30 cheap eats places in Helsinki, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Helsinki: the places editors actually return to. All Helsinki food.
Layers Bakery ★ 4.8
toolo · Cygnaeuksenkatu 6, 00100 Helsinki
Layers is a tiny Töölö bakery many rate for the best croissants in Finland, run by Finnish-Spanish baker Daniel Tobal Autiokari from a small counter.
Tip: Open limited days and it sells out, so go early. The pain au chocolat is as good as the namesake croissant.
Levain ★ 4.6
punavuori · Pursimiehenkatu 29-31, 00150 Helsinki
Levain helped start Helsinki's bakery boom on long-fermented sourdough and crisp pastel de nata; the Punavuori branch is an all-day bakery and eatery.
Tip: The crisp pastel de nata is the bake to cross town for. There is a second branch in Töölö on Runeberginkatu.
Way Bakery ★ 4.5
kallio · Agricolankatu 9, 00530 Helsinki
Way Bakery on Agricolankatu in Kallio is an all-day bakery, wine bar and eatery known for rustic sourdough and sweet buns; at night it becomes Maukku.
Tip: Daytime bakery and natural-wine room; the dinner sister Maukku takes over the space in the evening.
Karl Fazer Café ★ 4.4
kluuvi · Kluuvikatu 3, 00100 Helsinki
Karl Fazer opened this French-Russian cafe and cake shop on Kluuvikatu in 1891, still the city's grand chocolate-and-cake room under a glass dome.
Tip: The breakfast buffet runs on weekday mornings and brunch on weekends. Buy a box of Fazer chocolates on the way out.
Andante ★ 4.4
punavuori · Fredrikinkatu 20, 00120 Helsinki
Andante opened in a former Punavuori flower shop, pouring fruity hand-brews from rotating European micro-roasters that change every couple of weeks.
Tip: Ask what guest roaster is on the brew bar; it changes every couple of weeks. A design-district spot built for slow filter coffee.
Soppakeittiö ★ 4.4
keskusta · Eteläranta 18, 00130 Helsinki
Soppakeittiö inside the Old Market Hall ladles out the city's reference bowl of creamy salmon soup with all the rye bread you can eat; the queue says it.
Tip: The salmon soup is the order, but the bouillabaisse and other daily soups are strong too. Come at lunch before the hall winds down.
Ekberg 1852 ★ 4.3
kamppi · Bulevardi 9, 00120 Helsinki
Ekberg has baked on Bulevardi since 1852, the oldest bakery in Helsinki, its patisserie counter turning out classic Finnish pastries and breads.
Tip: Buy from the patisserie counter to take away, or sit down for the old-school breakfast. A Bulevardi institution since 1852.
Cafe Regatta ★ 4.3
toolo · Merikannontie 8, 00260 Helsinki
Cafe Regatta is a tiny red lakeside cottage near Sibelius Park serving korvapuusti and coffee; in summer the tables spill onto the shoreline rocks.
Tip: Bring the coffee outside and sit on the waterfront rocks. Cash-friendly, cramped indoors, and busiest on sunny afternoons.
Café Ekberg ★ 4.3
kamppi · Bulevardi 9, 00120 Helsinki
Ekberg has run on Bulevardi since 1852, the oldest cafe and bakery in Helsinki, where the patisserie counter keeps an old-world ritual alive.
Tip: Come for the morning pastry counter and the Napoleon mille-feuille. It has been a Bulevardi fixture since 1852.
Sävy ★ 4.3
kallio · Aleksis Kiven katu 12, 00500 Helsinki
Sävy on Aleksis Kiven katu in Kallio is a reference specialty cafe, pouring Good Life Coffee beans and guest roasters in a stripped-back room.
Tip: Pours Good Life Coffee, the Nordic-roaster-of-the-year team that no longer runs its own cafe. A serious filter and espresso stop in Kallio.
Soppakeittiö ★ 4.3
keskusta · Eteläranta 18, 00130 Helsinki
Soppakeittiö in the Old Market Hall serves a big bowl of creamy salmon soup with all the rye bread you can eat for around 11 euros, great Finnish value.
Tip: The salmon soup with unlimited bread is the deal. Come at lunch; the market hall closes by early evening.
Konditoria Hopia ★ 4.2
toolo · Pohjoinen Hesperiankatu 9, 00260 Helsinki
Konditoria Hopia in Töölö is an old-time patisserie baking Karelian pies and cinnamon buns to a recipe brought from Sortavala nearly 70 years ago.
Tip: Come for the karjalanpiirakka rye-and-rice pies, baked daily to the original Karelian recipe. A Töölö neighbourhood fixture.
Café Aalto ★ 4.2
keskusta · Pohjoisesplanadi 39, 00100 Helsinki
Café Aalto sits on the upper floor of the Academic Bookstore, a 1969 Alvar Aalto building on the Esplanadi, looking down over the books and skylights.
Tip: Reached through the Academic Bookstore on the Esplanadi. Order a coffee and a slice, then browse the design and architecture shelves.
Lykke ★ 4.1
toolo · Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 21a, 00100 Helsinki
Lykke in Etu-Töölö is an all-day cafe and bistro near the railway park, pouring specialty coffee in the morning and turning to wine and small plates by night.
Tip: Works as a laptop morning spot and a wine-and-snacks evening room. Near the railway park on the Töölö side.
Rams Roasters ★ 4.1
ullanlinna · Neitsytpolku 10, 00140 Helsinki
Rams Roasters on quiet Neitsytpolku in Ullanlinna is a family-run cafe and bakery pouring top roasters, known for some of the city's best cinnamon buns.
Tip: A laptop-free neighbourhood room on a residential Ullanlinna street, sharing the block with Restaurant Aoi. The home-baked korvapuusti is the order.
Eromanga ★ 4.1
keskusta · Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu 6, 00130 Helsinki
Eromanga near Kasarmitori is an old-school bakery-cafe whose lihapiirakka meat pie is still made to a secret 1946 recipe, topped with sausage and egg.
Tip: Ask for the meat pie with sausage and a fried egg, the full vesisemmu treatment. A pre-war recipe baked the same way since 1946.
Levain Töölö ★ 4.0
toolo · Runeberginkatu 29, 00100 Helsinki
The Töölö branch of Levain on Runeberginkatu runs the same sourdough-led programme as the original, with bread, pastries and an all-day menu.
Tip: Quieter than the Punavuori original and a short walk from the opera. Same sourdough and pastel de nata.
Café Clé ★ 4.0
kruununhaka · Mariankatu 21, 00170 Helsinki
Café Clé on Mariankatu brings a quiet, design-led coffee stop to Kruununhaka, pairing specialty coffee with light plates a few blocks from Senate Square.
Tip: A calm Kruununhaka address for coffee and a light bite away from the Senate Square crowds.
Cafelito ★ 4.0
kallio · Hämeentie 26, 00530 Helsinki
Cafelito on Hämeentie is a Kallio coffee-and-wine bar with a Spanish slant, pouring espresso by day and natural wine by night in a corner room.
Tip: Espresso early, natural wine late; the small room fills with the Kallio after-work crowd. A Spanish accent throughout.
18 Grams ★ 4.0
jatkasaari · Livornonkatu 6, 00220 Helsinki
18 Grams on Livornonkatu in Jätkäsaari blends a specialty coffee bar with a vinyl listening-bar setup, pouring espresso and filter to a soundtrack.
Tip: Part coffee bar, part listening room. Good for an afternoon coffee in the newer harbour district of Jätkäsaari.
Fafa's ★ 4.0
punavuori · Iso Roobertinkatu 2, 00120 Helsinki
Fafa's started on Iso Roobertinkatu and grew into a Finnish pita chain, but the original still turns out the falafel and halloumi that made its name.
Tip: The Iso Roobertinkatu branch is the original. Vegetarians are well served; the halloumi pita is the move if falafel feels too familiar.
Market Square fish stalls ★ 4.0
keskusta · Eteläranta, 00170 Helsinki
In summer, tented stalls on the Market Square fry vendace and salmon to order and pour pea soup, a very Finnish lunch eaten standing by the harbour.
Tip: Best on a dry summer day; the stalls thin out in cold weather. Guard your plate from the harbour seagulls, they are bold.
Fafa's ★ 4.0
punavuori · Iso Roobertinkatu 2, 00120 Helsinki
Fafa's on Iso Roobertinkatu fills a generous pita with falafel or halloumi and sweet-potato fries for about 11 euros, the original of a fast veggie chain.
Tip: The halloumi pita is the move if you want a change from falafel. Branches are dotted across the city for a cheap quick lunch.
Eromanga ★ 4.0
keskusta · Pohjoinen Makasiinikatu 6, 00130 Helsinki
Eromanga near Kasarmitori sells the lihapiirakka meat pie to a secret 1946 recipe, loaded with sausage and a fried egg for just a few euros, very cheap.
Tip: Order the meat pie with the works: sausage and a fried egg on top. Weekday daytime only, cash-friendly and very cheap.
Hakaniemi Market Hall lunch counters ★ 4.0
kallio · Hämeentie 1 A, 00530 Helsinki
The upstairs counters at Hakaniemi Market Hall serve cheap daily lunches, from Finnish home cooking to world-food plates, value eating inside a market hall.
Tip: Head upstairs for the lunch counters rather than the produce floor. Weekday lunch is the cheapest, busiest window.
Plants By Us ★ 4.0
keskusta · Mannerheimintie 20, 00100 Helsinki
Plants By Us in the central Forum mall does fully vegan sandwiches and quinoa bowls at lunch-counter prices, a fast plant-based fix in the shopping district.
Tip: On the third floor of the Forum mall. Quick, all-vegan and well under restaurant prices when you are downtown.
Way Bakery ★ 4.0
kallio · Agricolankatu 9, 00530 Helsinki
Way Bakery in Kallio does a cheap daytime spread of sourdough with toppings, yogurt with granola and avocado toast from around 7 euros before dinner service.
Tip: The daytime bakery menu is the budget play; prices climb when Maukku takes over at night. Sourdough with toppings is the staple.
Market Square stalls ★ 3.9
keskusta · Eteläranta, 00170 Helsinki
In summer the Market Square stalls fry vendace and salmon and ladle pea soup for around 10 euros, an open-air harbour lunch as cheap as it is local.
Tip: Summer only and weather dependent. Eat by the water, but guard your plate from the bold harbour seagulls.
Hanko Sushi ★ 3.6
kamppi · Mannerheimintie 20, 00100 Helsinki
Hanko Sushi is the Finnish fast-sushi chain in the big malls, including the central Forum, serving fixed salmon, prawn and maki sets at quick prices.
Tip: Inside the Forum mall on Mannerheimintie. Not destination sushi, but a fast, fair-value set lunch when you are downtown.
Hanko Sushi ★ 3.6
kamppi · Mannerheimintie 20, 00100 Helsinki
Hanko Sushi in the Forum mall sells fixed salmon, prawn and maki sets at fair prices, a fast, predictable sushi lunch in the shopping core of the centre.
Tip: Inside the Forum on Mannerheimintie. Not destination sushi, but a cheap fixed set and a fast turnaround at lunch.