Finnish food has a reputation for being plain, and the old stereotype of boiled fish and potatoes isn't entirely unfair for what previous generations ate. But contemporary Finnish cooking has transformed, particularly in Helsinki, where there are now Michelin-starred restaurants and a serious farm-to-table culture. Across the country, the ingredients are excellent.
What to Eat
Rye bread (ruisleipä) is the backbone of the Finnish diet. Dense, dark, and sour, it appears at every meal. The flatbread version (hapankorppu) is the cracker you'll find on every table.
Karjalanpiirakka (Karelian pies) are oval rye pastry shells filled with rice porridge, typically eaten with a spread of egg butter (munavoi). They appear in every bakery and many cafes. Get them warm.
Salmon soup (lohikeitto) is a creamy, mild soup with chunks of salmon, potatoes, and leek. Comfort food at its finest. Almost every restaurant serves a version.
Reindeer (poro) is the signature ingredient of Lapland. Poronkäristys — sautéed reindeer with mashed potatoes and lingonberries — is the classic preparation. The meat is lean, mildly gamey, and delicious.
Baltic herring (silakka) is the everyday fish of the coasts and market halls. Pickled, fried, or in a casserole. The annual Helsinki Baltic Herring Fair in October is devoted entirely to it.
Crayfish parties (rapujuhlat) happen in August, when the crayfish season opens. Finns gather around tables heaped with crayfish boiled with dill, eat them with their hands, drink schnapps, and sing drinking songs. If you get an invitation, accept it.
Berries are taken seriously. Lingonberries accompany almost everything savoury. Cloudberries (lakka), which grow only in northern wetlands, are precious and seasonal — try them in jam or liqueur. Wild blueberries, strawberries, and sea buckthorn all have their seasons and are freely available to pick under Everyman's Right.
Squeaky cheese (leipäjuusto) is a fresh cheese from northern Finland, often served warm and drizzled with cloudberry jam. Unusual and worth trying.
Where to Eat
In Helsinki, the covered market halls (kauppahalli) are excellent for a fast, affordable and authentic meal — the Old Market Hall (Vanha Kauppahalli) by the harbour is the most famous. The harbour market (Kauppatori) in summer has stalls selling salmon soup, smoked fish, and strawberries.
Outside Helsinki, quality drops in proportion to distance from the capital and from tourist areas. Lapland tourist centres like Rovaniemi have many places catering to visitors, with reasonable reindeer and game menus. Small towns rely heavily on the local supermarket (K-market or S-market) for self-catering.
Drink
Coffee is consumed in extraordinary quantities — Finland ranks among the highest per-capita coffee consumers in the world. The Finnish tradition is weak, pale filter coffee, often drunk with a pastry (pulla, a sweet cardamom bun).
Beer is widely drunk. Finnish lagers are solid if unexciting; the craft beer scene has expanded significantly since the 2010s, and larger cities now have several good breweries and taprooms.
Salmari — salmiakki (salty liquorice) vodka — is the Finnish party shot. Polarising. Worth trying once.
Alcohol laws: Finland has a state-controlled alcohol retail system. Wine, spirits, and strong beer are sold through Alko stores (closed Sundays and early evenings on weekdays). Regular supermarkets sell beer up to 5.5% ABV. Bars and restaurants are licensed normally.