Finland Guide
Helsinki and the south
Drinking
1 A21 Annankatu 2 www.a21.fi Rather pretentious new cocktail bar with designer seating, lacquered tables and clientele who spend way too much time in front of the mirror. Press the doorbell just outside, and if the bartendress likes the way you look you might actually be let in.
2 Ateljeebaari Sokos Torni hotel, Yrjönkatu 26 On the thirteenth floor of a plush hotel: great views, great posing and pricey drinks – be warned that the women's toilet has bizarre ceiling-to-floor windows.
3 Baker's Mannerheimintie 12 
www.ravintolabakers.com A good place to initiate yourself into drinking Helsinki-style, this central corner restaurant-bar-café-sauna complex has a reputation as a last-chance pick-up spot.
4 
Bar 9 Uudenmaankatu 9 www.bar9.net This unpretentious neighbourhood bar has been a standby for local artists and hipsters for years, and shows little sign of losing its edge. Good food, too, including massive grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and occasional live music.
5 Bar Tapasta Uudenmaankatu 13 www.marcante.fi Small and intimate, with strikingly striped walls, this Parisian-style café-bar is often full and is a regular stop for night owls, with cheap tapas and sangria served until 11.30pm (12.30pm on weekends).
6 Elite Etläinen Hesperiankatu 22 www.royalravintolat.com Northwest of the National Museum, this Art Deco bar-restaurant was once the haunt of the city's artists, many of whom would settle the bill not with money but with paintings – a selection of which line the walls. Especially good in summer, when you can drink on the terrace.
7 Erottaja Bar Erotajankatu 15–17 www.erottajabar.com/flash/erottajaBar.swf Central, aqua-blue bar just up from the Swedish theatre with a bit of an underground feel to it. Tables outside, but great benches and dim lighting inside. Popular with students from Helsinki's art and design school.
8 Kaarle XII Kasarmikatu 40 www.kaarle.com Friday-night queuing to get into this very casual bar and dance space (known familiarly as "Kaali") is a Helsinki institution for hundreds of people under the age of 40. Inside are six separate battered, old-wood bars, including two inside a large Art Nouveau dance hall with red-granite walls. Show up by 10pm or you might well be waiting for hours.
9 Kola Helsinginkatu 13 Manhattan's East Village transplanted to Kallio. Young and hip loungesters sprawl out in this carpeted 1960s-style bar reading design magazines and sipping €3.75 pints or espressos.
10 Kosmos Kalevankatu 3 www.ravintolakosmos.fi This is where the big media cats – TV producers, PR people, the glitzier authors – hang out and engage in loud arguments as the night wears on. The wonderful interior is unchanged since the 1920s, but you'll only see it if you get past the officious doorman.
11 Loose Fredrikinkatu 34 www.barloose.com Down-home rock ‘n' roll pub done up with Stones photos and paisley wallpaper, and offering pints of beer for €4.
12 Lost and Found Annankatu 6 www.lostandfound.fi Known to locals as lostari, this one-time straight-friendly gay bar is now a gay-friendly straight bar. Downstairs is a very popular dance club, Hideaway, that doesn't feel too Euro-trashy. On weekends around 1am, there's nearly guaranteed to be a queue out front.
13 mbar Lasipalatsi, Mannerheimintie 22–24 www.mbar.fi A hip designer place with internet terminals, electronica DJs and the occasional live band. The terrace is very popular in summer.
14 Meri Makasiini Hietalahdenranta 4 www.merimakasiini.fi Slightly out-of-the-way, on a street running off Hietalahdentori towards the waterfront, but worth a visit on a Fri or Sat night when the restaurant customers spill onto the terrace to drink while gazing at the cranes of the city's cargo harbour. Opening time: Closes at midnight
15 Molly Malone's Kaisaniemenkatu 1C www.mollymalones.fi One of Europe's best Irish bars – and certainly Finland's – is just a few steps from the train station. There's great live Irish music most nights, and it doesn't feel too much like a hackneyed, expat bar.
16 Rafla Uudenmaankatu 9 www.ravintolarafla.fi One of the city's newest café-resto-bars is also its least pretentious. After work 30-somethings come here to kick back and watch the world go by.
17 Rymy-Eetu Erottaja 15 www.rymy-eetu.fi A new and very un-Finnish bar that requires you sit next to (and maybe speak to!) people you actually don't know. Almost pulls off the Bavarian bierhalle look and feel it's going for. Also offers a "retro lunch" weekdays between 11am and 2pm. Regular live music groups, for which there is generally a €2–4 cover.
18 Teatteri Pohjoisesplanadi 2 Spend a few hours in this indoor and outdoor complex – at first casual and relaxed, later rowdy and inebriated – and you'll encounter a cross-section of Helsinki characters, some of whom you may have to help get up off the ground.
19 The Rock Bar Bulevardi 28 www.therockbar.fi True grunge ambience with Anthrax and Megadeth on the tubes, but not so loud that you can't hear yourself ordering. Your fellow drinkers may well be dressed head-to-toe in black grunge clothing, with piercings and tattoos.
20 Vanha Mannerheimintie 3 www.juhlaravintolat.fi A self-service and hence comparatively cheap bar. It fills quickly, so try to arrive early for a seat on the balcony overlooking the bustle of the streets below. Downstairs has a more underground feel, with bench seating and a cosy – if smoky – atmosphere. Great people-watching at the busy intersection below.
21 We Got Beef Iso Roobertinkatu 21 www.wegotbeef.fi Known in local argot as "Beeffi", this modish bar resembles a well-lit diner, popular with students, artsy types, schmoozers and their arm-candy. DJs spin slamming beats in a back room.
22 Zetor Kaivopiha, Mannerheimintie 3 www.zetor.net A loud, country-themed bar designed by the people behind the irreverent Leningrad Cowboys rock group, with a rusty tractor in the middle. An older crowd gets down to hard rock and 1980s tunes, and after midnight the kitchen serves a limited menu of basic grub – think meatballs and potatoes – until 3.30am.
23 Nalle Pub Kaarlenkatu 3–5 (upstairs) www.nallepub.fi A relaxing place that feels like somewhat of a living room, this Kallio spot is a lesbian favourite. While you're sipping on bottle of Bud you can watch TV, pop a euro in for a song on the jukebox or read a paper. Happy hour daily 3–6pm.
24 Room Albert Kalevankatu 36 www.roombar.fi Recently relocated, this is one of Helsinki's better neighbourhood bars; a laid-back place that attracts the young, beautiful and leather-clad.
25 Fairy Tale Helsinginkatu 7 www.fairytale.fi Dark and intimate little place primarily frequented by older men. Pints €2.90 until 8pm. Ring the doorbell to get in.