Restaurant Elm: Helsinki’s cosy Mediterranean escape

By Ndéla Faye | Photos: Sofia Kulianu

Inside a lovingly restored 19th century wooden villa, diners can enjoy a true gem in Helsinki’s dining scene: a restaurant serving authentic and honest food in a setting
that feels both extraordinary and entirely familiar.

Elm’s ambition is disarmingly simple: to serve reliable, no-fuss and delicious food in a relaxed setting. Behind the restaurant are entrepreneurs Albert Franch Sunyer, Luka Balać and Carlos Henriques. The trio are also known for Helsinki’s pioneering restaurant Nolla and its younger sibling Nolita. While Nolla has gained international recognition for its zero-waste philosophy, Elm takes a deliberately more relaxed approach. The atmosphere is casual, the menu straightforward and the experience designed to feel effortless.

Photo: Emma Ranne

Mediterranean roots, Nordic ingredients

Elm has positioned itself as something of a cosy living room: a place where friends and families gather and lively conversation becomes part of the restaurant’s warm atmosphere. The cooking draws heavily on the Mediterranean traditions that the founders grew up with, blending Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian influences. Olives, lemons and other flavours typical of Southern European cuisine bring brightness and depth to the dishes.

Restaurant Elm: Helsinki’s cosy Mediterranean escape

While Finnish seasonal vegetables and produce from local farmers form the foundation of the menu, the team’s strong ties to Portugal, Serbia and Catalonia have also allowed them to build a network of dedicated European farmers who share their values. “We source our produce within Europe and follow the European growing season. Anything we can source locally, we get from as close to the restaurant as possible,” Henriques explains.

That philosophy is reflected in the small details of the menu, which changes weekly. Grilled fish and octopus, seasonal vegetables, hearty salads and pasta dishes regularly feature on the menu. So too does the restaurant’s much-loved French toast, which briefly disappeared from the menu before returning quickly by popular demand.

Restaurant Elm: Helsinki’s cosy Mediterranean escape

A local favourite

Henriques was determined that Elm would be somewhere people can return to regularly – not only for special occasions, but for an ordinary Tuesday lunch, a glass of wine or a spontaneous dinner with friends. “We wanted to create a place where people always feel welcome; a restaurant that people can count on. For us, hospitality means genuine encounters and interactions,” he says.

This sense of reliability is reflected in Elm’s daily rhythm: the restaurant is open six days a week throughout the year, closing only on Sundays and during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Elm founders (from left to right) Luka Balać, Carlos Hernandes and Albert Franch Sunyer.

Just as important as the food is Elm’s role in the neighbourhood. From the windows on one side, the view stretches across the leafy slopes of Kaivopuisto, one of the city’s most beloved parks, where locals stroll towards the seafront or gather on the grass on summer evenings. On the other side, views of Helsinki’s bustling city centre and its buildings unfold in their historic grandeur.

Photo: Emma Ranne

The restaurant is located on the first-floor corner of Puistokatu 4, a building that serves as a hub for ecological research, cultural work and dialogue on sustainable futures. Elm’s own approach to sustainability fits naturally within that framework.

In the summer months, tables spill out onto the terrace, where the park’s greenery and the villa’s wooden façade create the feeling of being far from the centre of the capital, even though you are only minutes away.

Elm’s success lies in how naturally its different elements come together: thoughtful cooking, neighbourhood warmth and its location in a historic villa between park and city. The restaurant has created something surprisingly rare – a place that is both special and effortlessly part of everyday life, making it easy to see why so many diners return again and again.

Restaurant Elm: Helsinki’s cosy Mediterranean escape