A Guide to Eating and Drinking in Helsinki

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Finnish cuisine has had its high-profile critics – Jacques Chirac and Silvio Berlusconi among them – but you don't need to walk far in order to see that Europe's senior statesmen don’t get it right all of the time.

Finns eat simply but heartily, with an emphasis on the healthy and fresh. While Helsinki may not boast such specialties as the black sausages favored in Tampere, the city acts as a meeting point for all that’s good about the national cuisine.

What’s more, like the city itself, Helsinki's favorite dishes have seen a range of different influences come together into a unique style. Scandinavian and Russian notes can clearly be made out in many of the city’s signature dishes.

As for where to eat, the central areas of Katajanokka and Kruununhaka are both bursting with chic international restaurants; proof (if proof were needed) that whatever Helsinki does, it does stylishly. As a result, however, the city is not always the cheapest place to eat.

There's a cluster of good Helsinki restaurants along the city’s main boulevard, the Esplanadi. Plenty of other options can also be checked out by wandering along the neighboring Uudenmannkatu and Mannerhelmintie streets.

A better option for those looking for a budget meal might be the area surrounding Hietalahti (the city’s fleamarket) out to the southwest of the city. The Kallio quarter of town, meanwhile, provides drinkers and clubbers with ethnic food and cheap late-night snacks.

Helsinki’s superb fish market Kauppatori is a good place to find the raw materials for a hearty (and cheap) meal. On summer days, many locals stock up on supplies before heading out to the islands that dot the surrounding coastline.

In Finland, lunch tends to be of more importance than in many other countries. Conveniently for the budget traveler, restaurants offer affordable set menus at lunchtime that are obliged to include a salad bar as the government looks to set a vigorous healthy eating stance.

Less healthy (and unashamedly Russian in origin) is Helsinki's favorite tipple, vodka. And the city's famous vodka cocktails – mixed with varieties including the legendary Finlandia brand – invariably take center stage during a night out.

Other popular drinks include beer, with Lapin Kulta a refreshing local favorite. Cider – most notably the delicious pear variety also found in Sweden and in the west of Finland – is another common choice.

These days, eating out in Helsinki is as eclectic and cosmopolitan as any other European city. While it’s by no means all reindeer burgers and other such meaty fare, on chilly winter nights a bit of old-fashioned Finnish cuisine can be rather welcome.

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