If you want to meet real Finns in their natural habitat you’ll have to see a foreigner about it. Agim Sejdiu, came to Finland from Kosovo some 20 years ago, bought the Merimies pub (Sailor’s Pub) in 2002 and cleaned it from all unsavory elements. However, people do get drunk here, after all, that’s the Finnish way, but everybody is behaving. And if not, Agim will soon sort them out.

The clientèle is mostly in their forties and older, with the occasional youngsters coming to enjoy the good, and cheap, pizzas, or watch a match. The pub has a big TV and a free Wi-Fi. There is also a small “library” where you can bring your own books for others to read, or from where you can borrow a book you like.

The favourite beverages are beer, cider and hard liquor, not many wine drinkers here. This is a place where you can find yourself in the middle of a heated discussion over a surprisingly wide range of topics, from politics to sports or art or almost anything under the sun. The regulars represent a myriad of professions: hair dressers, book keepers, pensioners, psychiatrists, book translators, ad people, nurses, locksmiths, janitors, aspiring poets, musicians…

Don’t let the first impression scare you, people smoking by the door continuing their passionate discussions might look a bit scary, but it’s actually a very nice pub where you can meet very nice people.

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Merimies pub | Bars | 0,5L pint € 4
Merimiehenkatu 27 | +3589624566
10:00 – 00:00 daily

Kuurna is a tiny little gourmet restaurant that, in my opinion, should have had it’s Michelin star long ago. But to be honest, I hope they will never get it, as it’s just perfect the way it is! I have had some of my best dinners here, thanks to the two young chefs, Heikki Purhonen and Antto Melasniemi who are both very creative, ambitious and innovative. And they haven’t failed me yet.

The place reminds me of some small, romantic place in Paris, quite bohemian but in an elegant way. The main thing here, however, is food, which is just fabulous. Uncomplicated, prepared from the best ingredients with love. The menu is quite limited, you can choose from three starters, three main courses and three desserts. In my book this means that they really concentrate on each and every thing they serve.

The menu changes weekly, sometimes new things are also added daily. They bake their own bread, and it’s gooood! They also know their wines very well, and I like to let them recommend me what to drink. No misses there either!

Be sure to book in advance, because the space is so limited and the place is quite popular. You can make your reservation for either between 18:00 and 20:00 or from 20:00 onwards. Service is extremely friendly but sometimes understandably a bit rushed. For the quality of the food, I think this place gives really good value for your money.

Kuurna is closed for the summer holidays in July.

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Kuurna | Restaurants (Gourmet) | Three courses € 37.00
Meritullinkatu 6 | +358102818241
Tue – Fri 18:00 – 22:30, Sat 16:00 – 23:00

The normal procedure in Finland after a night out is to find the closest ‘snägäri’ (hot dog kiosk) and buy something really greasy to crown your inebriation. I used to do that. A lot. But with time that has somehow lost its attraction and waiting in line with other drunk people doesn’t really appeal to me anymore.

And then Delish came to my rescue! Delish is a deli and convenience store in Iso Roba in the Punavuori district and it’s open 24 hours, 7 days a week. The shop is nice and airy and clean, the service is young and very friendly, and you don’t have to stand in a line outside in the cold or rain. Even if it’s a small shop they have certainly most of the food stuff I could imagine myself needing in the middle of the night.

But what’s best about Delish is that they have real food, ready made to take away. Focaccias, great pastas, and their meat balls are absolutely delicious, maybe best in the city, served with a creamy sauce and mashed potatoes. Eat it on the spot, standing up, no chairs here, or take it with you!

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Delish | Snacks | 8 meatballs & potatoes € 5.90
Iso Roobertinkatu 2 | +358503212779
24 hours daily

Restaurant Elite was founded in 1932 by a famous Finnish artist, Ernst Mattas and has been on this spot since 1938. It quickly became a popular “living room” of the art crowd, painters, writers, movie stars etc. And they have kept coming here ever since. One of the reasons must be that the Lallukka Artists’ Home is right next door, with 50 apartments for resident artists.

Elite has been an all time favourite of mine, too, for more than 30 years now. This is where we used to come with my friends every Saturday when I lived next door, not in Lallukka, though. On Sundays we would return and eat a long, ‘restorative’ lunch together. I still like to come here quite often, because the place has not lost any of it’s charm over the years. Even the food is rather nice these days, modern, Finnish-Italian-Russian (try the vorschmack) but it’s not, and never has been, the most important thing here. Elite’s charm is, well, that it’s Elite!

In the summer it’s very popular to sit outside, but the best about Elite is the old fashioned atmosphere of a real old fashioned restaurant. So you should absolutely check the charming art deco interior with the walls covered with valuable paintings from the founders private collections. See if you can spot the painting of the world map. Abstract, but very clear when you get the idea!

Elite has a separate, and quite elegant room for those who still smoke.

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Elite | Restaurants (Intern.) | Vorscmack (main) € 17.40
Eteläinen Hesperiankatu 22 | +358961285200
Mon – Tue 11:00 – 00:00, Wed – Fri 11:00 – 01:00, Sat 14:00 – 01:00, Sun 14:00 – 23:00

Store 33 sells lots of great stuff for amazingly cheap prices for the whole family, men, women and children. Whether you are looking for clothes, shoes, leather jackets, scarves, handbags, hats, sports gear – you name it, they’ve got it.

The Store 33 selection varies from day to day, so you just have to come and look what’s in today! And look closely, you can find well known brands like Fila, Le Coc Sportif, Paul Frank etc. here cheaper than anywhere else in the city. I just bought a great pair of shoes for €25!

The owner, Rahil, is extremely helpful and friendly and so is his mother, who sometimes helps her son in the shop. If they don’t have something right away, they are likely to suggest that they can order it for your next visit.

The shop is situated in the Punavuori in the Design District, but it’s definitely not stylish or trendy like most of the other shops on the area, because it’s so small and absolutely crammed with stuff from floor to ceiling, But if you are looking for a bargain, Store33 is the place to visit! And if you show your Spotted by Locals iPhone app for this store, Rahill will give you 30% off from everything you buy!

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Store 33 | Shopping | Leather coats from € 90
Fredrikinkatu 33 | +358466178331
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 17:00, Sat 11:00 – 15:00

Despite the idiotic name (French for ‘eat the south’, which is completely impossible for a Finn to pronounce) and somewhat ‘challenging’ location in the end of Tehtaankatu this is a place well worth visiting. We locals usually skip the “sud” and call it just Mange, pronounced the Finnish way.

Even if the location is a bit challenging, it’s very easy to get here by bus nr 16, which stops right outside their door, or bus nr 14 which stops just around the corner.

The interior is a sight for sore eyes, light and elegant with an open fire on the wall and Frank Sinatra softly singing in the background. The service is very friendly and professional. The food is modern and traditional Mediterranean, with a local twist. One of Mange’s special signature foods is a traditional bouillabaisse with all the proper trimmings. My absolute favorites are their salads, big and tasty with lovely fresh ingredients!

They also have several fixed menu’s, ‘Maison’, ‘Paysan’, ‘Bourgeois’ and also one called ‘Theatre’ as they have a lot of different happenings going on. Sometimes it’s a theatre performance, sometimes a chamber music concert or a wine tasting evening. Check the web page for what’s going on.

You can also just pop in and have a glass of wine and a little snack in their wine corner, all the wines can be bought by the glass.

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Restaurant Mange Sud | Bars, Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Menus from € 34
Tehtaankatu 34 D 2 | +358207118350
Tue – Fri from 16:00, Sat from 13:00

Lupolo is a nice, laid back gastropub in Punavuori, owned by the gourmet chef Patrick Lindström, which became an overnight hit as soon as it opened. The food is fabulous, everything made in their own kitchen, no half measures here.

You can also just pop in for a drink or a cup of coffee and sample the small but absolutely delicious appetizers. Or, just have some bread with something delicious on top of it. But be prepared, it might be difficult to get a table, so a table reservation is a good idea.

The service is as superb as ever, wines are well chosen and their coffee is excellent. Also, the beer selection has been upgraded so all the beer enthusiasts can feel more at home now. I have eaten in Lupolo several times, and they haven’t failed me yet!

The place doesn’t look like much from the outside and the interior is a mishmash of all sorts of things, but once you get to the food, all that becomes quite irrelevant. It’s not easy to describe the ‘genre’ of the food, maybe Finnish-French-Italian, occasionally with a twist of the orient, but always with a special Lupolo touch!

Lupolo is open Mondays to Saturdays from 17:00 until midnight, but check their Facebook page to be sure.

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Lupolo | Bars, Restaurants (Gastropub) | Main courses from € 12
Punavuorenkatu 3 | +358505544050
Mon – Sat 17:00 – 00:00

Punavuoren Ahven is a beer drinkers haven in Punavuori, a cosy and welcoming pub that specializes in beer from all over the world. It’s one of the so called “fish restaurants”, but don’t expect to see fish on the menu, or any other real food for that matter, it’s just that all their names have a fish in it. Punavuoren Ahven means “The Punavuori Perch.” The only thing resembling food in these fish restaurants is toast and chips. And maybe a Finnish “delicacy” sausage-potatoes.

But if you like a warm and relaxing atmosphere and are feeling passionate about beer, this is a place for you. The selection of beers is very impressive and the bartenders are superfriendly. They know everything there is to know about beer.

They also serve some lovely ciders, great whiskies and other hard liquor, like my favourite, Jallu, a local brandy. What’s great about Ahven is also, that it is open later than any other pub close by. The clientèle is young, old and in between. A lot of regulars come here every night to meet with their friends, maybe play some board games, read the afternoon papers or just to enjoy a pint in friendly surroundings. Some evenings you can enjoy live music, often with local talent from Punavuori.

There is also a private room for up to 25 people that you can reserve without any extra cost, in case you want to hold a meeting or have a private party.

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Punavuoren Ahven | Bars | 0,5L pint from € 5.50
Punavuorenkatu 12 | +358935084742
Mon – Thu 14:00 – 02:00, Fri 14:00 – 03:00, Sat 12:00 – 03:00, Sun 12:00 – 00:00

Tiina Kiilavirta’s tiny little shop at Vuorimiehenkatu is just the place to shop if you want to cook Catalonian. She sells olives, spices, like heavenly saffron, sauces, asparagus, grilled paprika, honey, gourmet salt, summer- and winter truffles, liquorice etc. all from Catalonia, Spain. And all organic and without any food additives.

The famous house of E&A Gispert delivers spices, dried fruits, oil, chocolate and other organic foods and Querida Carmen the fantastic gourmet fast food meals in a can, just what you need in the summer, bolete risotto, arroz negro, bouillabaisse, onion soup, paellas, crab soup etc. . Their delicious coffees and teas and herbal drinks come from Cafés el Magnífico.

You can just pop in for a great espresso, sit down on one of the four (4!) chairs and have a lovely discussion with the owner, Tiina Kiilavirta.

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Tostada | Coffee & tea, Shopping | Espresso € 1.50
Vuorimiehenkatu 20 | +358407790960
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 18:00

Gruppo is the newest addition to the Punavuori coffee scene, a tiny hole-in-the wall cafe at Pursimiehenkatu. Interior etc. maybe maybe not completely ready yet, but the coffee is great! And the WiFi is free, without any annoying passwords.

When Kaffecentralen moved away from the neighbourhood Kalle Tuure, the owner of Gruppo realized there was an opening for a place like this. And as Kalle feels very passionate about good coffee – hey presto – Gruppo was born!

The location is nice, right next door to Kahvila Suomi, a bar with home cooking, known to all the Japanese tourists because of a Japanese film “Kamome shokudô” which was made mostly in Kahvila Suomi. For now it’s just coffee, great coffee, but soon Gruppo will also be selling cold beverages, maybe some small snacks etc. I’ll keep you posted.

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Gruppo Coffee Lab | Coffee & tea | Cafe latte € 3.50
Pursimiehenkatu 12 | +358407176793
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 17:00, Sat – Sun 10:00 – 16:00