Lentävä Lehmä (Flying Cow in English), run by two sisters for nearly two decades already, has been my #1 place in Helsinki for ages when I’m about to make up a good cheese plate! If you visit their stall in Hakaniemi Market Hall next to Kallio just before any of the public holidays, you will know how many locals think the same way, as on those days the queue can be hundreds of meters long. And you really don’t need to ask why.

The staff of Lentävä Lehmä knows perfectly what they are doing and they are always willing to guide you into the wonderful world of cheese, with tasters and suggestions. That’s why they have a huge selection of quality cheese from all around Europe, every time including rare specialties and some of the best local varieties from Finland. Most of all, they do their best to offer you the cheese when it’s at its best, while nothing is really overpriced here!

Besides the cheese, Lentävä Lehmä sells some other dairy and cheese-related products, as well as organic eggs straight from a farm.

Just one word of caution: don’t end up buying too much cheese (if that’s even possible) as this can happen way too easily here after you have tried everything they’ve offered you! While the Finns are not traditionally that serious about good cheese as people in countries like France, Italy, Switzerland or the Netherlands, this is exactly the place that saves all us cheese lovers in Helsinki!