Recommended sports bar/pub Helsinki?

[turk96]

Anyone know what the best bars for watching hockey are in Helsinki? I'm staying downtown a bit to the Southeast, but looking around on Google maps, it seem almost all the sports bars are Irish or Aussie. And since I'm travelling to Finland from the US, I can't see hanging around a bar that is trying to create the atmosphere of another nation. The only exception I see is a place called Sports Academy. Is that a decent place? A bit futher away there's a place called Sportbar Toolo. Is that worth the trip? Or is there another good place to catch Liiga, KHL and/or NHL games? I'm a big craft beer fan, particularly local brews, if that makes a difference.

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[FiLe]

Sports Academy is a very safe pick. Perhaps we have people here who have their favorites, but it sure is decent enough. And they're bound to show hockey whenever there's some on, too. Might be a bit packed though if you're going on a night with a big game on. But if it's a regular season Liiga game, sure... can't go much wrong.

A night of some importance... shouldn't be an issue either, actually. Just pick any corner bar in that case. They're all bound to show the game.

 

[turk96]

Thanks for the tips.

Ideally, my hotel will have the games. But I'm not sure if it's that kind of hotel bar being it's a bit upscale.

I see some bars advertise the NHL on their schedules, but mostly the aforementioned expat-style pubs. Are NHL games shown pretty commonly in regular bars or is that more of a sports bar specialty? I was also surprised to see some pubs even showing NFL Football.

 

[CPFC]

Sports Academy is passable but a bit generic and the selection of beers is quite limited. The new Casino Sports Bar (http://www.casinohelsinki.fi/en/restaurants) is also worth checking. You need to present your passport and get your photo taken when you go inside the Casino.

If you want to sample local microbrews, I'd recommend Kaisla, near the Central Railway Station (http://www.oluthuone.fi/in-english/beerhouses/en-kaisla/) or Bryggeri, near the Senate Square (http://bryggeri.fi/en/). These places won't show any sports, but they have an excellent selection of beers.

 

[1Gold Standard]

It's been a few years since I've been to Helsinki, but when I was there I always went to an Irish pub called Molly Malone's. not far from the central railway station.

 

[turk96]

That casino sounds interesting, but where is it? And why do they need my passport and photo taken? Not that I really care much, but seems a bit strange. Is that some gambling law in Finland? And can I bet on the games?

I definitely want to try the local brews. But no sports at all? I am in Stockholm a few days later with the best beer bar in the world, I'm told. So, I can make it without that much variety in Helsinki.

Not sure about Molly Malone's...going to Finland to take in the Finnish culture, not the Irish. But if they show American football, maybe...

 

[FiLe]

To be honest, I don't think you should avert a visit simply based on what "theme" the pub carries, since it's the clientele who make the culture, not the walls. And in all of those places, it will be all Finnish. If you wish to experience a hockey game surrounded by local people, don't let the name of the place stop you. The chances of walking into crowd of micks cheering on a rugby game is nonexistent as long as you don't take a wrong turn somewhere over the Atlantic.

Besides, the only discernable difference between an "Irish" pub and a typical Finnish one is that they carry Guinness alongside the local brews, at least up to my experience. Some cheap paraphernalia on the walls never made me think I was suddenly in Dublin and not in Helsinki.

 

[1Gold Standard]

To be honest, I don't think you should avert a visit simply based on what "theme" the pub carries, since it's the clientele who make the culture, not the walls. And in all of those places, it will be all Finnish. If you wish to experience a hockey game surrounded by local people, don't let the name of the place stop you. The chances of walking into crowd of micks cheering on a rugby game is nonexistent as long as you don't take a wrong turn somewhere over the Atlantic.

Besides, the only discernable difference between an "Irish" pub and a typical Finnish one is that they carry Guinness alongside the local brews, at least up to my experience. Some cheap paraphernalia on the wall never made me think I was suddenly in Dublin and not in Helsinki.

That was precisely going to be my response...

 

[turk96]

Maybe so. But check out their websites. Lots of soccer games going on. And "bangers and mash". I get that in America. I'd rather be in a scrub Finnish bar than some theme bar. And if they serve Guinness, that's one less tap for the local beers. Guinness sucks.

Again, I may want to watch some American football.

 

[FiLe]

Websites schmebsites. In reality, those places are perhaps 5% Irish and 95% Finnish. Sure, all the adverts emphasize the Irish part, but when you walk into one, it's the same sight as in any of those "scrub Finnish bars". Sullen, middle-aged men staring into their pints of Koff and Karjala, perhaps breaking into a constipated cheer when Koivu scores.

 

[turk96]

I don't know what those 'K's mean. Two are beers, I suppose. The other one must be a hockey team.

I just mean Irish Pubs are everywhere. We have them all over the United States. I assure you, 95% of the cliental here is not Irish, either. I've seen the UK, I vacationed there. I don't want to see it in Finland. I only have three days there, and two of them are hockey games. So, I want to see pubs without ex-pat themes. I apologize if I offended a Canadian.

Wait...Saku Koivu? He's still tying on skates?

 

[1Gold Standard]

I don't know what those 'K's mean. Two are beers, I suppose. The other one must be a hockey team.

I just mean Irish Pubs are everywhere. We have them all over the United States. I assure you, 95% of the cliental here is not Irish, either. I've seen the UK, I vacationed there. I don't want to see it in Finland. I only have three days there, and two of them are hockey games. So, I want to see pubs without ex-pat themes. I apologize if I offended a Canadian.

you didn't offend me pal... listen, I lived for 7 years the expat lifestyle in St. Petersburg, Russia and Moscow...when I travel I soak up everything a place has to offer, including that which is familiar and that which is not so familiar...

 

[turk96]

Well, if it's any consolation, I was in Toronto last year. And I had a great time. My pic is me kissing the Cup wearing my Kovalchuk SKA jersey in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Saw a great Marlies game as well.

But, yeah, an Irish pub in Helsinki sounds lazy. And not what I'm looking for.

I wish I could see hockey in Russia, but not while the political situation is what it is. I am doing hockey tourism. Czech Republic a few months ago and now Finland and Sweden.

 

[FiLe]

Wait...Saku Koivu? He's still tying on skates?

Mikko. In Minnesota. The other Ks are indeed two of the largest beer labels in Finland.

What I was trying to say, I suppose, is that even if a bar around here advertises itself as "Irish" or whatever, it's still predominantly Finnish. Whatever experience you have from Irish theme pubs in the USA, don't let it fool you. I swear, if you're taken to a ten pubs in Helsinki with a blindfold on (naturally so that it gets removed once you're inside) and one of them is supposed to be themed in "Irish" manner, you couldn't tell which one it is.

 

[QnebO]

I visited sports bar that had Siim Liiviks and other hifk players signatures on their wall and they showed hockey from screens. Pretty close to train station. Can any local recall the name of that place from that description? That was nice place IMO. Prefer more that kind of places over sports academy.

 

[CPFC]

That casino sounds interesting, but where is it? And why do they need my passport and photo taken? Not that I really care much, but seems a bit strange. Is that some gambling law in Finland? And can I bet on the games?

The Casino is just across the Central Railway Station's square. The passport and photo thing is probably just an anti-fraud measure and takes less than a minute. You can bet on sports in pretty much every kiosk or newsstand, but I'm not sure about the casino, due to silly monopoly laws on sports betting.

They seem to show NFL as well, here's the schedule: http://www.casinohelsinki.fi/tapahtumat/sportsbar

 

[turk96]

That sounds great. I didn't realize sports betting was so prevalent in Finland. Putting a few euros on a game is a great way to keep you interested. And that Casino has a pretty nice schedule of events. Two of my three days there I will be attending games (Jokerit first, then HIFK), but I wanted to find someplace to hang out the off day and before and after the games.

 

[CPFC]

That sounds great. I didn't realize sports betting was so prevalent in Finland. Putting a few euros on a game is a great way to keep you interested.

Yeah, betting is a pretty big business in Finland, but unfortunately you can't bet on the games directly at the Casino, due to asinine laws on gambling. You can place bets at almost every grocery store, but not at the casino.

However, feel free to throw a few coins to the slot machines or table games, Helsinki Casino is the only casino in the world where all profits are donated to charity. And the pub that I mentioned earlier, Kaisla (no sports, but arguably the greatest selection of beers in Finland), is literally just around the corner, less than 50 meters away.

 

[Finnpin]

K3 Lounge and Sports bar opens 31st October in Kallio District. That area definately gives you "Finnish experience."

http://k3lounge.fi/
https://www.facebook.com/loungek3

They seem to be having KHL, Liiga, NFL, Soccer, F1 in tv-schedule.

The bar has also 2 boxing punching bags

 

[turk96]

That sounds like a plan. Place some bets and hit the casino and/or sports bars to watch games. That's very cool that the table play goes to charities. Then go to the beer bar late night after the games end. I won't be there until the 11th of Nov., so that new bar will also be open by then.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[QnebO]

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/

Visit Helsinki might be good site to read.

If you are interested visiting Sauna, here is some Sauna business that has been based in 1920's:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kotiharjun-Sauna-Oy/150247338375241

Saunas are big part of Finnish cultural tradition. Kotiharju has Saunas that are warmed by burning wood. Wood saunas are the only "real" saunas. They give different löyly to electric or any other Sauna. You can just go to "public" Sauna or order Private Sauna.
http://www.kotiharjunsauna.fi/hinnasto/

 

[turk96]

Yes, I've read that saunas are a huge part of Finnish culture. Personally, I'd much prefer a spa treatment with a hot tub or massage. In Prague, I actually bathed in a hot tub of beer (well, beer ingredients) while drinking fresh beer from a tap followed by a massage. Maybe I'll give the sauna a try just to "do as the Romans do". But, this is not the way I would want to watch a hockey game (at Hartwall Arena):