One of Finland's largest beer selections in a corner building by Central Station, where the chalkboards run long and the volume stays sensible.
Oluthuone Kaisla fills a corner building at Vilhonkatu 4, half a block from Helsinki Central Station, with one of Finland's largest beer selections. The official count says 30 taps; recent Google reviewers count 39, plus about 200 bottles and cans.
BeerAdvocate regulars treat it as settled law. If you are looking for the best pub in central Helsinki, this is it, hands down, as one long standing review puts it.
Who would hate it? Cocktail drinkers and anyone chasing a scene. Kaisla runs at conversation volume even late, by design.
Two entrances feed two separate bars under big chalkboards listing every draught and bottle. A living room style back section keeps sofas and board games, per BeerAdvocate reviewers, and a small terrace opens in summer.
Work the Finnish end of the taps: Malmgård's Huvila ESB, Plevna's rye IPA from Tampere, and traditional sahti when it appears. Happy hour puts a pint under 7 euros, which one Google reviewer called one of the best pints in Finland at that price.
The Belgian and Czech staples, Boon Kriek to Budvar, cover the rest of the board.
Students share the long tables with the after work crowd, and a Tuesday evening still runs full but not packed, per BeerAdvocate. The volume stays sensible even late into the night, as the house copy promises, and weekends peak with the station traffic.