BasBas Kulma

BasBas Kulma won two Gold Stars at Star Wine List of the Year Finland 2023: Best Medium-Sized List, for lists of 200–600 wines, and the Special Jury Prize. It is the walk-in room of the BasBas family: a counter that keeps its seats for people without a booking, a dining room whose food, the house says, comes off a charcoal grill, and a list focused on natural wine, particularly from France. It is a stop on a Helsinki wine trail.

At the counter, order a glass and a plate without booking; the by-the-glass choice changes often, and Decanter counted about a dozen wines by the glass in 2024. The food runs to simple starters, fresh bread, desserts, and meat, seafood and vegetables from the charcoal grill with sauces and sides. The house describes its wines as running from classically stylish to outrageously daring, with natural wine, particularly from France, at the centre.

Kulma opens Wednesday and Thursday 16–24, Friday 16–01 and Saturday 14–24, and is closed Sunday to Tuesday. The kitchen closes an hour before the doors. For dinner on a Friday or Saturday, book ahead; for a single glass, the counter takes walk-ins whenever it is open. Many Helsinki restaurants close for part of late June to mid-August, so check the house site before a summer visit.

Tables for 1–7 people book online up to 30 days ahead; same-week requests go by phone, +358 44 230 5900, Tuesday to Friday 11–15 and during opening hours. Groups over 7 enquire by phone or kulma@basbas.fi and eat a pre-ordered daily menu. The Telakka private room seats 16 for a €59 daily menu with a €950 minimum charge. Decanter's 2024 guide put glasses at about €11–16. Step-free access: ask when booking.

Kulma is at Tehtaankatu 27–29, on the corner of Telakkakatu in Punavuori. Its sister bistro Baskeri & Basso is in the same building but entered from the courtyard. Trams 1 (Perämiehenkatu), 6 (Telakanpuistikko) and 3 (Eiran sairaala) stop nearby, as do buses 20 and 30 at Eiran sairaala. More of the city's wine bars are on the Helsinki page.

BasBas Kulma is a wine bar and bistro at Tehtaankatu 27–29 in Helsinki's Punavuori district, the corner room of the BasBas restaurant family. The house's own name for it is Counter & Dinery: walk-ins at the bar, booked tables in the dining room, food from a charcoal grill. The house says Kulma is jointly owned by BasBas and its employees; its company was registered in 2016 as BasBas & Staff Wine Bar Oy.

Baskeri & Basso opened in November 2015, founded by Nicolas Thieulon and Kalle Kiukainen, and soon became hard to book. Kulma grew from that demand: a room for a glass without a full dinner or a reservation. Its company was registered in 2016 as BasBas & Staff Wine Bar Oy and renamed BasBas Kulma Oy in 2020. In 2023 it took two Gold Stars in Finland and reached the international final in both categories.

Two BasBas doors share Tehtaankatu 27–29. Kulma is the corner room on Telakkakatu, open Wednesday to Saturday. Baskeri & Basso is entered from the courtyard, opens Tuesday to Friday and takes its own bookings on its own phone, 050 467 3400. A third room, BasBas Studio, is at Pursimiehenkatu 27. Check the door before booking: the three rooms keep different days.