Wine and Dine at the World's Smallest Restaurant in Finland

It might be tiny, but the world’s smallest restaurant, Kuappi, has a big appeal. The two enthusiastic entrepreneurs behind it, Sari Ruotsalainen and Annukka Pirinen, are happy the little yellow restaurant has proven to be a popular spot for locals and tourists alike: “There are many people from other Finnish cities and all over the world coming here and wanting to see the world’s smallest restaurant from inside. We are glad to tell our customers about Kuappi and also take them inside to take photographs,” they sum up.

Kuappi, appointed as the world’s smallest restaurant by the Guinness World Records, is located about an hour’s drive from the Savonia region’s charming capital city of Kuopio. The restaurant reflects the quirky sense of humour the whole region is known for: who else could have thought of opening a restaurant in a small and yellow shed, and name it Kuappi, which means The Closet?

The relaxed atmosphere reflects on Kuappi’s staff’s work ethics. “Working at Kuappi is easygoing,” says the waitress Käpsy Dahl. “I always have time to chat with the customers and tell about Kuappi’s history.”

Although the dining room takes up less than half of the shed’s eight-square-meter space, the bar is stocked with mini bottles – for practical reasons. Apart from the dining area with a table and two chairs, Kuappi also has a bathroom, a tiny kitchen and a small terrace, which has room for another two guests when the weather permits.

Food in Kuappi is served from the neighbouring restaurant Olutmestari (“Beer Master”), and a pre-booking, which must be done two days in advance, is essential. Olutmestari is located in a beautiful light blue wooden house, the former Customs House, dating from the 1890s. The restaurants’ menu includes international classics from snails to burgers as well as Finnish specialities such as salmon soup, grilled local fish or “The Hunter’s Bread”, a fried bread with a mushroom sauce topping. Kuappi, like its big brother Olutmestari, is only open to the public during the summer season. But the restaurant’s doors are occasionally opened during winter time as well.