A mingle-friendly venue for 15-20 people in Helsinki

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:39 pm

I am looking for a bar, restaurant or pub in Helsinki which suits a large group ( 15-20 people ), is not too expensive and where the noise level on Saturday night ( 5pm -9pm ) does not make normal conversation impossible.

It is a big plus if the place is mingle-friendly.

Would Juttutupa be a good alternative ?
http://www.juttutupa.com/page.php?page_id=16&language=3

Any other suggestions ?

**Sponsor:**

inkku · Post by **inkku** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:13 pm

Kaisla is also good.

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:43 pm

inkku wrote:Kaisla is also good.

Thanks, inkku !

Yes, Kaisla looks nice ( http://www.oluthuone.com/kaisla_eng.html ) but Juttutupa seems to be much bigger .
Am I right ?

inkku · Post by **inkku** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:05 pm

What do you mean with bigger? If you are 15-20 people how big place do you need????

Kaisla consists of many parts, it has to bars at least and it goes through two buildings. I just suggested it because I once organised an event there, and everything went very well, the staff were great and altogether I liked the place. And it is very centrally located. But Juttutupa is also kind of nice place....a traditional watering hole and a very beautiful building.

Andythefinn · Post by **Andythefinn** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:16 pm

I honestly thought you wrote 'minge-friendly'..

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:26 pm

>> What do you mean with bigger? If you are 15-20 people how big place do you need????

<<

I just thought that in a big place the tables would not have to be so close to each other and it would often be possible to walk around them. In other words : it would be easier to mingle.

Here is a picture from Juttutupa : http://www.02.fi/ravintola/Ravintola+Ju ... RST134851/

The picture is not very good but it gives an idea of what I mean.

richard berman · Post by **richard berman** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:32 pm

http://eat.fi/fi/helsinki/nude-barcafe

This place is very nice and not much noise at all, and the drinks are cheap they have a happy hour (which goes for about 4 hours) wine is 3€, beer 2€ etc .

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:40 pm

Nude Bar sounds good too ! Thanks, Richard !

Cloudberry · Post by **Cloudberry** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:45 pm

CAD_Guy · Post by **CAD_Guy** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:57 pm

I'm curious about the Nude Bar (not because I'm expecting nude people either) because going to their website it appears that it's a place for underground DJs to pump out their music. I'm just wondering is the cafe separate or something?

NanaM · Post by **NanaM** » Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:31 am

Cloudberry wrote:I think Ravintola Juttutupa is too much of a restaurant for the purpose of mingling and socialising. I'm not sure how they'd feel if you didn't order food.

Juttutupa is so large it has a restaurant "wing" (which I believe is linked to nearby restaurant Graniitilinna) and a bar/pub in another large room. On bar side it's perfectly ok to come mingling, socialising and drinking without ordering any food. Can be done also on the other side, they are not so strict about that - i.e. you can sit there and not order food.

Kalmisto, we have a group about the same size as yours and have been to Juttutupa a few times on Fridays. It was always difficult to find room for our group to sit together, even when coming at 20:00 or 19:30. It sometimes has live music on a small stage in front of the bar, nice but can be noisy if your point is to be able to have a normal conversation. Even when there are no concerts we found the place quite noisy because of the acoustics and the bar is often crowded. But it's worth a visit at least once, the food is good as well.

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:48 pm

>> Kalmisto, we have a group about the same size as yours and have been to Juttutupa a few times on Fridays. It was always difficult to find room for our group to sit together, even when coming at 20:00 or 19:30. <<

Our meetups ( held on Saturdays ) start much earlier that yours ( 5pm ! ). The sales representative at Juttutupa wrote to me and said that it would not be possible to find a table large enough for a group of 15-20 people but at 5pm it should not be difficult to find several small tables close to each other. ( Certainly much more difficult or impossible at 7.30pm )

>> It sometimes has live music on a small stage in front of the bar, nice but can be noisy if your point is to be able to have a normal conversation. Even when there are no concerts we found the place quite noisy because of the acoustics and the bar is often crowded. But it's worth a visit at least once, the food is good as well. <<

If I am correctly informed Juttutupa consists of two big halls. In one of them there is a long bar counter and a place for a band to play ( bands start playing at 9pm ). The other hall is full of tables for guests to sit and converse and that is where our group would be sitting.

Being able to walk around the table(s) your group is sitting at gives you the possibility to talk to any member you choose during the evening and not only to members closest to you.

Our meetup on February the 6th will most likely be held at Juttutupa and perhaps the meetup on February the 13th will be at Kaisla or The Nude Bar ( what a stupid name for a bar ! ).

Here are some reviews of Juttutupa in English :
http://piarow.notlong.com

Juttutupa has no cloak-room charge and no admission fee ( not even when there is a band playing ) !

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:50 pm

Well, the "white lady" on mannerheimintie has a nice lounge they rent out...

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:53 pm

Pursuivant wrote:Well, the "white lady" on mannerheimintie has a nice lounge they rent out...

Yes, but we do not have a membership fee. Who would pay ?

kalmisto · Post by **kalmisto** » Tue Jan 26, 2010 8:06 pm

>> I think Ravintola Juttutupa is too much of a restaurant for the purpose of mingling and socialising. I'm not sure how they'd feel if you didn't order food. Nude and Kaisla look a bit more appropriate. <<

The sales representative at Juttutupa told me that also guests who are not planning to eat are welcome.

>> Is this the alternative venue to the Belge that your'e looking for kalmisto? <<

Yes.
There is nothing seriously wrong with Belge. Sometimes our group is just too big.
If it was easier to move around there and chat with all the members everything would be perfect. Maybe we should arrange cocktail parties.

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