Nostalgia hits the moment you step inside. French chansons linger in the air and wicker chairs beckon you to sit at the round tables. The menu is chalked on a board above the wooden bar.
The yellow walls are adorned with mirrors and Tintin-themed art is tastefully done. They don’t shout for attention but are witty pastiches of famous works, such as Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks.
Breakfast (€6.50–18) is served all day, and the washing machines in the back are still there for city dwellers needing to do a quick load. Everything is just as it was 30 years ago, when Café Tin Tin Tango first opened and brought a slice of international café culture to Helsinki.
‘Nothing’s changed. Well, the walls might have been painted,’ says the server behind the counter.
And that’s a good thing. Nothing here has been designed for Instagram. This café is an antidote to our times. Tin Tin Tango’s atmosphere is so timeless it actually feels trendy. The crowd proves it too – not just nostalgia-chasing regulars with cobwebs on their shoulders, but a surprisingly young mix.
A model-like dreamer takes a seat, opens a notebook and starts writing – on paper!
In walks a hipsterish musician carrying a synthesiser case. Moments later, a model-like dreamer takes a seat, opens a notebook and starts writing – on paper! And who’s that curly-haired man ordering his coffee in Finnish, but with a foreign accent?
A sparrow that’s wandered in hops across the floor, happily pecking at crumbs. It’s in no hurry – and neither are Tin Tin Tango’s customers. A silver-haired lady watches it with a smile. Like all the best cafés, this one’s more like a living room than a coffee shop.
Granted, the coffee itself isn’t the smoothest or richest in town. But that’s not why you come here. You come for the feeling.
And as you might expect, you can easily order a beer here too – or even a cocktail if the mood takes you. You might as well, because it’s the kind of place where breakfast effortlessly turns into a nightcap.
It sits in the heart of Töölö, right on Töölöntori, alongside newer arrivals like Relove and Green Hippo – both excellent spots. But which of the three do you think will still be around in another 30 years?
If a Helsinki café were ever to star in a character-driven film, the setting would have to be Tin Tin Tango. The film’s title? Nothing Ever Changes.