IISI Vallisaari
Helsinki's only island wine bar, on a former military island in the Baltic archipelago. Twenty minutes by ferry from the Market Square.
The Island Wine Bar That Shouldn't Exist
Twenty minutes by ferry from Helsinki's Market Square, there's an island where someone decided to build a wine bar. Not a restaurant that happens to serve wine. Not a tourist trap capitalizing on the setting. A proper wine bar — sommelier-led tastings of about five wines with a tapas buffet, poured on a terrace where the Baltic Sea meets the Finnish archipelago.
The armed forces held Vallisaari as an ammunition depot for roughly a century — torpedoes and naval mines — and left in 2008. The first civilian visitors landed in 2016. In 2019 Oliver Laiho was running a small coffee concept in a Helsinki basement that took €180 over two months when a near-stranger offered him the keys to two abandoned cafés on an island he had never heard of. He said yes before asking where it was. His brother Kasimir joined in 2021; they rebuilt both cafés themselves, renamed them IISI — Finnish slang for easy — and added what the island had never had: a wine bar. The first wine tasting, in 2023, had four guests, all of them relatives.
The scarcity is real. The boat runs from 20 May to 12 September, and from 1 September only Wednesday to Saturday. The ferry is the only way in or out. When the last boat leaves, the island belongs to the rabbits and the ruins.
The 2026 tastings
Tuscany & Abruzzo. Germany & Austria. Sparkling & whites. Five reds. Piedmont. A Catalan estate. Five wines at a time, at 60 degrees north.
The themes of this season's tastings, taken from the venue's own booking calendar.
The Venues
Two Venues, One Island
Cafe IISI
The venue calls this the heart of the island: a wine bar and event space 100 m from the arrival pier at Luotsipiha, with a terrace open to the sea. A sommelier-picked wine selection, cocktails, coffee and small plates. No table reservations.
Mon–Thu & Sun 10:30–18:00 · Fri–Sat 10:30–23:30
IISI Bistro
A harbour rest stop at Torpedolahti, by the departure pier and a 10-minute walk from the main one. They call the salmon soup the best in the archipelago and count over 20,000 bowls served since 2019. Also a vegan soup, salads, and wine by the glass. Card payment only.
Mon–Fri & Sun 12:00–19:00 · Sat 12:00–20:00
Wine Events
Sommelier-led tastings on the Cafe IISI terrace — about five wines with a tapas buffet, two hours, and the Wine Barn next door when it rains. Plus dinners, singles evenings and summer festivals.
Fri & Sat 13:00 & 17:00 · €59–69 per person by theme
Wine List
Straight from the source
We publish a wine list only when the venue maintains it here itself. IISI's lives on their own site, and that is where tonight's pours are.
Visit iisivallisaari.fiIs this your venue?
This page is already public — claim it so the wines, hours and details come from you.
Things To Do
What You Can Book
Wine Tasting
€59–69 by themeA themed flight of about five wines with a tapas buffet, led by a sommelier. On the Cafe terrace, or in the Wine Barn next door if it rains. Finnish by default, English on request.
Wine Dating
€59Age-bracketed singles evenings — separate nights for 22–29, 25–39, 35–49 and 45+. Five chosen wines and a tapas buffet, and you change partners with every new wine; the wine programme runs about two to two and a half hours. A handful of dates a season, not a weekly fixture.
Dinner with New Friends
€49A communal long-table dinner with a surprise menu and wine. Guests take the 17:30 boat; dinner starts at 18:00 and the last boat back leaves at 22:00.
Festivals & party nights
DJ and live-music nights through the summer, plus The Bacchanalia wine festival across two days in July — dozens of producers, over 100 wines, poured against €4 tasting tokens.
Prices and dates are read from the venue's own booking system when this page is built. Where a product has nothing on sale, no price is shown rather than a remembered one.
The Wine Programme
130 Tasting Nights on the Island
Across 16 different tastings and four unbroken seasons, since the first one on 17 June 2023.
Wine tastings
28 nights
Long table wine dinners
5 nights
Wine festivals
8 nights
Wine dating
5 nights
Next wine nights
- Saksa & Itävalta14 August
Wine tastings
- Kuohuviinit & Valkoviinit21 August
Wine tastings
- Viisi Punaviiniä28 August
Wine tastings
- Piemonten Bravuurit5 September
Wine tastings
- Vallformosa-viinitila12 September
Wine tastings
Season by season
| Season | Wine events | Wine nights | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 3 | 10 | 17 June – 16 September |
| 2024 | 8 | 52 | 15 June – 14 September |
| 2025 | 7 | 74 | 14 June – 6 September |
| 2026 | 19 | 62 | 6 June – 12 September |
This page counts the wine programme only. The island also runs picnics, yoga and club nights — see the full programme at iisivallisaari.fi.
The Season Won't Wait
IISI is a summer venue and the ferry decides its edges: the boat runs to Vallisaari from 20 May to 12 September 2026, and from 1 September only Wednesday to Saturday. The last night of the season is the closing party on 12 September. No winter visits. When the season ends, the island returns to the rabbits and the ruins.
Book Before the Season Ends →Getting There
The JT-Line ferry departs from Kauppatori (Market Square) in central Helsinki. The crossing to Vallisaari takes about 20 minutes, and boats run every 30 to 60 minutes. A return ticket is €9.80 for an adult and €6.80 for a child aged 7–17.
The 2026 timetable runs from 20 May to 12 September, and from 1 September the boat sails Wednesday to Saturday only. The last departure back to the city changes with the date, so check jt-line.fi against the evening you are booking — on some nights the last boat leaves before a long evening on the island is over.
Cafe IISI is 100 m from the arrival pier at Luotsipiha. IISI Bistro sits at Torpedolahti harbour by the departure pier, which the venue describes as a 10-minute walk from the main one.
Practical Information
Season
May – September
Ferry season 20 May – 12 Sep 2026
Location
Vallisaari, 00860 Helsinki
Reachable only by ferry
Cafe IISI Hours
Mon–Thu & Sun 10:30–18:00
Fri–Sat 10:30–23:30 · open every day
IISI Bistro Hours
Mon–Fri & Sun 12:00–19:00
Sat 12:00–20:00 · card payment only
Tastings
Fri & Sat at 13:00 and 17:00
€59–69 per person, by theme
Ferry
From Kauppatori, 20 min
€9.80 return, adult
Fortress Islands & Seaside Wine
IISI Vallisaari is a stop on our archipelago trail — a day out from Kauppatori through the fortress islands, taking in Vallisaari, Suomenlinna and Lonna.
View the Full TrailVisit IISI Vallisaari
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