Boon Nam is a thai restaurant in Kamppi, Helsinki.
Boon Nam on Lönnrotinkatu cooks regional Thai with more heat and herb than the usual takeaway versions, a small room locals rate among the city's best.
Signature dishes: Regional Thai curries, Som tam
Must order: A proper green or jungle curry, and som tam if it is on the board.
Tip: Small and popular, so book or come early. The kitchen does not dial the spice down to Nordic levels.
Address: Lönnrotinkatu 4, 00120 Helsinki
Goose Pastabar on Eerikinkatu became a cult fresh-pasta spot: dinner only, no reservations, a short handmade-pasta menu and a tight wine list.
Signature: Fresh handmade pasta, Daily pasta specials
Order: Whatever pasta is the daily special; the menu is short and changes often.
Tip: No reservations and dinner only, so arrive early or expect a wait. Cash and card; the line moves once seats free up.
Sake Bar on Vironkatu in Kruununhaka is a small Japanese izakaya pouring a deep sake list alongside grilled skewers and snackable plates in a low-lit room.
Signature: Izakaya small plates, Sake flights
Order: A sake flight with a run of grilled skewers and small plates.
Tip: Order in rounds the izakaya way and let the sake list guide you. Small room in quiet Kruununhaka, so book ahead.
Gastro Cafe Kallio on Fleminginkatu runs a sharp weekday lunch and turns to seasonal plates by night, a reliable, unfussy bistro in the heart of Kallio.
Signature: Daily lunch, Seasonal bistro plates
Order: The weekday lunch of the day; it is among Kallio's best-value sit-down meals.
Tip: Lunch is the value play here. By evening it shifts to a short seasonal menu; either way it stays low-key.
Café Savoy on the ground floor of the Esplanadi building brings Southern French bistro cooking to central Helsinki, below the fine-dining Savoy.
Signature: Southern French bistro plates, Esplanadi terrace lunch
Order: A bistro classic from the French menu, ideally on the Esplanadi-facing terrace.
Tip: The casual ground-floor counterpart to the fine-dining Savoy upstairs. Terrace tables face the Esplanade park.
Story sits inside the 1889 Old Market Hall on the harbour, serving breakfast, brunch and easygoing Finnish hall food with an international turn.
Signature: Breakfast and brunch, Finnish hall food
Order: The all-day breakfast, or a bowl of salmon soup from inside the historic hall.
Tip: Inside Vanha Kauppahalli by the Market Square. Comes into its own at breakfast and brunch; the hall closes by early evening.
Forza in Punavuori bakes round Neapolitan pizzas in a wood oven and crunchy Roman slices in an electric one, near the Kaffa roastery in Punavuori.
Signature: Wood-fired Napoli pizza, Roman electric-oven pizza
Order: A wood-fired Napoli pie, or the crisp Roman style if you want it by the slice.
Tip: On the same Pursimiehenkatu block as Kaffa Roastery and Levain. Two distinct pizza ovens, so order across both styles.
Goose Pastabar on Eerikinkatu became a cult fresh-pasta spot: dinner only, no reservations, a short handmade-pasta menu and a tight wine list.
Signature: Fresh handmade pasta, Daily pasta specials
Order: Whatever pasta is the daily special; the menu is short and changes often.
Tip: No reservations and dinner only, so arrive early or expect a wait. Cash and card; the line moves once seats free up.
