Are you up for a drink? Maybe a beer or a whiskey? Then head to Pikkulintu in Eastern Helsinki. The…read moresmall pub in Puotila is know all around Helsinki for its excellent beer and whiskey selection. Choose one out of 14 beers on tap. Like e.g. the famous and hard to get Siperia Imperial Stout brewed in Tampere. Or try one of their over 100 different whiskeys. Let the bartender help you with your choice since you most likely will loose the overview pretty fast. You can also go for one of their beer or whiskey tastings. For more information check out their website or give them a call. Pikkulintu is by the way one of the very few independent pubs in Helsinki that are not part of any of the big retail and restaurant chains.

A very local bar, easy to find with a wide range of beers and whiskey! It's about a 15 minutes…read moremetro ride on the orange line from the city centre. Excellent beer! Friendly staff!

Hmm. Came highly recommended, but left disappointed with the beer selection here. Like one bottled…read moreIPA and not good. Street food was the highlight on this visit :/

I just had a cup of coffee and sat outside for a bit. The idea of the place is cool, with a mini…read morelibrary in the back room. The bar area is overcrowded with stuff, so it was not particularly appealing to even bother looking at the beer selection. Bartender was nice, and I like the idea of having coffee available for 2€ with refills, self service. Yet another thing I wish we had in NYC but would get abused. Also, great location to sit outside on a sunny Saturday and watch the park, etc.

Sivukirjasto is a pretty basic bar/pub, where it's easy to go if you want to have a beer/coffee…read moreand just hang out for a while. I don't really drink beer so I can't say anything about that, but none of my beer drinking friends have had any complaints. However, oh my god, whatever you do, DO NOT drink the tap wine! It tastes like windshield washer fluid and will effectively harm your will to live. And do not be fooled by the bar woman's assurance that it's a "light Italian white whine that's perfect for socializing" because that it is not, unless you want to socialize with self-harm. But, stay away from the tap wine and you'll be totally alright here.

I found Sköne with my sister while looking for a nice spot for a drink by the sea in the center of…read moreHelsinki. This summer, most of the trendy sea side places seem to be on the other side of town (Hernesaari), but this one has all the charm. The place is cosy and relaxed, the bar tender was funny and helpful (we even saw him serving tables which seems to be unheard of in Finland!!), and the view over the old harbour with wooden schooners was pretty by the sunset. The place had also selected their drinks carefully to display a great variety of Finnish specialties. To our surprise, they even serve Sandels and Iisalmi IPA beers on tap! For those who don't know, they come from a Finnish owned brewery from the Savo-region - worth tasting!

If you don't have any idea where to go for a round of pool then check out Baribal. This is probably…read moreone of the most original billiards places you can find in Helsinki. It's all about the games. You find ten pool and also three snooker tables. They also have darts and even table icehockey. A table is 7 € during the day and 11,50 € in the evening. Of course they have drinks as well. And that is bascially all you have to know about Baribal. It's a great place. Go check it out!