Klaava and Kuurna: Two Doors on Sea Customs Street

Klaava is the walk-in wine bar next door to the bistro Kuurna, at Meritullinkatu 6 in Kruununhaka. Laura Styyra and Tom Hansen, who worked at Kuurna and bought it about ten years ago, opened the bar beside it in summer 2025. Klaava opens at 16:00 and takes no bookings; Kuurna opens at 17:00 and takes them. Both are closed on Sundays. You can taste a three-sip set at the bar, sit down to two courses from €46 next door, and find the crooked 1765 customs house 226 m away, on a street named after the old customs and packing house.

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1 Start Where the Vegetables Start Adventure · Price: low · Optional

   Optional: an espresso at the house's own vegetable shop, open until 18:00.

   Before the evening, Monday to Saturday before 18:00.

   Where: Kuurnan Kasvispuoti, on the first floor of Hakaniemi Market Hall.

   What: this is the same team's organic and biodynamic fruit and vegetable shop; MyHelsinki calls it the long-standing vegetable shop in the hall. Have an espresso and a fresh date at its small side counter. The house says the shop delivers to Kuurna and Klaava every Tuesday and Friday.

   How: then walk about 1.5 km (about 20 minutes) south to Meritullinkatu 6.

   Backup: this step is optional; on a late start, begin with the customs house.

   Log Memory
2. 2 Find the Customs House That Stands Crooked History · Free

   Free, outside, any day: the 1765 customs house, which Chabad says it bought in 2015.

   Where: from Klaava's door at Meritullinkatu 6, walk 226 m to the corner of Mariankatu and Aleksanterinkatu.

   What: the stone house at Mariankatu 3, completed in 1765, is the old customs and packing house, the second oldest stone house in the city centre. Ships landing at Pohjoisranta paid the great sea toll on the value of their cargo, and the goods were inspected and taxed in this warehouse. Find the side that does not line up with the street: it was meant to be one link of Augustin Ehrensvärd's fortress wall round the town, and it was the only part of that plan ever built.

   How: look from the street. Chabad says it bought the building in 2015, and today it is Chabad House. Then walk back up Meritullinkatu, Sea Customs Street, named in 1928 after the old customs and packing house; from 1820 to 1928 it was Konstantininkatu.

   Backup: none needed; the outside works at any hour.

   Log Memory
3. 3 Find Two Doors at Number 6, Then Toss a Coin Adventure · Free

   Free: the bistro's door, the bar's door, and a coin to decide the order.

   Where: Meritullinkatu 6, Kruununhaka.

   What: find Kuurna's almost unmarked door and Klaava's beside it. Klaava is Finnish for tails: kruuna vai klaava, heads or tails. And you are standing in Kruununhaka, named after the crown's horse pasture.

   How: toss a coin. Kruuna (heads): your Klaava glass comes before dinner. Klaava (tails): after dinner. Klaava opens at 16:00 and Kuurna at 17:00, Monday to Saturday.

   Backup: none needed; on a Sunday both rooms are closed.

   Log Memory
4. 4 Taste a Three-Sip Set at Klaava Wine · Price: moderate

   Walk in from 16:00 for the bar's own glass list.

   Where: Klaava, Meritullinkatu 6; walk in, there are no bookings at all.

   What: ask for the current themed three-sip set; new ones arrive every three weeks. The bottle list is shared with Kuurna next door, but the glass list is the bar's own and keeps changing.

   How: order a plate with it. Time Out recommends the smoked cod liver; a Helsinki sommelier on World of Mouth listed rarebit, herring toast, smoked cod liver and pâté en croûte. The menu changes. Glass prices are not posted, so ask before you order.

   Backup: if the room is full, come back later; on Friday and Saturday Klaava is open until midnight. Or have dinner first (step 5).

   Log Memory
5. 5 Sit Down Next Door at Kuurna Wine · Price: moderate

   Book the bistro next door: two courses from €46.

   Where: Kuurna, the bistro at the same number, Meritullinkatu 6.

   What: book a table online for 1–6 people; larger groups book by email. Two courses cost from €46 and three from €54; the menu changes every three weeks and specials go on the blackboard. The house says its wines by the glass are always the pairing for each dish, and three glasses cost €43. Time Out found a mocktail of the day for a zero-proof evening.

   How: the better dinner times go early, and a 17:00 table is easier to get. If your coin said tails, finish back at Klaava next door.

   Backup: if Kuurna is fully booked, eat Klaava's small plates next door, walk-in.

   Log Memory

Insider tips

• Klaava opens an hour before Kuurna: take a glass at 16:00 and a 17:00 table next door, the easier time to book.

• Klaava's kitchen closes an hour before the bar.

• Kuurna's door is almost unmarked: look for number 6 on Meritullinkatu.

• Kuurna has a mocktail of the day, and the house says its glass wines are chosen to go with each dish.