2 Amazing Black Owned Restaurants in Helsinki, Finland
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I feel like Stockholm really overshadows the other Nordic capitals, but yanno Helsinki isn’t too shabby. I do think it has the least amount of things to do (no shade), but I found the people in Finland to be the most welcoming (or maybe curious) towards clearly foreign tourists. In my quest of dining at a few Black owned restaurants in Helsinki, both the restaurant staff and other diners struck up a mini conversation, were really friendly, and overall left a good impression on me from a sociable standpoint.
I can’t necessarily say the same for Stockholm (oop-no shade).
Helsinki was our first destination in a nearly 3 week trip throughout Finland (and Estonia), Norway, and Sweden, and the thing I was dreading the most was the potential lack of flavor. I mean….there’s probably a reason you don’t see these cuisines often overseas. NO SHADE. Y’all make great cinnamon buns. Thankfully, my fears were settled because I did find some solid restaurants serving local cuisines, buuut….at the same time I did miss seasoning.
Thankfully, I know which restaurants would have my back.
Black Owned Restaurants in Helsinki
For some reason, I always get the same kind of boring troll comments (usually from fake emails because my haters are also cowards unfortunately) complaining about me flying halfway across the world “just” to eat at a Black owned establishment.
To which I say…yes? And??
I’m so grateful to be in a position to do so. Simple as that. But since it’s my blog post, I also want to point out that there are literally two Black owned restaurants in Helsinki on this list. Trust me, I ate a lot of traditional Finnish food too.
And how small-minded to think Finnish people don’t also want diversity in their restaurant scene. Who do you think are the regular customers for these delicious Black owned restaurants in Helsinki? They wanna mix up their palates too!
So if you want to bypass the tourist loop of eateries, here are two great Black owned restaurants in Helsinki to add to your itinerary.
Nomad Food & Wine Helsinki
- address: Lönnrotinkatu 18, 00120 Helsinki, Finland
- hours: 11am-10:30pm weekdays, Sat 4pm-10:30pm, Sun closed
I’m starting with Nomad Food & Wine because it was, hands down, the BEST restaurant I ate at across all four countries I visited on this trip. Hands down. We unfortunately (for us) ate here on our last night in Helsinki. Unfortunately because we wanted to go back and order more. It’s in a pretty cool location, a walkable distance from the main tourist waterfront area, but on a street with more local boutiques, thrift shops, other restaurants, and cafes.
The restaurant feels spacious with great decor. Since it was Wednesday and a quieter night (we showed up a bit later than usual Nordic dinner times), we were seated by the window with a view of the street as the midnight sun lowered in the sky. The owner doubled as the waiter, and he walked us through the menu offering great suggestions and recommendations.
The menu is a unique blend of West African dishes made with local Nordic ingredients. There is also some Italian influence in there too, so the menu was a welcome surprise. We ordered a meat jollof rice (it’s made for 2 people), an incredible (cannot stress this enough) ceviche, and a sorbet dessert to split. We were scrapinggg the plates clean.
A Finnish couple at the table next to us came over for a brief chat because Nomad is their favorite nice restaurant in the city, but they loved their usual order so much they’ve never ordered anything else hahah. So they asked about the items we ordered and we had a nice chat over our desserts (and their wine). The owner also stopped by the table for a quick chat (he was also surprised to see someone willingly choose to visit Helsinki for no reason other than curiosity lol) and he was super kind and really funny.
If you take one thing from this blog post, it’s that Nomad NEEDS to be on your Helsinki itinerary. Everything was fingerlicking good, on top of having actual flavor and seasoning and spices which I hadn’t come across in the city for the last few days. One of the best Black owned restaurants in Helsinki and one of the best restaurants in Helsinki PERIOD.
Omo Omo Café & Restaurant
- address: Runeberginkatu 54 A, 00260 Helsinki, Finland
- hours: 10am-6pm weekdays, Fri 10am-10pm, Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 12pm-8pm
Omo Omo is more of a cafe than like a full menu restaurant – that said, they do have food so we decided to stop in for a midday cuppa and lunch. Their drinks – absolutely fantastic. They have a full caffeinated menu as well as mocktails when you just want a fun bevvie.
It’s such a cute neighborhood spot with only a handful of tables. There were two friends catching up and gossiping about something seemingly super juicy, but alas my Spanish is not yet advanced enough to be able to follow their conversation. Speaking of, the other customers at the cafe were a diverse mix of nationalities and ethnicities, maybe university students, and it’s just a reminder how Black owned restaurants in Helsinki (and anywhere really) are a great place to meet new people and find community in cities where there’s not a lot of racial diversity.
Anyways, they have a pretty standard food menu for cafe, salads and sandwiches and whatnot. They also do daily specials, so when I went they had a kind of bean dish with plantains! I really enjoyed tuna salad, it was super fresh that really hit the spot on the warm summer day. Meanwhile my boyfriend ordered the special and…eh he said the plantains were good but the bean part was skippable.
Considering we heard a microwave running in the back, we’re assuming it was from a bag. It is what it is, but since my meal was really good, I’d still recommend them with the caveat to maybe skip their “hot” dish items for now? Sure it could’ve been a one-off, but just wanted to point that out. Doesn’t mean they’re still aren’t one of the best Black owned restaurants in Helsinki!
Aside from that, I really enjoyed the decor and the overall vibe of the cafe. The staff member working (she might be the owner?) was sooo sweet and friendly, and gave some great recommendations for things to do in Helsinki. Though we went for lunch, they are open pretty late (for Helsinki) on the weekends so I wonder if they have events or do something special for nighttime. If you visit then, let me know!
Conclusion
And…yeah, that’s pretty much it for Black owned restaurants in Helsinki. Considering the city’s demographic, I’m not necessarily surprised. It makes sense hahah. But hey, that’s two more Black owned restaurants in Helsinki than I was initially expecting! We really are out here!!
There are also a few more to patron nearby, mostly African cuisine I believe, but they’re out of Helsinki’s main city area. Unfortunately I wasn’t in town long enough to make it out that far, but next time I’m in the area I’ll definitely hit up more Black owned restaurants in Helsinki’s suburbs!
What do you think of this list? Do you know of any other incredible Black owned restaurants in Helsinki we the people should know about? Let me know in the comments below! And if you’re still traveling in the area, be sure to check out my post on Black owned restaurants in Oslo, Norway as well!
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