Outrun Cafe

A pastry case in East Pasila

Outrun is a specialty coffee shop and pâtisserie one level above the street in East Pasila, bright and retrofuturistic against the concrete of the modernist megastructure around it. The café calls its corner of Helsinki majestic and describes itself as an oasis, which is a fair reading of a colourful room set into elevated pedestrian architecture. The rhythm is simple: a drink from the bar and something out of the case.

Coffee, matcha and everything that is not coffee

The board splits three ways, coffee drinks, non-coffee drinks, and sweet and savoury food, so the first decision is which side of the bar the visit belongs to. The matcha latte is the best known of the non-coffee options. High-end equipment and staff who know how to use it are the café’s own pitch, along with an invitation to come by for good coffee, good food and good service. Wine, cocktails and craft beer also appear, which extends the day past the morning.

Order a pastry, vegan or not

Cakes, macarons, croissants, vegan muffins and savoury pastries fill the case, with vegan and gluten-free bakes part of the regular line rather than an occasional gesture. The specials are the ones to look for: pastries built as geometric objects and named for their shapes, quube and prism among them, and they are the reason plenty of guests treat dessert as the main draw. Keep the food expectation pastry-led rather than lunch-led.