The 15 best sandwiches in Helsinki worth getting messy for

What is it? Saigon Bistro, on the corner by Brahenkenttä in Kallio, makes fresh Vietnamese bánh mì baguettes.

Why we love it? Bánh mì is one of those foods where every bite should have a little bit of everything. Saigon Bistro’s version brings together a baguette that’s crisp on the outside and airy within, fresh pickled vegetables and juicy pork, just as it should. The house chicken pâté rounds it all off. Every bite crunches, drips with juices and tastes slightly different.

Time Out tip: The pho (€15.90) is excellent here too. The broth, simmered for 12 hours with chicken bones and beef shin bones, is in a completely different league from the hesitant, overly cautious broth you get at many basic pho spots.

Kaarlenkatu 13, Kallio. Filled bánh mì baguettes around €10.

What is it? A small Latin American sandwich bar on Vilhonvuorenkatu in Sörnäinen. And the emphasis really is on the word bar.

Why we love it? This little place often has a cheerful buzz, as Helsinki’s Latin American community gathers to catch up with each other and the Finnish-Bolivian couple who run the restaurant. The menu features sandwiches from across Latin America, served alongside beer, wine and cocktails. The sandwiches are crisp and juicy, but the real star is the homemade salsa verde. It’s so addictive that it could probably make cardboard taste good.

Time Out tip: Ekeko is pretty much the perfect place to start a Friday or Saturday night before a bar crawl around Kallio. There’s not much space, but plenty of atmosphere. But what does the name mean? Ekeko is a kind of household spirit from the Andes that promises prosperity. He’s painted on the restaurant wall.

Vilhonvuorenkatu 3 L1, sandwiches around €13.50-€15.

What is it? Rolling Cheese is a fantastic little cheese shop. There are also a few seats where you can stop for a hot cheese toastie and a glass of wine.

Why we love it? Rolling Cheese’s cheese toasties have been hailed as the best in Finland. The bread toasts to a crisp on the outside, the cheese melts soft inside and every bite is pure pleasure.

Time Out tip: A cheese toastie is, of course, ultimately just a cheese toastie. So order a cheese board to go with it and ask the staff to pick a suitable glass of wine as the third wheel. If cheese is one of the great loves of your life, this is exactly the place to take it on a date.

Museokatu 22. Grilled cheese toastie €12 and cheese board €12/€18.

What is it? This tiny sandwich bar has been around since 1964. There’s a reason it’s still going, even though there’s no chance you’d stumble across it by accident.

Why we love it? Even though Tanskalainen voileipä has been here for decades, it still has the lovely feel of a secret spot. From the outside, it looks closed, and the same feeling continues inside. First comes confusion. There’s no one and nothing in the tiny booth. Not even a display case with sandwiches in it. Then the chef appears from behind a curtain leading to the kitchen. He promises your sandwich will be ready in 10 minutes. For first-timers, he recommends the fried fish sandwich, while experienced smørrebrød fans should try one of the many liver pâté sandwiches. Both turn out to be excellent.

Time Out tip: This is essentially a takeaway spot, as there’s only room for a couple of people inside. Danish open sandwiches are perfect takeaway food. Bring one home as a surprise for someone you love. After a delicious Danish sandwich, they’ll love you even more.

Cygnauksenkatu 5, Etu-Töölö. Expect to pay €11.50-15 for a sandwich.

What is it? Excellent Italian layered sandwiches on Korkeavuorenkatu.

Why we love it? Ester’s Grocery is the perfect laid-back weekend stop or Italian treat during the week. The atmosphere is cosy, with Italian indulgence at the heart of everything. The bread is baked on site, always fresh and generously filled, and the flavours have clearly been thought through. The small space and its popularity make visits lively, especially at weekends, when it’s worth arriving early before the sandwiches sell out. Weekdays are calmer.

Time Out tip: So which sandwich should you choose? This is an excellent place to give in to the charms of mortadella.

Korkeavuorenkatu 6. Sandwiches large/small €12/16.

What is it? Focaccina on Eerikinkatu makes Italian stuffed focaccia sandwiches. The sandwich bar comes from the same people behind the acclaimed Retro Enoteca and fine-dining restaurant Passio.

Why we love it? The freshly baked house focaccia is light, fresh and has just the right amount of chew. Fillings include prosciutto, mortadella, salami and beef tartare. The vegetarian option is the Puttanesca, where tomato, olives, capers and chilli come together in a salty, tangy and slightly spicy combination. Focaccias start at €9.50, so you can fill up here for a very reasonable price. At lunch, €14 gets you two focaccias or one focaccia and a fresh salad.

Time Out tip: Don’t skip the ice cream! It’s made in-house from real ingredients, hand-churned in small batches. The method gives the ice cream a dense, silky-smooth, rich and stretchy texture. At €5 a serving, it’s some of the best ice cream we’ve eaten in ages. And with lunch, it costs just €3!

Eerikinkatu 4. Focaccias €9.50.

What is it? The stuffed lepina breads at this Balkan bakery on Helsinginkatu (and in Jätkäsaari) are pure comfort food and cost just €6.90.

Why we love it? It all starts with the bread. Soft, chewy and just airy enough, the lepina makes Meli’s sandwiches impossible to recreate at home, however good your fillings might be. The first bite tells you exactly why the place is so popular: the texture is spot on and the whole thing is generously filled without any unnecessary fuss. The dark, rough-edged interior and large windows make the place feel both stylish and down-to-earth. Meli is a bit like a great neighbourhood café that just happens to make excellent Balkan sandwiches.

Time Out tip: Don’t let the overly sweet pastries or croissants distract you. Meli’s real winner is the stuffed lepina. If you’ve got out of bed on the wrong side, Meli’s bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast will set you straight in no time.

Helsinginkatu 11. Stuffed sandwiches €6-€10.

What is it? Vallila’s new, stylish sports bar is a surprisingly affordable place to eat.

Why we love it? This is one of the few places in Helsinki where you can tuck into an American East Coast classic: the lobster roll. And the price isn’t bad either: €15! The lobster roll is seriously well made, which might be surprising until you learn that key members of the sports bar’s kitchen team came from Savoy.

Time Out tip: Between bites of lobster roll, you can race on Formula simulators, play pool, throw darts and try the addictive tabletop curling. The games are free.

Sturenkatu 21, Vallila. Open every day for both lunch and dinner.

What is it? An American-style restaurant in Herttoniemi run by Chris, a temperamental Canadian musician. The star of the menu is the Reuben sandwich, built around house-made pastrami. The meat spends two weeks in brine before Chris smokes it for 20 hours.

Why we love it? Is there a better feeling for a meat eater than sinking your teeth into rich, tender, marbled pastrami? The restaurant is a little out of the way, but worth the journey when you’re craving pastrami at its best. Chris makes his brisket without compromise, which pushes the price of the sandwich pretty high. But that’s no bad thing: better to eat it less often and eat it better.

Time Out tip: For dessert, there’s American apple pie and New York cheesecake, of course.

Insinöörinkatu 12, Herttoniemi. Reuben €29.

What is it? A long-running Greek café and deli in Kamppi whose made-to-order ciabattas have become Helsinki sandwich classics.

Why we love it? The €10 sandwiches are assembled to order. They don’t look like much in an age when even food’s most important adjective seems to be instagrammable. Gran Delicato’s sandwiches are shy little parcels wrapped in greaseproof paper that certainly don’t make a fuss about themselves. But the flavour! And the texture. One of the most popular ciabattas is number 11: chèvre, chorizo and courgette. It’s been on the menu for at least a couple of decades, and with good reason. The creamy tang of the goat’s cheese softens the smoky heat of the chorizo, the courgette freshens things up and the paprika-spiked fat soaks irresistibly into the warm bread. And yet the sandwich still holds together perfectly without going soggy. Perfect.

Time Out tip: On weekdays, there’s also a hot lunch for around €14. The Greek home-style dishes tend to be so good that your brain can short-circuit at the counter: lunch or sandwich? Luckily, there’s no wrong answer, just a good reason to come back the very next day.

Kalevankatu 34, Kamppi. Sandwiches around €10.