Finland Travel Guide

Food and drink
Contrary to the scathing potshots made in 2005 by Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, Finnish food is full of surprises and demands investigation. It's pricey, but you can keep a grip on the expenses by using markets and Finland's many down-to-earth dining places, saving restaurant blowouts for special occasions. Though tempered by many regulations, alcohol is more widely available here than in much of Scandinavia: there are many places to drink but also many people drinking, most of them indulging moderately but quite a number doing it to excess on a regular basis.

Food
Though it may at first seem a stodgy, rather unsophisticated cuisine, Finnish food is an interesting mix of western and eastern influences. Many dishes resemble those you might find elsewhere in Scandinavia – an enticing array of delicately prepared fish (herring, whitefish, salmon and crayfish), together with some unusual meats like reindeer, elk and bear – while others bear the stamp of Russian cooking: solid pastries and casseroles, strong on cabbage, pork and mutton.

All Finnish restaurants will leave a severe dent in your budget, as will the foreign places, although the country's innumerable pizzerias are relatively cheap by comparison. The golden money-saving rule is to treat lunch (lounas, usually served 11am–2pm) rather than the much dearer dinner (päivällinen, usually from 6pm) as your main meal. Also, eke out your funds with stand-up snacks and by selective buying in supermarkets. If you're staying in a hotel, don't forget to load up on the inclusive breakfast (aamiainen) – often an open table laden with herring, eggs, cereals, porridge, cheese, salami and bread.

Snacks, fast food and self-catering
Economical snacks are best found in market halls (kauppahalli), where you can get basic foodstuffs along with local and national specialities. Adjoining these halls are cafeterias, where you're charged by the weight of food on your plate. Look out for karjalan piirakka – oval-shaped Karelian pastries containing rice and mashed potato, served hot with a mixture of finely chopped hard-boiled egg and butter for around €2. Also worth trying is kalakukko, a chunk of bread with pork and whitefish baked inside it – legendary around Kuopio but available almost everywhere. Expect to spend around €4 for a chunk big enough for two. Slightly cheaper but just as filling, lihapiirakka are envelopes of pastry filled with rice and meat – ask for them with mustard (sinappi) and/or ketchup (ketsuppi). Most train stations and the larger bus stations and supermarkets also have cafeterias proffering a selection of the above and other greasier nibbles.

Less exotically, the big burger franchises are widely found, as are the Grilli and Nakkikioski roadside fast-food stands turning out burgers, frankfurters and hot dogs for €2–3; they're always busiest when the pubs shut.

Finnish supermarkets – Sokos, K-Kaupat, Pukeva and Centrum are widespread names – are fairly standard affairs. In general, a substantial oval loaf of dark rye bread (ruisleipä) costs €1.75, ten karjalan piirakkas €2.50, a litre of milk €1, and a packet of biscuits around €2. A usually flavoursome option containing hunks of meat and vegetables, Finnish tinned soup (keitto) can be an excellent investment if you're self-catering.

Coffee (kahvi) is widely drunk – per capita, more than anywhere else in the world, in fact – and costs €1–1.50 per cup; in a baari or kahvila (bar or coffee shop) it's sometimes consumed with a pulla – a kind of doughy bun. It's normally drunk black, although milk is always available if you want it; you'll also commonly find espresso and cappuccino, although these are more expensive. Tea (tee) costs around €1, depending on where you are and whether you want to indulge in some exotic brew. In rural areas, though, drinking it is considered a bit effete. When ordering tea, it's a good idea to insist that the water is boiling before the teabag is added – and that the bag is left in for more than two seconds.

Lunch and dinner
If you're in a university town, the campus cafeteria or student mensa is the cheapest place to get a hot dish. Theoretically you have to be a student, but outside of Helsinki you are unlikely to be asked for ID. There's a choice of three meals: Kevytlounas (KL), the "light menu", which usually comprises soup and bread; Lounas (L), the "ordinary menu", which consists of a smallish fish or meat dish with dessert; and Herkkulounas (HL), the "delicious menu" – a substantial and usually meat-based plateful. All three come with bread and coffee, and each costs €2–3. Prices can be cut by half if you borrow a Finnish student ID card from a friendly diner. The busiest period is lunchtime (11.30am–12.30pm); later in the day (usually 4–6pm) many mensas offer price reductions. Most universities also have cafeterias where a small cup of coffee can cost as little as 45 cents.

If funds stretch to it, you should sample at least once a ravintola, or restaurant, offering a lunchtime buffet table (voileipäpöytä or seisova pöytä), which will be stacked with tasty traditional goodies that you can feast on to your heart's content for a set price of around €12. Less costly Finnish food can be found in a baari. These are designed for working people, generally close at 5pm or 6pm, and serve a range of Finnish dishes and snacks (and often the weaker beers; see "Drink"). A good day for traditional Finnish food is Thursday, when every baari in the country dishes up hernekeitto ja pannukakut, thick pea soup with black rye bread, followed by oven-baked pancakes with strawberry jam, and buttermilk to wash it down – all for around €6. You'll get much the same fare from a kahvila, though a few of these, especially in the big cities, fancy themselves as being fashionable and may charge a few euro extra.

Although ravintola and baaris are plentiful, they are often outnumbered by pizzerias. They're as varied in quality here as they are in any other country, but especially worthwhile for their lunch specials, when a set price (€6–8) buys a pizza, coffee and everything you can carry from the bread and salad bar. Many of the bigger pizza chains offer discounts for super-indulgence – such as a second pizza for half-price and a third for free if you can polish off the first two. Vegetarians are likely to become well acquainted with pizzerias – specific vegetarian restaurants are thin on the ground, even in major cities.
Basics

Juusto	Cheese
Kakku	Cake
Keitto	Soup
Keksit	Biscuits
Leipä	Bread
Maito	Milk
Makeiset	Sweets
Perunat	Potatoes
Piimä	Buttermilk
Piirakka	Pie
Riisi	Rice
Voi	Butter
Voileipä	Sandwich

Meat (lihaa)

Häränfilee	Fillet of beef
Hirvenliha	Elk
Jauheliha	Minced beef
Kana	Chicken
Kinkku	Ham
Lihapyörykat	Meatballs
Nauta	Beef
Paisti	Steak
Sianliha	Pork
Poro	Reindeer
Vasikanliha	Veal

Seafood (äyriäisiä) and fish (kala)

Ankerias	Eel
Graavilohi	Salted salmon
Hauki	Pike
Hummeri	Lobster
Katkaravut	Shrimp
Lohi	Salmon
Makrilli	Mackerel
Muikku	Small whitefish
Rapu	Crayfish
Sardiini	Sardine
Savustettu lohi	Smoked salmon
Savustettut silakat	Smoked Baltic herring
Siika	Large, slightly oily, white fish
Silakat	Baltic herring
Silli	Herring
Suolattu	Pickled herring
Taimen or forelli	Trout
Tonnikala	Tuna
Turska	Cod

Egg dishes (munaruoat)

Hillomunakas	Jam omelette
Hyydytetty muna	Poached egg
Juustomunakas	Cheese omelette
Keitetty muna	Boiled eggs
Kinkkumunakas	Ham omelette
Munakas	Omelette
Munakokkeli	Scrambled eggs
Paistettu muna	Fried egg
Pekonimunakas	Bacon omelette
Perunamunakas	Potato omelette
Sienimunakas	Mushroom omelette

Vegetables (vihannekset)

Herneet	Peas
Kaali	Cabbage
Kurkku	Cucumber
Maissintähkät	Corn on the cob
Paprika	Green pepper
Pavut	Beans
Peruna	Potato
Pinaatti	Spinach
Porkkana	Carrot
Sieni	Mushroom
Sipuli	Onion
Tilli	Dill
Tomaatti	Tomato

Fruit (hedelmä)

Appelsiini	Orange
Aprikoosi	Apricot
Banaani	Banana
Greippi	Grapefruit
Kirsikka	Cherries
Luumu	Plums
Mansikka	Strawberry
Meloni	Melon
Omena	Apple
Päärynä	Pear
Pähkinä	Nuts
Persikka	Peach
Raparperi	Rhubarb
Sitruuna	Lemon
Viinirypäle	Grapes

Sandwiches (voileipä)

Kappelivoileipä	Fried French bread topped with bacon and a fried egg
Muna-anjovisleipä	Dark bread with slices of hard-boiled egg, anchovy fillets and tomato
Oopperavoileipä	Fried French bread with a hamburger patty and egg
Sillivoileipä	Herring on dark bread, usually with egg and tomato

Finnish specialities

Kaalikääryleet	Cabbage rolls: cabbage leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice
Kaalipiirakka	Cabbage and minced meat
Karjalanpaisti	Karelian stew of beef and pork with onions
Kurpitsasalaatti	Pickled pumpkin served with meat dishes
Lammaskaali	Mutton and cabbage stew or soup
Lasimestarin silli	Pickled herring with spices, vinegar, carrot and onion
Lihakeitto	Soup made from meat, potatoes, carrots and onions
Lindströmin pihvi	Beefburger made with beetroot and served with a cream sauce
Lohilaatikko	Potato and salmon casserole
Lohipiirakka	Salmon pie
Makaroonilaatikko	Macaroni casserole with milk and egg sauce
Maksalaatikko	Baked liver purée with rice and raisins
Merimiespihvi	Casserole of potato slices and meat patties or minced meat
Piparjuuriliha	Boiled beef with horseradish sauce
Porkkanalaatikko	Casserole of mashed carrots and rice
Poronkäristys	Sautéed reindeer stew
Sianlihakastike	Gravy with slivers of pork
Silakkalaatikko	Casserole with alternating layers of potato, onion and Baltic herring, with an egg and milk sauce
Stroganoff	Beef with gherkins and onions, browned in a casserole and braised in a tomato and sour cream stock
Suutarinlohi	Marinated Baltic herring with onion and peppers
Tilliliha	Boiled veal flavoured with dill sauce
Venäläinen silli	Herring fillets with mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, beetroot, gherkins and onion
Wieninleike	Fried veal cutlet

Drinks

Appelsiinimehu	Orange juice
Gini	Gin
Kahvi	Coffee
Kivennäisvesi	Mineral water
Konjakki	Cognac
Limonaati	Lemonade
Olut	Beer
Tee	Tea
Tonic vesi	Tonic water
Vesi	Water
Viini	Wine
Viski	Whisky

Drink
Finland's alcohol laws are as bizarre and almost as repressive as those of Norway and Sweden, although unlike those countries, boozing is tackled enthusiastically, and is even regarded by some as an integral part of the national character. Some Finns, men in particular, often drink with the sole intention of getting paralytic; younger people these days are on the whole more inclined to regard the practice simply as an enjoyable social activity, though spend a few nights in any town and you're sure to witness your share of plastered, stumbling Finnish youth – boys and girls alike.

What to drink
Finnish spirits are much the same as you'd find in any country. Beer (olut), on the other hand, falls into three categories: "light beer" (I-Olut) – more like a soft drink; "medium-strength beer" (Keskiolut, III-Olut) – more perceptibly alcoholic and sold in many food shops and cafés; and "strong beer" (A-Olut or IV-Olut), which is on a par with the stronger international beers, and can only be bought at the ALKO shops and fully licensed (Grade A) restaurants and nightclubs.

The main – and cheapest – outlet for alcohol of any kind are the state-run ALKO shops (Mon– Thurs 10am–5pm, Fri 10am–6pm, Sat 9am–2pm). Even the smallest town will have one of these, and prices don't vary. In 2004, in an effort to ensure that Finns would buy their alcohol at home instead of cheaper places like Estonia, the government slashed the excise tax on hard liquor, resulting in a price decrease of up to 30 percent in ALKO shops. In these shops, strong beers like Lapin Kulta Export – an Arctic-originated mind blower – and the equally potent Karjala, Lahden A, Olvi Export, and Koff porter, cost around €1.30 for a 300ml bottle. Imported beers such as Heineken, Carlsberg and Becks go for €1.90 a bottle. As for spirits, Finlandia vodka and Jameson's Irish Whiskey are €16 and €23 respectively per 75cl bottle. There's also a very popular rough form of vodka called Koskenkorva, ideal for assessing the strength of your stomach lining, which costs €13 for 75cl. The best wine bargains are usually Hungarian or Bulgarian, and cost around €15 per bottle in a restaurant, though you can buy bottles in ALKO for under €5. ALKO's French wines range from €6.50 to €50 a bottle.

Where to drink
Continental-style brasseries or British-influenced pubs are the most pleasant places to have a drink. Frequented by both men and women of all ages, you're most likely to feel more at home in these familiar environments than in the smoky, generally all-male bars which proliferate in many of the small towns away from Helsinki, especially in the north – these charmless drinking dens are nothing more than places to get seriously hammered.

Most restaurants have a full licence, and some are actually frequented more for drinking than eating; it's these that we've listed under "Drinking" throughout the text. They're often also called bars or pubs by Finns simply for convenience. Just to add to the confusion, some so-called "pubs" are not licensed; neither are baari.

Along with ordinary restaurants, there are also dance restaurants (tanssiravintola). As the name suggests, these are places to dance rather than dine, although most do serve food as well as drink. They're popular with the over-40s, and before the advent of discos were the main places for people of opposite sex to meet. Even if you're under 40, dropping into one during the (usually early) evening sessions can be quite an eye-opener. Expect to pay an €3–5 admission charge.

Once you've found somewhere to drink, there's a fairly rigid set of customs to contend with. Sometimes you have to queue outside the most popular bars, since entry is permitted only if a seat is free – there's no standing. Only one drink per person is allowed on the table at any one time except in the case of porter (a stout which most Finns mix with regular beer). There's always either a doorman (portsari) – whom you must tip (around €1) on leaving – or a cloakroom into which you must check your coat on arrival (again around €1). Bars are usually open until midnight or 1am, though a handful may stay open till 2am or, in the case of discos and clubs, 4am. Last call is announced half an hour before the place shuts by a winking of the lights – the valomerkki.

Some bars and clubs have waitress/waiter service, whereby you order, and pay when your drinks are brought to you. A common order is iso tuoppi – a half-litre glass of draught beer, which costs €3–4 (up to €6 in some nightclubs). This might come slightly cheaper in self-service bars, where you select your tipple and queue up to pay at the till. Though saying "beer" and pointing to the tap will generally work, you might get a more friendly response by offering up Saisinko yhden oluen?, Finnish for "Might I have a pint, please?".

Wherever you buy alcohol, you'll have to be of legal age: at least 18 to buy beer and wine, and 20 or over to have a go at the spirits. ID will be checked if you look too young – or if the doorman's in a bad mood.
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