A small red cottage by the sea with a traditional wall rug, an accordion, an eclectic collection of paintings, and old copper coffee pots hanging on the wall. A boat’s wheel and even a pair of ancient hockey skates in turn hang from the ceiling. Customers get 5 cents back each time they fill up their coffee cup, and you can roast sausages on an open fire outdoors. The sympathetic Café Regatta has a legendary reputation and is enormously popular among visitors in particular, but many other equally quirky cafés can be found throughout the city as well.
Wooden houses and villas create a cosy café atmosphere
Two small cafés can be found in the “Blue Villa” (Sininen Huvila) in the idyllic Linnunlaulu district. Both cafés offer beautiful views of the Töölönlahti bay. Sinisen Huvilan Kahvila is an outdoor café nestled among the trees, while the Art Cafe Taideterassi lets you enjoy not only the view but also the decorative interior and art inside the beautifully restored villa.
Another carefully and lovingly restored restaurant is the Cajsan Helmi, housed in Kaisaniemi Park in a legendary wooden building that is one of the oldest restaurant spaces in the whole country. Through the air filled with the aroma of coffee, one can sense its many evolutions, especially in the cabinets dedicated to the statesmen Mannerheim and Snellman, both leading figures of Finnish cultural history. All pastries are crafted on the premises with a nod to 19th century style. The most beloved of Finnish pastries – the Runeberg torte – is found here all year round but is particularly popular on 5 February, birthday of the national poet, J. L. Runeberg.
You can also experience the atmosphere of old wooden houses at Puhuri by Patisserie Teemu Aura, the summertime café Buffetti in Lauttasaari, the Karelian heritage centre Villa Salmela, Villa Angelica in the Meilahti villa area, or at Café Vanille, Café Silo, and Cafe Samovabar at the Suomenlinna sea fortress. The summertime café Kumpu is enclosed within the Kumpula Botanic Garden, and Café Kampela on the Uutela side of the Aurinkolahti district has a great view to the sea and is especially popular among boaters. Café Metsäpaahtimo in turn is housed in a redbrick building on the rocky shoreline next to the historic Lapinlahti hospital grounds and has a somewhat hippie spirit to it.
Café Mutteri, located at the far end of the Lauttasaari bridge, is a cute little hexagonal mini-villa complete with a chandelier. Café Amore is another romantic little café in the wooden house district of Koskela, and Villa Ullas by the Kallahdenniemi esker offers a time travel experience, surrounded by beautiful nature. Kahvisiskot, located at Hakaniemi market square, serves coffee, porridge, pancakes – and a true urban market square feeling.
From cat cafés to futurism and fantasy
The Helkatti Cat Café has lots of endearing feline residents, and the cat theme can be seen everywhere: from cat bottles to cat matryoshka dolls and even coffee cups with cats peering out of them. Special mention also goes to the futuristic Outrun Café in Pasila that also conveys a strong theme and Chez Janet’s fantasy café, which is known for its macarons.
Café Pequeño in turn is situated in a hairdressing salon on Vaasankatu and offers not only a homey atmosphere and quality coffee but also home-made Argentinian empanadas. Tin Tin Tango in the Töölö district operates together with a self-service laundromat. Cafe Cucca blends together a flower shop and all day breakfast, and Relove features both second hand fashion and a café. Nari Tea Lab in Kallio is a paradise and tasting room for tea lovers, serving high quality teas in a highly aesthetic minimalist décor with floor seating in Japanese style.
Vintage, retro and characterful owners
The Helsinki Coffee Roastery’s Päiväkahvibaari coffee shops at Teurastamo and in Vallila are hipster-chic fantasies with their colourful vintage interiors and premium coffees. Kampin Kirsikka’s stylistic match of vintage furniture and indoor plants is a charm, with colourfully decorated cakes that will make you come back for more. Bear Park Café 13 by the Karhupuisto park in the Kallio district is another colourful establishment with retro décor.
In the same neighbourhood you will find the Taikalamppu cafe, another establishment with a strong personality – at times, you can’t even be sure if it is even a café or rather part of a living room art performance, as occasionally it is taken over by local art students. Roihuvuoren Rio is another local favourite: a small space with a big personality where a wide range of intimate events take place.