Summer holiday is a good time to check out all the new (and old favourite) cafés in town. Lunch restaurant Hus Lindman has opened a café on the other side of the street.

FIKA café (Piispankatu 14) www.fika.fi (website still under construction!)

‘Fika’ is a very important concept in Sweden. You can’t even translate the word into other languages. It means having convivial quality time with others over a cup of coffee and some delicious sweet cakes or buns, or possibly sandwiches. For Swedes ‘fika’ is an essential part of socialising and enjoying the good things in life together, and I guess it’s the same for Finland’s Swedish-speaking population.

The new FIKA café is an excellent place to get acquainted with this Swedish tradition. The cute little yellow house in the historical “Bishop’s street” right behind the Cathedral serves excellent coffee and tea with a wide variety of goods, all baked and prepared on the premises. A lot of attention is paid to quality and taste, and there is always something new and tempting on offer. In June you could get a refreshing cold summer drink mixed with home-made rhubarb juice and Rooibos tea. It was heavenly! And if you felt adventurous, you could even have some vodka in it.

What I especially appreciate is having old traditional Finnish recipes on offer, such as the simple and delicious Brita summer cake I devoured there today. Any type of special coffees are served but I usually go for the very good value presso coffee and cake offer. You get 2 definitely fresh cups of coffee out of the small glass presso pot.

It is quite a luxury to get proper brewed tea instead of the eternal tea bags here in Finland. I just love Fika’s little tea pots. Another recommendation – the warm hummus open sandwiches are to die for! I am still to try their soup and salad lunches one day.

The café is sparsely furnished, and coloured in calm and muted tones in typical Scandinavian style, all crisp and clean. The outside tables are popular on nice days. What is it that makes coffee and tea taste even better outdoors? You are always welcomed with a smile, and service is excellent and super friendly. Without a doubt Fika is my number one café this summer. Definitely worth a visit!