So what did I do last Friday? Well – I had a fantastic evening going around Punavuori and Kamppi visiting restaurants and bars. Since it was something I can recommend for you to do as well while in Helsinki, I’ll tell you about my night and also share addresses of the restaurants I visited. All these places I visited are closely situated – the walking distance is something like one kilometer you can go walking. They can be visited by group of friends, alone or with someone you love.
First I had dinner in a lovely restaurant called Southpark. This restaurant is situated in Park Koff (Koffinpuisto) and the address is Bulevardi 40. Southpark has Southern Californian style in their offering (in their own words, I have visited only San Francisco and surroundings so I don’t know what to expect about Southern California). It is perfect for brunches, lunches or dinners – however if you want to have only drinks, then you have to find another place. There isn’t wide range of choose for a menu but for sure everyone will find something to enjoy! I would say the menu list is style “less is more” meaning that everything tastes excellent. Personnel seem to know wines very well and they are more than happy to recommend suitable wines for your menu. Restaurant has big windows so there is a great view for the park it is situated. Since restaurant is tiny, I recommend you to make a reservation if having dinner or brunch. Southpark is not fancy so you can enjoy your dinner wearing jeans (but if you want to dress up, that is also possible, no worries).
After having dinner, we headed a bit north to Kalevankatu 36 where bar Milli Miglia is situated. This bar is a bit kitschy – but in a funny way. Bar is named after Italian car race and also decorated so that you can’t think you are anywhere else. I am not by any means a car race fan but this bar really works for me! I would say there are more women in this bar compared to men, but I just write this for you to understand that even Milli Miglia is named after car race, this place is for everyone to enjoy. Milli Miglia is pretty popular but around 8 pm in Friday we were able to find places to sit down. You can sit here for one drink or you can sit here for the whole evening – whatever you prefer.
And were to finish your night – Bar Mockba (Bar Moskow) is an excellent place for that! Above I mentioned Milli Miglia is a bit kitschy. Well – Bar Mockba is exceptional big time! It is totally Soviet Union style and in my understanding owned by film-making Kaurismäki brothers. Mockba is definitely not a hotspot – but definitely one of the classics. To make your night perfect I recommend to taste champanckaya (Russian champagne) and of course some (warmish) vodka. I remember that 15 years ago there was a big poster on a wall which said “In Lenin we trust, others pay cash”. Nowadays you can pay with credit card as well but curtains are still totally USSR style as well as other decorations. And I have to say – service is ex-Eastern European as well – but this fact is very easy to forgive in these surroundings. If you want to spend an evening in a bar where you can see very wide selection of interesting people – you HAVE to visit Mockba. You can be whatever age (over 18 for sure, most people being 35+) and wear whatever you want – you will be looking totally right. The address is Eerikinkatu 11. It is not easy to find since no big signs– try to spot a window with awful soviet style curtains and then open door.
After visiting all these places I think you are ready to head for your hotel or home…
Anna
LivinginHEL 