This has been bothering me for a while now. The places you’d like to hang in, such as Erottaja, Nolla (both by the same owner, btw) or Mbar are very nice in decor and music selection. Only there’s one problem: you have to shout like hell if you want to talk to your buddies.
I hadn’t actually thought of this as a real problem until I interviewed Margit Sjöroos for a project a year ago. She’s a brilliant woman behind the Stress Free Area concept. When I met with her (along with two members of my team) she wanted to have a sit down in Tony’s Deli, because she says it’s the only place that is even somewhat stress free. As we were talking, she was constantly pointing out good and bad things in the restaurant’s decor and acoustics. At the time it was fascinating, but it has turned to be somewhat of a curse as well: I can’t help noticing the stress factors in all of the bars or restaurants I go to now. Spot lights, bad acoustics, the overuse of red, noise levels etc. Sometimes it can be too much and I just don’t feel at home in certain bars anymore. Nolla is good example of this. They crank up the volume at around 21:00 and after that it becomes almost impossible to socialize normally.
My roommate told me that the latest addition to the Helsinki restaurant scene Bar Cuba suffers from the “it ain’t too loud!” syndrome as well. Too bad. Helsinki needs a bar where you could chat away until the wee hours of the night but with good background music and the right kind of crowd. Please tell me if you can think of any.
Valter Café?
Valter Café is better, but not quite optimal. It’s better than Erottaja or Nolla but you still have to shout at your mates a lot.