Cafe Kokko

Here at Inside Out Helsinki, what we love most about Helsinki are its awesome cafés which have been flourishing in the past decade.

=> Note of Insider Emilie to fellow Americans: going to Starbucks in Helsinki is a crime! 

What's more to enjoy than the bridge between Finland's love for coffee and tasteful decoration style? That's why it's impossible not to talk about Cafe Kokko when suggesting up and coming Helsinki addresses to fellow travelers and Helsinkiers.

Café Kokko makes one of the best cafes around. We kid you not! What's more, is the style which is exquisite; quirky second-hand style meets Scandanvian influence.  And the highlight of the café is of course it's amazing raw vegan cakes, the best in the capital! Kokko always has a surprising and interesting blend to offer whether you are a coffee or tea person. 

 => Good to know : Kokko is the only 100% raw, gluten free, lactose free and vegan cafe in the city.

 
The story starts in 2012 with a cafe in Katajanokka. There they also started to offer their scrumptious raw cakes. In 2014, the cafe moved and opened a pop-up cafe for a couple of months. Finally, in May 2015 Cafe Kokko opened in Kalevankatu. 

=> Suggestion from the chef: their lactose free, vegan, raw, gluten free ice cream and cold brew coffee.

=> Good to know: cafe Kokko is located next to cool vintage interior design store Roomage, which we will cover in our next post for you ! Stay tuned :) ...

A wonderful devil, vegan's worst bikini nightmare ! 

Further information:
Address: 31 A 6 Kalevankatu, 00100 Helsinki
Website: http://www.cafekokko.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cafekokko/
Phone: +358 (0) 40 544 2926
Email: info@cafekokko.com
Opening hours:
Mon-Fri: 12-6pm

B-side Bar

A while ago we wrote about B-Smokery restaurant and its scrumptious meat selection. It's not a surprise that we have to mention its little sibling, B-Side bar, which is one of our favorite Helsinki bars.  B-Side manager Christian Giordano had some mutual contacts with B-Smokery owners and reached out to them when he moved to Helsinki. His background is in hotels & restaurants and he has experience with cocktail design and liquors, especially American Whiskey. The idea of an American Whiskey Bar went along great with BBQ concept at Smokery and this is how B-Side was born.    

 

At B-side you almost feel like you are somewhere in Brooklyn or even Berlin, which Christian attributes to its open atmosphere: 

We wanted to bring things back to street level and make everyone feel comfortable to explore some drinks they haven't tried before.   

C-Side menu was recently added: it's like a bar within a bar. On Fridays and Saturdays ,B-side offers reservations or walk-ins for up to 6 people at their small bar. You get a personal bartender that can customize a menu for you made of different tastings of cocktails, whiskies or beers. You get to sit at the bar and watch them make the drinks and learn the nitty gritty of how and why things are made. 

B-side bar specializes in American Whiskey and have one of the largest selections in Finland (about 31). You can find some special ones that you can't get anywhere else, like High West, which is great to try.  They don't have a ton of fridge space for beers, so they try to keep an ever changing quirky selection on hand.  The bar hopes to stock things people have not tried before and are also well prepared to talk about beer.  

=> B-side Bar tip : Another fun thing to try is a pickle back; it's a classic American Whiskey combo. You have a shot of Whiskey and a shot of Pickle Juice or Brine to chase it down.

=> B-side bar recommends their smoked Negroni as a must-try cocktail. They smoke the Campari at B-Smokery and make an awesome cocktail with Gin and Sweet Vermouth. It goes great on its own or with food. And we also in Inside Out Helsinki love that smoky taste too.

=> Things to look forward to at B-side bar: They have an awesome slate of summer events planned starting with their terrace opening on May 6th. The Terrace is currently being redesigned and they are adding some fun new features like games and an outdoor DJ booth. In addition to Teurastamo events, they are partnering with Jim Beam for a big American Whiskey event on June 10th & 11th.

Further information
Address: Työpajankatu 2, Teurastamo, 00580 Helsinki
Opening times: Tue-Thu: 3:00 pm - 12:00 am // Fri-Sat: 3:00 pm - 1:00 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bsideHKI/
Phone: 044 9883686

Uunisaari

One of the things we love most about Helsinki are its islands. Small, secret islands where you can wonder and feel like you are outside a city capital. Helsinki being a « sea city », it’s not a surprise that one of Inside Out Helsinki's coup de cœur is Unisaari, because of its easy access and proximity to the city. Despite its small size, you can still find your peaceful quiet spot to relax in. Located near the city centre, close to the harbour, the island consists of two parts, separated by a narrow strait. The island covers about 3 hectares. One of Uunisaari's particular charm consists in linking 4 different small islands together through bridges, breakwater, etc. So asides from Uunisaari, you have Liuskasaari, Liuskeluoto and Sirpalesaari. 

=> A little history : an oil boilery and paint factory once operated on the island. Coffins were also made here. 

What we love about Uunisaari are its many faces:  you can either go swimming, enjoy the sauna, sit on the rocks or beach, enjoy a cup of coffee at Uunisaari’s restaurant, or take a stroll to other islands surrounding it.  What makes the place special is its 360 view from which you can choose whether you want to look at the sea, shore, harbor or other small islands. 

Co-founder Emilie McDermott discovered the island during a mid-summer full moon night summer 2015. She immediately fell in love with the vibration, the easy going summer feeling. The scrumptious take away pizzas from Skiffer that you can eat with a Pale Ale along the harbor, and then the wandering around the island during the wee little hours of the night, only to return to Helsinki land shores by row boat in the early morning... 

Co-founder Hanna Rast absolutely loves the island's old, industrial buildings and small houses. You can still have that little sense of history, when the oil boiler and paint factory used to operate on the island. 

=> Good to know: During the winter you can come for free since they set up a pontoon bridge from the harbor. During the summer time there’s a boat service with the regular Helsinki travel cost to enter.

Further information 

Uunisaari
Located in Southern Helsinki, south from Kaivopuisto

How to get there:

From the city center you can get closest to the place by Tram 3 (to Olympiaterminaali) or by busses number 18 (to Eira - final stop)  or 24 (to Merikatu - final stop). By walking it's about 2,3 kilometers and takes about half an hour to get there.

During the winter season, from November to April, there's a pontoon bridge from the shore.
During the summer season there's a water-borne traffic operating from Kompassintori at Merisatama (Kaivopuisto) to the island.

Döner Harju

Our special place this week is Döner Harju. It is a small and cozy restaurant in the heart of Kallio, or actually Harju, the area just next to Kallio. The districts of Helsinki tend to be small, but all in all Kallio, Harju, Alppila and Vallila are the top ones where to go right know. And that’s something the owners of Döner Harju figured out when they set up their restaurant.

One evening the owners were discussing their favorite foods over a few beers. Soon after they ended up ordering the biggest döner machine they could find. The next morning they had to find purpose for their machine. That’s where Döner Harju’s story begun. Both owners have a long history working as chefs in different places. In Döner Harju they want to serve the best: in their delicious selection you can find food for both meat lovers and vegetarians. They serve lamb, chicken and seitan daily and always have something special on the side such as pork, moose or veal. Side dishes include bulgur, couscous, various salads and beetroot to name a few. Everything is served with herbs, olive oil, lemon and garlic. The most popular dish is Lamb Döner, which we also warmly recommend you to taste. The well-grilled lamb adds a crispy taste and is mixed together with yoghurt, tomato sauce and herbs to form a perfect combination. And their food is not the only recommendable thing. It is definitely the atmosphere itself, made by the staff and clients, which creates a cozy feeling to the place.

Döner Harju is open from early midday until late evening. The day starts with the lunch menu (9,90€) including a main course, the soup of the day and coffee. During lunchtime the place is bustling and the murmur of cheerful chatting fills the air. Towards the evening Döner Harju serves bread döner and plates that range between 9-15€. Besides the dinner, we recommend that you taste their selection of beers and wines, especially the Moroccan red wine. We asked what Döner Harju would recommend to our readers and they cherished the evenings, especially weekends. On Friday and Saturday evenings you can experience a busy but intimate atmosphere when the locals prepare themselves for the weekend. The staff is relaxed and works fast, you can just admire.

The restaurant scene in Helsinki is changing fast and new, interesting restaurants are opening all the time. Just a few years ago you could easily check through all the best restaurants in Helsinki, but no more. Many skilled chefs are doing their own thing, which brings variety and every place has something unique to offer. Döner Harju’s future looks promising: they opened a new restaurant called Palema in the Teurastamo area, which serves classic Finnish food.

The owners also visited Berlin not so long ago and found a Rolls Royce grill. It’s a three-meter charcoal grill made of stainless steel, bricks and glass. They bought it and now they have to find a place for it…

Döner Harju

Address: Fleminginkatu 23, 00500 Helsinki
Phone: 045 180 5868
Website: http://www.donerharju.fi/
Opening times:
Monday - Thursday: 10:30 - 22
Friday: 10:30 - 23
Saturday: 12 - 23
Sunday: 13 - 21