A Local Sommelier's Guide to the Best Wine Bars in Helsinki

Open until 2am and a favourite with off-duty sommeliers and chefs, BasBas is an intimate restaurant and wine bar with vintage decor, candles in wine bottles and a buzzing atmosphere. Twenty minutes’ walk from the city centre, in Tehtaankatu, it serves natural wine produced without chemicals or additives. “Natural wines are a little different from classic wines, so it’s important to drink it somewhere that has a really good reputation for choosing wine, like BasBas,” says Lehtonen. “They also have one of the best chefs in Finland working there, so it’s good to order small plates of finger food to go with your wine. On Sunday especially, you’ll see lots of people from other restaurants here, eating and drinking wine.”

“This spot is very interesting as it’s not common to have a bakery that is also a wine bar. You can start your morning with freshly baked bread and continue with wine – it’s an awesome business idea!” says Lehtonen. Located in a former dentist’s surgery in the bohemian Kallio district, Way Bakery opened in 2018 and is renowned for its delicious sourdough bread and all-day breakfast plates. After 5pm, it becomes a natural wine bar and serves a small dinner menu. “They also run a wine importing company so the wine they serve is quite unique and they offer bottles you won’t find anywhere else,” Lehtonen adds. “I’d definitely recommend walking around Kallio while you’re there, too. It’s one of the best-known suburbs in Helsinki and is a really lively, popular place with lots of parks and open-air events.”

“This is a Michelin-starred restaurant,” says Lehtonen, “so it’s not cheap. But there’s a great terrace where you can just go and have a glass of wine. It’s also quite expensive, but the view over Helsinki is stunning.” Established in 1952, the sleek bar, on the 10th floor of the Palace hotel, offers mainly wines from classic regions and vintages, and is one of the only places in Finland to allow cigar smoking on the balcony. “It’s a stylish, beautiful place, and their sommeliers are very talented,” says Lehtonen. “If you have extra money in your pocket, I’d recommend the old bordeaux and burgundy vintages, which you don’t normally get in Finland.”

Across the road from Helsinki’s National Opera House, Carelia is a contemporary French brasserie and wine bar established in 1995 on the site of an old pharmacy. The restaurant also has its own wine-importing company so serves an impressive array of quality wines from independent family-owned wineries. “You can get a really decent glass of wine for €8, or you can spend €20 if you want,” says Lehtonen. “It has a really great wine list, though, especially when it comes to burgundy wines. It is best known for those.”

“If you like French wine, I would really recommend this place,” says Lehtonen. “It has almost 200 wines on the list and they are nearly all French. The sommelier is always looking for wines that are less well-known, so it’s a great place to try something from different regions.” This elegant French bistro will make you feel as if you’re dining in Paris. Pastis also has a small bar for drinks, a distinctive wine attic, rather than a cellar, and a pretty, flower-filled terrace in summer. “It’s a good place to go for a glass of wine if you’re by yourself. It has a high bar you can sit at and chat to the sommeliers working behind it. They’re really nice people here.”

In the heart of the city centre, on Kalevankatu, Vin Vin is a super-stylish wine bar popular with after-work drinkers who love its plush red-velvet seats, dramatic black walls and luxe art-deco styling. Serving mainly organic wines from small producers, Vin Vin also runs its own importing company so can offer rare and unusual wines at reasonable prices. “Each week it opens really nice bottles at good price points so you can try new wines by the glass,” says Lehtonen. “It has about 40 wines by the glass, and the sommelier is a very talented guy. Wine bars are quite new here and this is very good, so it’s always busy, but you can pop in any time.”

Head to the trendy suburb of Kallio if you have something to celebrate, where Wino is the city’s best place to treat yourself to a glass of champagne. “It has a lot of natural and organic wine but also a huge selection of champagnes,” says Lehtonen. “The sommelier, Toni Aikasalo, is very knowledgeable about champagnes especially, so I’d recommend speaking to him.” The menu features weekly Old World wine specials and a limited menu of great dishes. “It only has 20 or 30 seats, so it’s always packed and can be hard to get in,” Lehtonen says. “I’d recommend booking a table or going as soon as it opens.”

“This is a small piece of Italy in the middle of Helsinki,” says Lehtonen. Bricco’s owners fell in love with Tuscany on regular holidays to Italy and began importing wines from the region. Eventually they opened this wine bar, with its grand bay window, where they could serve them. “There’s a lot of sangiovese and chianti classico, but also great wine from super-small producers and family-owned wineries. They often host wine tastings.” Go hungry so you can indulge in Bricco’s delicious selection of antipasto and Italian cheeses as you sip.