La Torrefazione

It’s obviously a very popular coffee shop. However, it’s noisy because it’s too crowded. The walkway is quite narrow. If you’re not careful, you might bump into someone and drop your coffee tray. Not a recommended place for business discussion.

Their double chocolate chip cookies are to die for. Best coffee in the city. Fantastic food. Love this place so much.

The service is excellent — all 3 staff I encountered were lovely and attentive. One girl recommended the sandwich #4, which was like a cypress sandwich with ham and pesto. Delicious! I had a regular cup of black coffee and while it wasn’t the absolute best i have ever had it was very fresh and that gets points in my book.
I had a clean table with a great view. I also appreciated that self-​serve water (in pretty glasses) was readily available. I wish cafes in the US would adopt this practice, although I am sure it would be abused back in NYC.
Great little spot to read a book and eat lunch.

Great atmosphere and friendly service is what you get in this coffee shop. The speciality coffees are nice and the teas are really good as well.

They know how to make coffee here! It’s not as good as Italy but pretty damn good especially for Finland. Be careful when looking for it because it’s upstairs and easy to miss. I had a salted pecan white chocolate cookie with a latte and it was really tasty. They seem to have a restaurant part so maybe if want more than coffee this is a good point. This definitely worth checking out if you like good coffee and you’re tired of the chain coffee spots.

Definately the best lunch place in direct city center! The place is usually crowded but you can always find a place thanks to well organized system: while you order the staff looks for a table for you. The lunches are tasty and reasonable prized. They also serve delicious breakfast and the best coffee you can find in the city center!

I felt like this place was pretty crammed. Not a lot of character. Hot chocolate was good but doesnt add up to the best spots in town

The soy latte was fantastic and Im definitely a coffee snob. We were there during the lunch rush and it was crowed but we only waited a couple of minutes for a table. My husband and I shared a really good sandwich: crunchy dark bread with pesto, aruguella, tomatoe, and goat cheese (mmmmm…yuuummm). Its too bad we werent more hungry to order a ‘proper’ meal off of the menu, as I glanced around at all of the happy diners around us, it all looked good (pasta, risotto, salad…). The service was good, atmosphere great and super affordable 13 €!

Love this place!
Sometimes when I came in and the queue was long, they reserved a table for me so that I could sit down right after ordering and paying.
You can also buy their own roasts to take home with you, I’m not a coffee specialist, but I liked them a lot.
The café also has a great view to Aleksanterinkatu street.

GoodGoodGood coffee. And the brunch is lovely.

I have recently moved from the United States to Finland and one of the things I have really missed is getting great coffee from people who are passionate about what they do and care about quality.
After being so disappointed by the quality of coffee I have encountered in this country I made a point of seeking out some good places to try while visiting Helsinki. I tried a cappuccino and after that a mocha. The cappuccino was fantastic with a very pleasant flavor profile; chocolatey, earthy, no unnecessary bitterness or astringency. The shot was pulled well and the milk steamed to a correct micro foam that I haven’t experienced since being back in Portland Oregon.
My mocha was made with the same care but for me it was too sweet and the flavor of the chocolate didn’t meld with the flavor profile of the coffee at all. That being said it was still the best mocha I’ve had in Finland thus far.
The interior of the shop was very clean and modern and the service was nothing but friendly, although I didn’t spend time actually chatting very much with any of the employees, they all seemed friendly and seemed to care about their respective jobs.
I will definitely return and I feel pretty confident referring anyone looking for great coffee to this place.

The coffee is great (so is the tea for that matter) and its made with some care and attention, that is undeniable. The place alsways seems to be busy and thats because the product is of a high standard. Its a trendy sort of place with a real buzz to it and a vibrant atmosphere.
At peak times the waiting staff will try and great you at the top of the stairs and ascertain the size of your party, they will then attempt to have a table cleared and reserved for you by the time you have your beverages, this is a nice touch, although not always fruitful as many people will plop themselves down at a table and then proceed to the counter to order, which kind of disrupts the flow a little. This being the case you may find yourself standing in the crowded counter area holding your drink like a lemon while people try and sqeeze past to get in or out.
If you have children in tow or bags of shopping that you are lumping around this may not be the place to go to unwind or relax!
However if your shopping has not yet commenced and you fancy a quick pick me up its definatly a place to visit and check out, the location is great, and as I said the coffee really is good and I guess thats the thing that really matters.
TIP: for any out of towners, if a table say «varattu» and you just walked in, its probably no «reserved» for you ;-)

La Torrefazione is one of the places in Helsinki that they take their coffee serious and they also roast their own beans. They have a really prime location (on Aleksanterinkatu) with nice view of the street (second floor so can look down on the people walking outside if snagging one of the window tables).
They usually serve a filter coffee of the day (often one of their single origin coffees) and of course also other espresso based beverages. The filter coffee has often been a disappointment as it is not really made to order. It is possible to have any of their coffees made to order as a French press but it would be so much better if they either made them as a V60 or aeropress. The flavors do not really benefit from the French Press which is a bit sad as the coffees do not really get a chance to shine.
The espresso based beverages can be very good but unfortunately it is very uneven quality depending on who is operating the machine at the time (and also depending on how busy they are). Sometime I have had excellent single espresso and cortados but have also had some really bad ones so the place is a bit up and down so cannot give it more than 3 stars.

One of the probably best cafés in Helsinki is La Torrefazzione. Here they don’t just serve really good cake and pastry. They also have really good coffee. A reason for that is probably that they roast their coffee beans themselves.
La Torrefazzione is located on Aleksanterinkatu pretty close to Stockmann. Unlike other cafés it is situated on the second floor. That unfortunately makes it complicated to get there with a push car or a wheelchair. But the location has also its benefits. Through the big windows of the café you have a good view over Aleksanterinkatu, one of the busiest streets in the city.
If you go there don’t miss out on the pastry. You won’t regret it. The small passion fruit tarts are amazing. But also everything else is worth a try.
If you are not that much into coffee, you should try their white hot chocolate (with whipped cream and black and white chocolate flakes).
Healthy is something else but a small treat now and then can’t harm :)

Proud of being one of the first cafés, in which they roast their own coffee beans, La Torrefazione is a great place to grab a coffee and a bite to eat. It is very popular among office workers and students in the center of Helsinki, making tables difficult, yet not impossible, to abtain during the busier time of the day (from the beginning of lunch time well into the afternoon).
* As a tip for people, trying to avoid the crowds, unless you’re there for the breakfast, try coming after the breakfast time ends, to catch the between time before lunch, this will most likely ensure aqquiring a table.
The café is situated in a peculiar place as such. It is unconventionally solely on the second floor, above two stores, the entrance placed between them. At the top of the stairs there are two signs, the one pointing to the left saying Roastery, and the one pointing right indicates the café. The décor is nice with; the brick and white walls; the view of the roaster; and the contrasting colours in the furniture.
The thing that makes La Torrefazione catch the passer by’s eye, is its windows. Peculiar as it sounds, once you see them you will understand. As the café is on the second floor it is very noticable that the windows are the same size as store window displays. This gives passers by clear view into the café, but also vice versa. Wether it is a dark cold winter day, when the warmth of the place invites you in, or a cheerful summer day, when all the light is let in, these pieces of glass sure help keep the place busy.
La Torrefazione offers a nice variety of things to eat, and anything you order will be satisfactory, but what they specialize in the end is, is their coffee, which is made with skill from start to finish. Also, when it comes to price La Torrefazione will not chow down on your wallet too hard. For a lunch and a nice cappuccino you need pay less than 15 €.
* Althought they have great coffee, I recomend trying their white chocolate hot chocolate, atleast once.