Helsinki has a number of casual restaurants that are perfect for enjoying a delicious lunch, for example. Enjoy gourmet pizzas, or even a refreshing range of porridges. Hyvää ruokahalua – bon appetit!
Pizzeria Luca
Luca Platania, an Italian who has lived in Finland for the past 10 years and established his reputation at Pizzarium, opened his own pizzeria in the Lauttasaari district last spring. Pizzeria Luca was immediately named the best pizzeria in Northern Europe in the extremely competitive 50 Top Pizza 2018 competition in Italy. Whereas Pizzarium is known for its Roman-style pizza al taglio, a variety of pizza baked in large rectangular trays, Pizzeria Luca specialises in Napolian-style thin-crust pizza that is baked quickly but whose dough is prepared slowly over three days. Luca himself imports the ingredients from Italy, and his pizzas are baked in a special 480-degree oven, so be prepared for the best pizzas you’ve ever tried.
Starter
On the ground floor of the former Maria Hospital, now the biggest startup community in the Nordics, you will find a spacious and atmospheric “social roastery” restaurant. Starter offers a delicious porridge bar in the morning and lots of grilled and roasted dishes on its weekly lunch menu, highlights of which have included pork ribs in tamarind sauce and roasted aubergine with romesco sauce. For the time being Starter doesn’t serve dinner.
Alice Italian
Alice Italian is a new Italian restaurant downstairs from the creative coworking community Wonderland at Vallila's Konepaja area. The driving force behind the restaurant is a team of three “London-Italian dudes” who came to Helsinki from the distinguished Bocca di Lupo restaurant in London’s Soho. The delicious food is based on traditional recipes that head chef Jacopo Martinelli inherited from his mother and grandmother, and all the pastas and even the mozzarella cheese is homemade. The dinner menu is very classically Italian, from the tagliolini with butter and sage to the melanzane alla parmigiana, while the lunch menu is more diverse!
Pizzala
This new restaurant at the culinary and urban culture centre Teurastamo further intensifies the competition among local pizzerias in Helsinki. Pizzala boasts the first Stefano Ferrara volcanic rock oven in Finland, which heats up to 500 degrees to bake the unleavened pizza dough that is prepared for 48 to 96 hours. The summer menu featured mainly classics, from margheritas and marinaras to salami and prosciutto, but the autumn menu has been expanded to feature seasonal Nordic toppings!