Outdoor Dining Area Cafés in Finland

Red brick walls, high ceilings, and the steady hum of a working roaster next door define this specialty café inside a former horse stable. Voted Finland’s best café in 2018 and 2020, and Lehmus has won best roastery three times. Hand-pour options include V60 and AeroPress; cakes change weekly.

Roastery and café in the Malski cultural centre, revitalizing a former brewery from 1912. Joonas Reinikainen founded Kahiwa after visiting a coffee farm near his grandparents’ home in Kenya; F1 driver Valtteri Bottas joined as co-owner in 2020. Saturday brunch and house-baked bread complete the offer.

In a quiet neighbourhood, this small café functions as a roasting operation and a community hub. Founder Olli built his first roaster with a local metalsmith; barista Anna earned recognition as a young coffee influencer. Some blend is named after streets in Kirjala, where the roastery started.

Finland’s oldest bakery is a proper institution with table service and chandeliers. It was opened by Fredrik Ekberg as a French-Russian confectionery in 1852 and is now run by descendant Otto Ekberg. The Napoleon cake follows an unchanged recipe; the Alexander Torte honours Czar Alexander I.

Wicker chairs line the riverfront terrace of a yellow building from 1829, where baristas pull espresso from house-roasted beans. The family-owned roastery Turun Kahvipaahtimo has won Finland’s Barista of the Year six times. The homemade cakes and quiches change every day.

Cinnamon buns stack high in the display of this small café in the Art Nouveau district of Ullanlinna. The Romanian couple Cosmin and Cristina Tatosian bake everything in-house and pull espresso from top European roasters. The terrace catches afternoon sun by the park.

Miriam Laitinen has baked for Jyväskylä since 2011 and remains a rarity with her completely gluten-free patisserie. The cakes are so good most guests never notice the difference. Velvet sofa booths, bentwood chairs and table service complete the European-inspired setting.

Single-origin beans from Helsinki’s Good Life roastery, ranking among the world’s top five percent, define this bohemian coffee bar. Pastries arrive from quality bakeries across the city, including croissants from Greenbake. All-day breakfast, seven days a week.

In 2018, four friends from fine-dining restaurant Grön, Good Life Coffee, and Let Me Wine joined forces for a common project: a bakery in a former dentist’s practice where sourdough is proofed for 48 hours. Not only the bread but also their reinvented cinnamon buns create queues.

This family-owned café lies at the base of an observation tower from 1929 on the world’s largest gravel ridge. It is famous for its sugar-dusted doughnuts (munkki), baked from a recipe developed in the 1980s. Gluten-free versions are available; coffee from Kahwe Roastery.

Ornate ceilings, stained glass, and a fresco by Vilho Sjöström fill this 200-year-old Art Nouveau space on the Esplanade. This flagship café, run by Robert Paulig’s children, houses a gelato factory and a bakery known for its cinnamon rolls. A grand piano invites spontaneous performances.

Behind a climbing honey rose, a falu-red cottage from 1866 houses one of Mariehamn’s most beloved cafés. Bagarstugan bakes daily: the traditional Åland pancakes with prune cream, goat cheese pies, and layer cakes. Inside, the original wood-fired oven remains as a reminder of the building’s past as a bakehouse.

Bright and modern, this all-day spot above the Arctic Circle runs from lunch through päiväkahvi (afternoon coffee) until late-night cocktails. Opened in 2012, it shares ownership with Gustav Kitchen & Bar. Sweet and savory waffles (topped with salmon or goat cheese, for example) are the signature.

The red wooden cottage sits on the shore of Taivallahti Bay, near the Sibelius Monument. Built in 1887 as a fishnet shed for the Paulig coffee family, it became a café in 2002 and won Best Café in Helsinki in 2014. Cinnamon buns, blueberry pie, and sausages grilled over an open fire.

Stone walls and mismatched antique furniture fill the rooms of this former Russian officers’ residence within the fortress ramparts. Kahvila Majurska (“the major’s café”) has baked its signature curd, apple, and berry tarts on-site since 1986. The summer veranda overlooks the lake.

The 1925 Art Deco building in Töölö houses a roastery with Peruvian roots and a gelato lab that has won multiple national competitions. Head roaster Iván develops both the coffee profiles and the frozen flavors. Try the coffee gelato: it captures both crafts in one scoop.

Old apple trees shade the garden around a restored 1700s cottage in the wooden old town of Ekenäs. Four generations of one family bake fruit cakes and savoury pies, tend the grounds, and serve guests. Open seasonally: in summer (Troubadours perform on Tuesdays) and during Advent (with a well-stocked shop).

This seasonal café occupies a restored dairy barn from the 1850s on the historic Kokko homestead in Finland’s Lakeland. Owners Juhani and Maija bake seasonal pies and waffles using the farm’s own rhubarb and wild berries. The Jäähuone gallery hosts concerts. Open late June to mid-August.

The Fazer café, established by Karl Fazer in 1891 as a French-Russian confectionery, marks the starting point of Finland’s most famous chocolate company. Parts of the original interior remain; confectioners still work behind glass. The chocolate cake remains a house signature.

Airi Kallio opened this tea room in a historic timber building in 1983. Her sons now run the show: Otto-Ville bakes everything on-site, including Runeberg tarts, while Leo-Matti blends over 30 teas by hand. A visit pairs well with a wander through Old Porvoo, an easy day trip from Helsinki.