The best lunch spots in Helsinki

What is it? A small bistro on Fleminginkatu, open mostly for lunch only and run with heart. The menu changes daily, usually offering one meat, one fish and one vegetarian option for the main dish. The food is rich yet unpretentious – simple dishes turned into art through passion and skill.

Why we love it? Every plate shows chef Kare Karhu’s deep love for food and the essence of cooking itself. The daily changing menu is so inspiring that it makes you wish you could eat here every day. Each dish is something you’d genuinely want to try. This place is a gift to the neighbourhood – and worth a trip from further afield. Inspired by rustic French cuisine and the nose-to-tail philosophy, the menu occasionally features pork trotters and offal. The décor is elegantly minimalist.

Time Out tip: Follow Gastro Cafe’s Facebook page for the daily changing menu – it’s posted the night before.

Fleminginkatu 7, Kallio. Expect to pay around €15.30 for a main course.

What is it? A fishmonger’s shop and lunch spot at the Teurastamo market area, serving the freshest seafood in town right beside the counter.

Why we love it? Tukkutorin kala is the kind of seafood haven that would make both Poseidon proud. Lunch begins with a starter buffet piled high with herring delicacies. There are more affordable mains, but the real star is the daily special (€19.90), which always lives up to its name. Expect something special every day – perhaps melt-in-your-mouth black cod, the kind usually found only on fine-dining menus for triple the price. You might catch a faint whiff of the fish counter in the background, but the dishes look and taste as refined as anything in a high-end restaurant.

Time Out tip: The Teurastamo area has plenty of other great lunch spots too. Try the charming café-restaurant Palema in its red-brick building, where according to local lore pea soup has been served every Thursday for over 90 years. On the first Tuesday of each month, the special is traditional pork stew (läskisoosi).

Työpajankatu 2 b, Teurastamo, Kalasatama. Expect to pay €13.70 for fish soup and €15.90 for the daily fish dish.

What is it? A tiny Japanese restaurant run by a Tokyo-born chef, where guests sit at the bar on high stools. Lunch includes a main and two smaller dishes. Booking ahead is almost essential and can easily be done via the restaurant’s website. In the evenings, Murasaki transforms into an izakaya-style restaurant-bar serving sake and small plates to share.

Why we love it? The atmosphere and flavours are so authentic that the lunch here feels like a brief trip to Japan. The lunch consists of teishoku sets, where you choose one main and two sides from the daily menu, all served at once with rice and miso soup. With only around ten seats at the bar, diners get a front-row view of the chef’s precise movements as he prepares and serves each dish.

Time Out tip: If you fancy sushi at lunch, it’s usually salmon-only – though excellent salmon at that. You can, however, ask the chef for a more varied selection for an extra charge. It’s worth it: the €28 set feels truly luxurious – and still a lot cheaper than a flight to Japan.

Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 23, inside Hotel Helka. Open for lunch Wed–Sat. Expect to pay around €18 for lunch.

What is it? A Mediterranean restaurant led by Turkish-born chef Serpil Yilmaz, LaBra brings sunshine to Helsinki even when the weather doesn’t. Lunch includes a varied salad buffet, soup and a main course served at the table.

Why we love it? At LaBra, you might overhear someone at the next table sigh, ‘I could live on just this bread and brown butter.’ It’s easy to agree – the bread is that good – but it would be a shame to skip the salad bar or mains, where the flavours are fresh, bright and unapologetic. Nothing here is timid or half-hearted.

Time Out tip: The dining room includes a cosy private cabinet that’s perfect for slightly more formal lunch meetings.

Eerikinkatu 32. Expect to pay €12.50 for soup and salad, €15.90 for the daily special and €17.90 for the weekly dish.

What is it? The perfect spot for a leisurely three-course lunch in an understatedly elegant setting. White tablecloths, classic European flavours, Finnish ingredients and refined craftsmanship on the plate.

Why we love it? Many of Helsinki’s top restaurants open only for dinner, but Vinkkeli also serves lunch – and a truly special one at that. The three-course menu is priced just right: luxurious enough to elevate a weekday, yet still within reason. It’s also noticeably more affordable than the evening menu, making lunch the ideal opportunity to try this restaurant that repeatedly ranks among Finland’s best. The atmosphere suits both celebrations and serious business meetings, and the service is exceptionally smooth.

Time Out tip: Vinkkeli is renowned for its wine list – so do yourself a favour and have a glass or two with lunch.

Expect to pay €42 for a three-course lunch.

What is it? A tiny Danish open sandwich (smørrebrød) spot that’s been going strong since 1964 – and there’s a reason it’s still standing. You won’t stumble upon it by accident, and many regulars have been coming for decades.

Why we love it? Despite its long history, this place still feels like a hidden gem – one that even many Helsinkians don’t know about. From the street it looks closed, but be brave and step inside. Behind the door is a tiny booth – at first you’ll see no one, not even a display case. Then the chef appears from behind a curtain, promising to have your sandwich ready in ten minutes. First-timers he advises to try the fried fish sandwich, while regulars swear by the pâté-topped smørrebrød, both of which are excellent.

Time Out tip: This is essentially a takeaway joint – there’s space for only a couple of people to eat inside – but the sandwiches make for a perfect grab-and-go lunch. Surprise your sweetheart with one, and they’ll love you even more after a taste of these Danish delights.

Cygnauksenkatu 5, Etu-Töölö. Expect to pay €11.50–€15 per sandwich.

What is it? A beloved Helsinki lunch spot by Esplanadi boulevard, often spotted by the queue forming outside its beautiful old bay window. One of the few places in the city where lunch is worth lining up for.

Why we love it? Pompier’s salad bar and soup of the day alone make a satisfying lunch. The selection isn’t huge, but everything is made with care and every component stands out. Add a main course and the price rises to around €25, still great value for the quality. It’s a lively place, but the staff keep everything running smoothly, so the bustle never tips into chaos. Just don’t expect a quiet business lunch. And if you fancy a celebratory touch, the house wines are delightfully affordable at lunchtime.

Time Out tip: There’s a second Pompier on Albertinkatu, in the atmospheric Helsinki Volunteer Fire Brigade building – open only for lunch. The name Pompier comes from the French word for firefighter.

Eteläesplanadi 8, Kaartinkaupunki. Expect to pay €14.50 for soup and salad.

What is it? A seafood-focused Italian restaurant with genuine credentials – named after its chef, Tamas Mancini, and staffed almost entirely by Italians. For a touch of dolce vita in your workday, this is the place for a stylish Pranzo Italiano lunch menu.

Why we love it? Only an Italian could name a restaurant after themselves and make it sound so effortlessly charming. Osteria dei Mancini immediately feels authentic and stylish – you can’t quite imagine the same working for a ‘Pete’s Pub’ or ‘Seija’s Stews’. The lively Italian atmosphere hits you the moment you walk in and continues on the plate. Start with crispy fried whitebait and move on to the wonderfully fresh sea bass – a rarity on Helsinki lunch menus.

Time Out tip: A glass of wine at lunch costs just €7, and espresso is included.

Tehtaankatu 38. Expect to pay €27 for two courses or €36 for three.

What is it? A cheerful diner-style café serving excellent bagels.

Why we love it? You can’t help but love this place for the name alone. Sörkän Rinkula (roughly “The Sörkkä Bagel”) sounds like it’s been around forever, even though it’s only been brightening up Kurvi’s food scene for a few years. The bagels are just as good as the name suggests: perfectly chewy, generously filled and made with quality ingredients from small producers. The ham, for example, comes from Lindroos Smokehouse in Porvoo – and you’ll find a satisfyingly thick layer of it between the halves. Even the coffee included in the lunch set comes from small roasters.

Time Out tip: Order your bagel with fries – they’re sinfully good.

Vilhovuorenkatu 10, Sörnäinen. Expect to pay €13.70 for a filled bagel with salad, €14.70 with fries.

What is it? Tila is a countryside restaurant born from a lovely idea: a bookseller and his cheesemaker wife decided to open a place of their own. The result is Ravintola Tila, set in a picture-perfect rural idyll on the edge of Sipoonkorpi National Park. From the terrace atop the hill, you can look out over meadows where sheep graze in summer.

Why we love it? It’s the perfect lunch destination for a day off – or a remote work day that calls for a little inspiration. The food is delicious from starters to mains, and the spelt bread, baked with a 100-year-old starter, is outstanding. Just next to the restaurant, a trail leads into the national park and to the nearby lake Fiskträsk.

Time Out tip: If the herring soufflé is on the menu, order it! Even if you think you hate herring, this will change your mind – the fish adds just the right salty kick to the airy soufflé.

Knutersintie 262, Sipoo. Expect to pay around €6 for starters and €16 for mains.