Cafe Carusel — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

Ordered a Pizza Margharita (€14).

Pros: Price, size (very filling), looks good Cons: Taste, texture, cheap ingredients

They say a pizza margharita is the benchmark pizza of a restaurant to see if the cook is any good. At a venue like this i figured a margharita would be a solid 4/5.

Unfortunately no. Carusel seems to use the same dodgy and cheap cheese as any kebab pizza place in Helsinki does. The cheese seems industrial (is not elastic at all) and doesnt taste like cheese (or anything, to be frank. Id call this stuff Matrix Cheese).

They put the mozzarella cheese on the pizza AFTER the oven. That stuff is cold! And weird in texture. So this kind of a hybrid between a pizza and a mozzarella salad (with pesto sauce, why?).

If Carusel went to the nearby corner store and bought some proper Valio Sinileima cheese and put the mozzarella on before the oven, i'd say they'd have a 4/5 pizza here. In its current state: looks great but looks deceive you. Instragram food,...

Kind of an institution in Kaivopuisto. You either go to Ursula or here when you’re enjoying the park. We’ve been coming here more as a family because of the better accessibility Carusel has for my grandparents who enjoy the view the terrace offers. I absolutely recommend their terrace which faces the sea. The space feels very open and even at busier times, I’ve never had issues hearing my dining companions.

For my most recent visit, I had a large order and the cashier girl forgot several items. I had to go back and request for these but overall it wasn’t a huge hassle. The food is always good to acceptable and coffee is ok. This time their salmon quiche and rhubarb pie were phenomenal. The salads were ok. The pizzas fell short and the buns were standard...

This place is a great stop by. Their menu changes from time to time, so be aware of that, but for the most part, between my 4 year old and my $$picky husband, we all could find something to nosh here without breaking the bank. This is a cafeteria-style approach, so you get in line with a tray and pick out the foods as you walk along the counter. There's a variety, but everything except for specialized drinks, is available to just take right away. At the register you can order specialized drinks, the staff are trained baristas. The atmosphere here is very nice. Kid friendly (like most Finnish venues). The views open up to the Bay. There is also outdoor seating. Really nice place to relax. They have restrooms as well. Staff is friendly and...