Merimies pub – Colorful local pub

If you want to meet real Finns in their natural habitat you’ll have to see a foreigner about it. Agim Sejdiu, came to Finland from Kosovo some 20 years ago, bought the Merimies pub (Sailor’s Pub) in 2002 and cleaned it from all unsavory elements. However, people do get drunk here, after all, that’s the Finnish way, but everybody is behaving. And if not, Agim will soon sort them out.

The clientèle is mostly in their forties and older, with the occasional youngsters coming to enjoy the good, and cheap, pizzas, or watch a match. The pub has a big TV and a free Wi-Fi. There is also a small “library” where you can bring your own books for others to read, or from where you can borrow a book you like.

The favourite beverages are beer, cider and hard liquor, not many wine drinkers here. This is a place where you can find yourself in the middle of a heated discussion over a surprisingly wide range of topics, from politics to sports or art or almost anything under the sun. The regulars represent a myriad of professions: hair dressers, book keepers, pensioners, psychiatrists, book translators, ad people, nurses, locksmiths, janitors, aspiring poets, musicians…

Don’t let the first impression scare you, people smoking by the door continuing their passionate discussions might look a bit scary, but it’s actually a very nice pub where you can meet very nice people.