Kotileipomo Anna-Liisa Sorsa
Anna-Liisa Sorsa’s traditional barley-filled Karelian pasties are handmade in the small community of Liperi in North Karelia and are considered by many to be the very best of their kind. In Helsinki you can find them at Konditoria Nami inside Hakaniemi Market Hall, the Muji café at the Kamppi shopping centre, Hotel Kämp, and Kaivopuiston Kala. You can also buy Sorsa’s fresh-frozen Karelian pasties at e.g. the K-Supermarket locations Redi, Hertta, and Torpparinmäki.
Männikkölän Pirtti
Männikkölän Pirtti’s handmade traditional Karelian pasties are long, narrow, and delicious. They are baked in Nurmes in the heart of North Karelia, and you can find them in Helsinki at Café Strindberg and the breakfast buffets of the hotels Haven, U14, and F6. You can also buy them ready-to-eat at the K-Supermarket stores Arabia and Lauttasaari. They are also available fresh-frozen to bake at home at the Mustapekka and Laivuri K-Supermarkets.
Rönttösrouva
Rönttösrouva bakes rönttönen pasties – a sort of sibling of karjalanpiirakka – following a recipe from the northern region of Kainuu. The rönttönen resembles the Karelian pasty in shape and technique, and is made into either a barley or rye crust and filled with lingonberry-infused mashed potatoes. In addition to the traditional lingonberry rönttönen, Rönttösrouva also serves pasties with a reindeer and ham filling – carrying the name poroteos and belonging to the extended family of Karelian pasty-inspired baked goods. Rönttösrouva’s café-bakery is situated in Tapanila, but you can also have their treats home-delivered by ordering online.
Piirakkaleipomo Räty
Piirakkaleipomo Räty makes handmade rice, potato, and barley pasties in Nurmijärvi just under an hour from the capital. Their vegan rice pasty has proven especially popular. In Helsinki, the bakery has small cafés – a small canopy kiosk by the bridge next to the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden and a thread-spool-shaped kiosk in Ruskeasuo. Räty’s pasties can also be picked up at Linnea Café, Hakaniemi Market Hall’s Keliapuoti, and the K-Supermarkets Munkki and Konala.
Kahvila rakastan
Housed at the Villa Hakasalmi museum café, Kahvila rakastan is a family business of daughters and mothers with Karelian heritage. Instead of the typical rice filling, these pasties using 100% rye flour are filled with groats or mashed potatoes. The authentic feeling with the added layer of being vegan provide a winning combination to many pasty-lovers. Try the pasties with a vegan “egg butter”, with pickles and syrup, or Cavi-Art’s seaweed “caviar”.
Konditoria Hopia
Konditoria Hopia is a cosy café that has operated out of the same premises on Hesperiankatu since 1949, and its Karelian pasties have almost iconic status in Helsinki. Hopia bakes fresh Karelian pasties daily using the same original recipe that Emma Hopia brought with her from Sortavala in Karelia to Helsinki almost 70 years ago.
Raka’s kotileipomo
Run by a Finnish-Indian couple on Töölönkatu, the small home bakery Raka’s makes Karelian pasties with 100% rye flour, meaning no wheat. The list includes pasties with a traditional rice, barley, or potato filling, and a vegan version. Anssi’s roots are in the heart of pastyland in North Karelia, and Raka hails from West Bengal in India – where more than 5000 rice varieties are cultivated – adding up to a prime combination of knowledge.
Hermannin piirakkaleipomo
Hermannin piirakkaleipomo continues in the footsteps of the former Karelian pasty bakery Arffman. Their thin-crusted Karelian pasties are baked in the city’s Kontula district, where a small shop is also found. Hermannin piirakkaleipomo’s pasties are available at e.g. the Stockmann department store’s grocery section, and the Laivurin valinta grocery shop. In the summer months, the bakery also operates their own summer café at the Vallila allotment garden.
Kanniston Leipomo
Founded by Alma Kannisto in 1914, Kanniston Leipomo also makes Karelian pasties by hand. This traditional bakery has opened several new outlets in recent years, so in addition to its café and shop on Kankurinkatu in Punavuori, you can also enjoy their delicious Karelian pasties on Runeberginkatu, Yliopistokatu, Kaarlenkatu, Siltasaarenkatu, and Munkkiniemen Puistotie.