Restaurants

Image by Lilu Nissinen-Turja

Lupolo is a nice, laid back gastropub in Punavuori, owned by the gourmet chef Patrick Lindström, which became an overnight hit as soon as it opened. The food is fabulous, everything made in their own kitchen, no half measures here.

Lupolo is open Mondays to Saturdays for lunch 11.30 – 14.00 and dinner from 17:00 onward. Saturdays they open at 17:00. You can also just pop in for a drink or a cup of coffee and sample the small but absolutely delicious appetizers. Or, just have some bread with something delicious on top of it. But be prepared, it might be difficult to get a table, so a table reservation is a good idea.

The service is as superb as ever, wines are well chosen and their coffee is excellent. Also, the beer selection has been upgraded so all the beer enthusiasts can feel more at home now. I have eaten in Lupolo several times, and they haven’t failed me yet!

The place doesn’t look like much from the outside and the interior is a mishmash of all sorts of things, but once you get to the food, all that becomes quite irrelevant. It’s not easy to describe the ‘genre’ of the food, maybe Finnish-French-Italian, occasionally with a twist of the orient, but always with a special Lupolo touch!

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Lupolo | Bars, Restaurants (Gastropub) | Main courses from € 12
Punavuorenkatu 3 | South | +358505544050
Tue – Thu 11:30 – 14:30 & 17:00 – 00:00, Fri 11:30 – 14:30 & 17:00 – 02:00, Sat 11:00 – 15:00 & 17:00 – 02:00

Image by Lilu Nissinen-Turja

Until a few months ago the only gourmet pizza place for me was Trattoria Rivoletto, at Albertinkatu 38, a classic that never fails. The service at Rivoletto is very friendly and their delicious gourmet pizzas have kept their high quality for several years already. Everything else on their italian menu is great, too. They are very popular, so a table reservation is recommended.

But now I have found another place for my pizza craving, Carlito’s. I’ve never had anything else but pizza at Carlito’s, and I think that’s what most people eat here, even if they serve other Italian courses, too. But the pizzas are good, not your regular ham-cheese-pepperoni-pineapple ones but more like goat’s cheese, prosciutto, ruccola, mozzarella, truffle oil etc.

Where my all-time-favourite Rivoletto is small and intimate and a bit further from the immediate city center, Carlito’s is quite a big place, situated in the heart of the city, just two blocks from Stockmanns department store. Despite it’s size Carlito’s round tables for 5-6 people can be surprisingly cosy.

The personnel in Carlito’s is young, friendly and maybe a bit crazy, and I mean it in the best possible way. Last time I was here with my girlfriends the waiter suddenly asked us if we’d like to hear some poems. Of course we wanted, and after that Reijo, the waiter, recited us some lovely poetry. I’m fully aware that some people have complained about the service here, but I have always been treated extremely well.

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Carlito’s | Restaurants (Italian) | Pizza from € 13
Kluuvikatu 4 | South | +358913456749
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 13:30 & 17:00 – 23:00, Sat 13:00 – 23:00

Image by Restaurant Kuurna

Kuurna is a tiny little gourmet restaurant that, in my opinion, should have had it’s Michelin star long ago. But to be honest, I hope they will never get it, as it’s just perfect the way it is! I have had some of my best dinners here, thanks to the two young chefs, Heikki Purhonen and Antto Melasniemi who are both very creative, ambitious and innovative. And they haven’t failed me yet.

The place reminds me of some small, romantic place in Paris, quite bohemian but in an elegant way. The main thing here, however, is food, which is just fabulous. Uncomplicated, prepared from the best ingredients with love. The menu is quite limited, you can choose from three starters, three main courses and three desserts. In my book this means that they really concentrate on each and every thing they serve.

The menu changes weekly, sometimes new things are also added daily. They bake their own bread, and it’s gooood! They also know their wines very well, and I like to let them recommend me what to drink. No misses there either!

Be sure to book in advance, because the space is so limited and the place is quite popular. You can make your reservation for either between 18:00 and 20:00 or from 20:00 onwards. Service is extremely friendly but sometimes understandably a bit rushed. For the quality of the food, I think this place gives really good value for your money.

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Kuurna | Restaurants (Gourmet) | Three courses € 37.00
Meritullinkatu 6 | South | +35809670849
Tue – Fri 18:00 – 22:30, Sat 16:00 – 23:00

Image by Lilu Nissinen-Turja

Kynsilaukka (‘garlic’ in English) is a cosy, some might say a bit shabby, restaurant that specializes in everything with garlic. When you sit down, you can start by nibbling on marinated garlic cloves and everything on the menu has garlic in it. You can even finish your dinner with garlic ice cream.

Kynsilaukka has been in Punavuori on the same spot, in the corner of Fredikinkatu and Uudenmaankatu since 1987. The best thing about Kynsilaukka is, that it’s always open, 365 days a year. When most of the other restaurants close for Christmas Eve or Midsummer, which can come as a surprise for a tourist, this is the one place that you can always rely on to be open!

Kynsilaukka is not a gourmet restaurant, but most of their dishes, like for example the lamb casserole, are actually quite good and reliable. To finish the meal they bring you a shot of garlic and herb digestive. The service is usually very friendly, but sometimes a bit slow.

If you are feeling very adventurous try the garlic ice cream or their garlic beer. Personally, I think that’s taking it a bit too far, but I know people who strongly disagree with me. And after this dinner you at least won’t have to worry about vampires for a while!

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Restaurant Kynsilaukka | Restaurants (Garlic) | Lamb casserole (big) € 20.50
Fredrikinkatu 22 | South | +3589651939
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 00:00, Sat – Sun 13:00 – 00:00

Image by Lilu Nissinen-Turja

In spite of the name, Bali Hai has nothing to do with the South Pacific. Quite the opposite, it’s a very modern restaurant in a very cold northern country, but supposedly the young guys who own the place were dreaming of the South Pacific when they named it.

The interior is very stripped and modern, with big windows and walls decorated with Kari Caven’s art “Täti Lila ja muut värit” (Aunt Violet and other colors) and the old checkered black-and-white floor saved from the shop that used to be here. The clientèle is mostly advertising and other creative people from the Punavuori district, and in the evenings it can be very loud and lively. Look closely at the ‘Design District Helsinki’ sticker in the window, it’s not what you think it is. Instead, this one says ‘Drinking District Helsinki’.

The food is modern, not expensive, sandwiches, a couple of burgers, salads, pasta and a few typically Finnish dishes like salmon soup or fried liver with mashed potatoes, onion and a sauce made with juniper berries. Their lunches, between 8-9 euros are quite popular and you might have to wait for your table for a while. The personnel is young, speak several languages and the service is very friendly and non-formal.

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Restaurant Bali Hai | Restaurants (Modern) | Salmon soup € 12.00
Iso Roobertinkatu 35 | South | +3589179904
11:00 – 00:00 daily