Restaurant Karaz — Restaurant in Helsinki sub-region

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A new Helsinki favorite

I’m a born-and-bred Helsinkian who’s eaten my way through just about every corner of this city, but Karaz has instantly become my go-to spot for Middle Eastern flavors—and honestly, for dinner in general. The moment you walk in, the warm aroma of slow-roasted spices lets you know you’re in for something special.

Food (10/10) Every dish bursts with the kind of depth you only get from real Syrian home cooking. The muhammara is silky and smoky, the falafel arrives piping hot with that perfect crisp-outside, fluffy-inside balance, and the chicken shawarma might be the juiciest I’ve tasted anywhere in Finland. Even the rice—so often an afterthought—comes fragrant with cardamom and perfectly fluffy. Each bite had me constantly saying, “Just one more forkful.”

Service (10/10) Friendly, attentive, and impressively fast. My order hit the table moments after I’d settled in, yet nothing felt rushed. Staff checked in just enough to make sure everything was perfect without hovering.

Atmosphere (9/10) Karaz manages to feel both vibrant and relaxed. Think warm lighting, soft Arabic music in the background, and décor that nods to Damascus without feeling theme-park cheesy. Whether you’re stopping by for a quick solo lunch or gathering friends for a lingering dinner, it just works.

Value For the generous portions and top-tier flavors, the prices are more than fair—especially in Helsinki’s dining scene.

The verdict Karaz isn’t just another new restaurant; it’s a standout culinary experience that raises the bar for Middle Eastern food in the city. If you crave big, honest flavors served with genuine hospitality, make Karaz your next meal. I know I’ll be back—probably...

The food was good, but very small portion and some what cold (Karaz kafta). The door was open and it was very cold inside. The worst part is that they do not care that much about hygiene. One of the staff (not wearing the uniform, so probably the owner/manger) made our desert with bare hands while seconds ago he was bringing in stuff (like some boxes) from outside without washing his hands.

1st Edit: I have to add this after getting a reply from the restaurant casually denying what I saw with my own eyes. They didn’t prepare the desert in the kitchen. They did it on the counter (see the attached photo) and he (manager) came directly from outside and prepared the desert on the counter.

2nd edit: I really do not like to do this as I previously had a good experience there, but I have to make some points clear here just for the other potential customers. First they claimed that I didn’t see anything as the desert was made in the kitchen. Now that I showed where the desert was made, they changed the subject to the photo that is from google (of curse it is from google, but this is not the point), or claiming that the camera footage shows the manager washed his hands. I am not sure for what date and time they have checked the video or even if they have done that, but the only thing I am sure about is that I am...

We came after reading great experiences and social media recommendations but sadly this place feel like a “half way” project.

Let’s start with the atmosphere, which was extremely warm, no air conditioning was working. Not a nice ambient to enjoy food. If a restaurant has a temporary issue with conditioning it shall be closed.

Secondly, the staff was not nice at all. We asked for help to put two tables together and that seemed to disturb them. We are a family of four, and the rest of places did not fit us. We asked for a change in a plate and that was denied, but there’s nothing for kids in the menu. We ended up ordering sides for them.

Let’s talk about those sides. The chicken was, as we say in Spain, dryer than my grandma. The “Karaz bread” is a bread tortilla that you can buy in ANY supermarket in Finland.

We ordered the loaded hummus that is NOTHING like you see on the photos on Google or social media. It’s about 100 grams of hummus with 3, YES 3, tiny bread bites. And it’s 10,90€ - so expensive.

We ordered the tabouleh and it’s honestly hard to eat. Its texture is hard and full of parts of the parsley that you shall not be eating.

It’s sad because the food had nice flavours and we love so much Syrian food… but this place need to really work on...