosphere of a real village club. Wooden benches and tractors converted into tables, lots of simple, relatively inexpensive Finnish food and huge portions. There are discos in the evening.

Trout soup - 8 euros
Roasted reindeer stroganina - 19 euros

Cafe, bar and restaurant under one roof of an old building and a place with more than a hundred years of history. In the 19th century - a meeting place for poets, artists and other bohemians, the national Finnish hero, the composer Sibelius, also came here. As in many similar places, Kappeli has little left of the bohemian past, and the restaurant is visited more by tourists, but the interiors, and the surroundings, are still impressive. Well, besides, having lunch overlooking the Senate Square, or drinking coffee overlooking the Esplandi Park is still nice.

Venison in a pot - 20 euros
Large fish plate - 14 euros

If venison and bear meat are still not for you, and you want something light, then you are here. The menu contains exclusively vegetarian food, which is so popular among Europeans today. During lunch, a buffet is served (8 euros), but the payment will still be proportional to the weight of the plate.

Zucchini
Fabrianinkatu, 4

Another good vegetarian restaurant with prices ranging from 7 to 22 euros. Connoisseurs say that this is the best vegetarian pizza in town. There is only one drawback - it works only during lunch from 11:00 to 16:00

pasta la vista
Urho Kekkosen katu, 5
www.pplavista.fi

Here come the Italians! Not a single list of restaurants can do without them, and ours will not be an exception either. A nice pizzeria very close to the Athenium Museum, everything is Italian-style cozy and satisfying. Lunch from 11:00 to 14:30

Lasagna - 11.90 euros
Pizza - from 9 euros
Espresso - 3 euros

Turkish buffet from the "cheap and cheerful" series, but nevertheless tasty and satisfying. In addition to pizza and kebabs, there are many other Arabic dishes - salads, side dishes and snacks. In principle, Turkish establishments are the same everywhere, but one way or another, this is a great option for an inexpensive lunch.

Pizza from 6.70 euros
8 euros - the most expensive and largest doner

Tokyo 055
Runeberginkatu, 55
www.tokyo055.fi

Finland, of course, is far from Japan, but given the tender love of half of our compatriots for sushi and rolls, we simply could not include a Japanese restaurant in our list. Nice restaurant opened in 2008. The menu is the same as in domestic sushi bars, the prices, by the way, are also almost the same. They say that the chef of the restaurant is a real guru in his field, so if you happen to see him at work, you can count on a whole performance.

Sushi - assorted - from 10 euros
California roll - 8.50 euros

Hot Mexico in the very center of cold Helsinki, on the street that crosses Esplandi Boulevard. Portions in the restaurant, as expected, are huge, so before ordering a large one instead of the classic one, we advise you to think carefully. Lunch lasts from 11 am to 3 pm and costs only 9.50 euros, including water, coffee and even a portion of nachos with salsa sauce.

Burrito - from 13 euros
Grilled chicken wings - 16 euros

Boulevard Kluuvikatu

A cafe from famous Finnish chocolate producers, which, by the way, has a rich history. Carl Faser, the founder of the company, opened it back in 1891, and on the very spot where it is located today. There are also several other coffee shops of the same brand in Helsinki, and the flagship one is located right in the Stockmann shopping center. Recommended to all lovers of good coffee, cakes and pastries, and of course to fans of the famous Phazer chocolate.

The institution is a veteran of the Finnish restaurant and confectionery world. Combines a coffee shop - a bistro and a pastry shop. In the bistro, you can just drink coffee, have a cake or a sandwich, or you can have a good lunch. In the pastry shop, you can choose sweets for a long time, from the abundance of which your eyes run wide, and, having chosen, take a bag with something tasty with you.

Shrimp omelet - 9.20 euro
Lamb ragout - 9.20 euros

It has about 20 points throughout the city, and walking around the center, you will certainly stumble upon more than one such institution. It is somewhat reminiscent of the usual Subway, but everything is much fresher and tastier. Every day, a certain type of pasta and soup is served, as well as a whole system of complex offers. Great option for a quick breakfast or lunch.

Ham sandwich - 4.90 EUR
Cappuccino - 2.80 euros

Another Finnish cafe chain, in fact - an Italian buffet. The principle is the same: you pay 9.50 euros at the checkout, get your plate and dine until you get bored. By the way, quite a popular place among the local population. The buffet has several varieties of pizza, as well as different types of salads, pastas and lasagna. The price also includes hot and cold drinks. There are three such establishments in Helsinki - two are located in the Forum and Ithakeskus shopping centers, and one is on Mikonkatu. It is recommended to all lovers of a hearty meal, because of all the cafes in Helsinki, this can be done here, perhaps, the cheapest.

The Finnish capital, as befits a progressive European city, is a triumph of internationalism, including in matters of gastronomy. In Helsinki, a tourist will be able to taste dishes of any cuisine of the world. Of course, establishments that specialize exclusively in the Scandinavian menu stand apart and deserve close attention. What are the delicious salmon in different variations, dried venison, desserts with cranberries and lingonberries! From one kind of these dishes, the appetite can break out in earnest.

National cuisine

There are a lot of local restaurants in Helsinki. Traditions are still strong in Finnish society, spending the evening with family or friends, enjoying the tastes of your favorite dishes, is a sweet thing. Although almost half of the clients are still guests of the capital.

You can touch the mysteries of Finnish haute cuisine, taste seafood cooked in the best way, and enjoy the courtesy of the staff at the floating restaurant Ravintola Meripaviljonki (Saastopankinranta, 3). But for lunch or dinner you will have to fork out for 130-140 EUR for two. In compensation - perfect service and a pleasant view from the window. Prices on the page are for October 2018.

Restaurant Savotta on Aleksanterinkatu, 22 next to the Cathedral is less pretentious. The interior is decorated in the style of a Finno-Ugric dwelling: wooden furniture, cozy rugs, hand-made shelves and antique clocks. The names on the menu were creatively approached: the fried vendace was dubbed “From Lake Saimaa”, and the young deer fillet was called “From the expanses of Lapland”. Prices by Finnish standards are average: 20-40 EUR for a main course and 12-15 for an appetizer/salad.