Cella — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

I really like this traditional Finnish restaurant / bar. Old time vibes mixed with sturdy service and delicious Finnish food. I strongly recommend to visit here.

Cella is a wind from the past which can be seen from many things inside this establishment. Sturdy service is one of those really "enjoyable" traditional truly Finnish things you might have heard before. People working here are in generally a bit older so don't expect to find younger trendy restaurants atmosphere here. Especially I would like to point out that older lady who's an iron fist which comes to service and experience. She might not be the fastest runner but she really knows her business and customers too. Another wind from the past I would say.

Price segment of this venue is a tad higher than average but not too high. The ongoing gentrification of this worker habitat city area has affected to the prices of everything and this restaurant isn't an exception among them. Older restaurants are struggling to survive from this ongoing trend. Everything is getting more expensive.

Sometimes this place is a bit crowded and it's a mark that they're doing things right. And this can be seen from customers. There's all kinds of people here from younger adults to more "experienced" customers who might have come here forever. This place has a dining area and a bar area which are separated. There's a table service for dining area. Sometimes when this place gets really crowded they will serve food to bar side too so you don't have to leave here hungry.

Food itself is really traditional Finnish food with all sort of choices. They all are really delicious and strongly recommend - this place is popular among regular Joe's too for a reason. This establishment also mark liquid beverage recommendations alongside the food you're about to order which is superb if you aren't culinary gifted. You can and should ask recommendations from the chef/waitress too if you're not familiar with Finnish kitchen in generally. Remember that this place isn't a Michelin star restaurant and don't expect it to be so - they definitely will fill your stomach with decent enough prices and well enough looking/sized portions. In generally they serve really honest looking food here - that gourmet place you might be looking is somewhere else.

This place is really enjoyable place to visit. Sometimes it's a bit crowded and sometimes not. You'll find all age groups of people here from both sides of the bar. If you're around this neighborhood and want to see or taste one piece of the traditional history of Kallio I recommend...

A restaurant from the 70s. Is that a good thing? Or is it bad? You decide. But now you'll know what you'll get.

Personally I find the decor and atmosphere quite charming. Like entering a time capsule which was sealed off somewhere I imagine the 70s would be.

The menu is quite extensive. Which usually doesn't bode well. However, I wasn't disappointed with the brisket. It was exactly what I expected it to be. Maybe even a little better. Overall I think that should be kept in mind.

If you look at eat.fi, you'll find that it has a measly two star rating. Two stars as opposed to what? A fine dining restaurant? Apples and oranges. Comparing to a restaurant from the 70s in Helsinki? Well then the place surely is in a class of its own. Personally I like to compare restaurants against the reasonable expectations of an average person. What Cella delivers is precisely what you'd expect from it.

A solid...

I am sad to say, but here you'll be served overpriced gas station-quality food, accompanied with an unfriendly staff (except the young chef always greets you with a big smile). No salmon present in the tasteless salmon pasta, cold water (?!) reeking from the shrimps in the most expensive fish dish and watering everything on the plate, crunchy potatoes missing the crunch. But what got me upset, was 4,5 euro billed for a small cup of sour cream dip. I mean - 4,5 euro, for 30ml of sour cream? Seriously?

I would so much like to like this place, but they seem to have no desire to offer a good restaurant experience. And I have tried, past two years, almost every month.

I have also given them feedback, both while visiting and through email, and I have never given any reply.

Two stars for being there so long and the blinis...