Kraken Helsinki — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

Bar had a great atmosphere and a fun place to hang out with friends but the karaoke setup was disappointing. They don't have the courtesy to tell you that ordering via the app (rather than on the monitors) is mandatory or you end up being perpetually kicked back down the order. Also one of the microphones wasn't working and there seemed no interest at all from the bar staff in checking or fixing it. Indeed, there was little or no management of the karaoke by the bar as it is out of sight and out of mind. Finally the software they use for the song lyrics is flawed and routinely auto-generated incorrect lyrics. Fun place as a bar but we went there specifically for karaoke on our one night in Helsinki and were left...

We were meeting friends here for a quiet drink, so were disappointed to find a queue for mandatory paid coat check at 21:20.

At the front of the queue we noticed a sign saying "fee after 22:00", so we pointed it out to the staff member who said, "it is also on special events". I asked what the special event was on 26th October, and he replied "it's the birthday of the bar".

Reluctantly we paid to have our personal belongings removed from us and walked into a half-empty venue known for its dire beer selection (two Karhu's on tap?), terrible cocktails and greasy fried food. We then looked at the Kraken's website where we observed that its birthday was in fact in June.

We didn't buy a drink. Our entire group...

Formerly Heavy Corner, formerly Sailor Jerry's Rum Bar & Restaurant, now it seems the sailor was drowned by the beast itself!

I love the atmosphere and decorations, with some lingering mementos from Sailor J's time, but Kraken has always had great marketing, so the bar has lots of great rum drinks, as well as delicious mocktails.

The best part is that karaoke isn't limited to certain hours of certain days, nor is it owned by a raving racist like most other karaoke places in town. This is very likely to be our go-to karaoke joint for as long as it's around.

With that in mind, last time at karaoke the mics on stage repeatedly shocked my face and it was quite painful, so some updates to the equipment might...