Old Irish Pub - Helsinki — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

There are 1000 places in Helsinki which you should choose before this shipwreck, if you want to have a good night. The beer was foul (tasted like soap, maybe the glass wasn't rinsed after a wash) and expensive, it costs extra to go up to the 2nd floor, and you can't exit, not even for a smoke, without paying more again. The place is criminally understaffed too, there were only 3-5 people in line but the wait took forever for a draft beer. I suppose there's many cocktails on the menu and it takes long to make them, but that hasn't been accounted for in the number of staff members. This one poor woman had to shake up cocktails and pour beers with sweat dripping down her face, running from one end of the bar to another. She seemed so flustered, I felt so bad for her. But mostly was shocked me is, the doormen are insane! It made me sick to watch these two ~60 year old doormen lure in 18-year old girls, right off the street, with big disgusting grins, touching these young ladies up all over?! It seemed like these girls were mostly just trying to walk PAST the place, but the two orcs just drew them indoors. Mind you, I sat here for a few hours and had a prime view of it. It was systematic. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. I'm not young myself either, anymore, but 20 years younger than them for certain, and this kind of behavior feels disgusting, wrong, and extremely unprofessional. They also 100% ring up people completely unauthorized from what I saw, and I saw it plenty. The doormen coerce people for cash to let them in (e.g. pretend that there's a problem with your ID or attitude or face), and be aware that this is NOT the bar's official entrance fee! There isn't an entrance fee to the 1st floor. This money goes into their own pockets, anywhere from 20-80€. I assume they have to bully people into paying them, because with that attitude and level of service, they will never be tipped otherwise! Nobody could tell anything to these meatheads either, because there's about 5-7 of them (yes, you read right) by the front door alone, and they immediately blow their fuses when talked to, and in the next second, it gets physical. They're not afraid to break people's stuff and spill out the contevts of their bags either just to humiliate them? I've never seen that kind of ruthless behaviour from bouncers, especially NOT back when I was in Ireland. The bar was half empty and the people were very calm, so why the need for 5-7 doormen? They were a gang. The exception, maybe, was the really tall black guy, he seemed ok and actually did his job, which was mostly just protecting the staff in doors and checking that things stayed civil. But he let his colleagues carry on with what they were doing, while fully aware of it, so no tips of the hat to him, either. I don't think I'll ever walk past this place without grimacing from now on. Hard to believe they are allowed to operate like this in the center of Helsinki. This isn't an Irish pub, this is doorman mafia. Avoid...

I had a EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING AND DISAPPOINTING EXPERIENCE at the New Year’s event, and the handling of my complaint has only made matters worse.

My friends and I purchased tickets in advance through Kide.app, confident that everything would be organized. When we arrived at the venue before midnigth as the rules said, we validated our tickets and received wristbands. One of our friends SPECIFICALLY spoke to one of the managers present and he assured us that we could leave and re-enter later without any issues, as long as we had our wristbands or stamps.

So with that information, we put our wristbands, left and returned shortly after midnight, expecting smooth entry as promised. However, we were told to join the same long queue as those who hadn’t purchased tickets in advance. Despite explaining the situation and showing our wristbands, we were denied priority entry.

We spent almost tree hours waiting in the cold, with no resolution or proper assistance from the staff. The lack of clear communication and proper organization ruined what was supposed to be a celebratory night. Seeing no progress in the line, it became clear that there was no real chance of getting in. We eventually left, FRUSTRATED AND DISAPPOINTED, WITHOUT EVER ENJOYING THE EVENT WE HAD PAID FOR.

After the incident, I sent two emails to the venue asking for clarification on how to proceed, but I received no response for over two weeks. Frustrated, we decided to visit the establishment and speak directly with the manager. The manager contacted the staff from that night, and we were told that the team "remembers" never informing us that we could leave and re-enter, and that the policy was the opposite. ESSENTIALLY ACCUSING US OF LYING. THIS WAS BEYOND DISRESPECTFUL.

We were assured that we would receive a response to our email after this discussion, but days later, I am STILL waiting for any follow-up from the venue.

This lack of accountability and respect is UNACCEPTABLE, and it has turned what could have been a simple resolution into an even worse experience.

I CANNOT RECOMMEND THIS VENUE, ESPECIALLY FOR EVENTS, UNLESS THEY MAKE SERIOUS CHANGES TO THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE AND...

Lively Spot, But With Some Downsides ★★★☆☆ The Old Irish Pub can be a decent place to go out in Helsinki if you're looking for a bustling atmosphere and generally good music. However, if you're not a fan of very crowded places, this probably isn't the option for you. The sheer number of people seems to contribute to some cleanliness issues – the bathrooms weren't the cleanest, and tables were often sticky from spilled beer. A significant downside for me was the lack of food options at night. You can't even get simple bar snacks like fries or nachos to go with your beer, which is a real miss. Also, be aware that there's a 5 EUR charge for the cloakroom, which I didn't think was cool. My biggest disappointment was when I went to watch a Champions League match. They didn't play the match audio; instead, they had their regular bar music on. This really detracted from the experience of watching the game and wasn't what I was hoping for. Overall, it's okay if you just want drinks and music in a very lively (and crowded) environment, but the lack of food, cleanliness concerns, and especially the sports viewing experience could be...