In English
Hotel and Restaurant Museum is specialised in food and drink culture and is located in Cable Factory in Helsinki. The museum showcases cultural heritage and social significance of food, drink and the service culture related with them.
The museum has a wide range of exhibitions, events, and activities for all ages. The permanent exhibition covers the history of catering and also the history of alcoholic beverages and sales of alcohol in Finland. Hotel and Restaurant Museum is a space that feeds your imagination, where everyone can learn, enjoy themselves, and find something to relate to. We find interesting phenomena from history and our collections, and present them from today’s perspective in a fascinating way.
Take a journey with us to the past and present, through your own senses and memories. We offer museum experiences, guidance, information, and inspiring interaction opportunities virtually, too, wherever you are.
The colourful history of food and drink culture can surprise, amuse, and move you. And it’s good! With us, you’ll see today through new eyes, maybe discover something you didn’t know or find unexpected inspiration. Take a bite of history, savour the past, and revive your own taste memories in a more delicious way.
Enjoy it! But a word of warning: visiting the museum can whet your appetite.
| Address: | Cable Factory Kaapeliaukio 3, Staircase G 00180 Helsinki Finland |
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| Phone: | +358 (0)44 747 4110 | |
| Email: | hrm@hotellijaravintolamuseo.fi | |
| Exhibitions: | Tue, Thu–Sun 11–18, Wed 11–20 | |
| Closed: | Mondays and Finnish National Public Holidays: 7.4.2023, 23.-25.6.2023, 6.12.2023, 24.12.–26.12.2023, 31.12.2023 | |
| Admission fee: | Adults 12 € Pensioners, students 6 € Free admission with the Helsinki Card, with the Museum Card, with a Ukrainian passport and for visitors under the age of 18 years. Free admission on the last Wednesday of the month from 5 p.m to 8 p.m. |
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| Guided tours: | 85 € (on weekdays) + admission fee 6 € / person 125 € (on weekends) + admission fee 6 € / person |
Exhibitions
Taste Matters
8.10.2021 –
Food and drinks are full of flavours that are a matter of taste. Everybody has a different favourite. Taste Matters is a multi-sensory exhibition that gives you different perspectives on food and drink culture: what it is, where and how it is shaped, and who influences it. We all have our own personal perspective on food and drink culture, that is, on eating and drinking and everything that goes with them. As the saying goes, “there’s no accounting for taste”. However, discussion is in order anyway!
The exhibition takes you to places where food and drink culture is formed and modified. You can sit at a campsite and feel like a descendant of a hunter-gatherer. The scent of exciting new foods draws you into the restaurant, the school canteen tastes of equality and the café brings a touch of luxury to your ordinary day. Food and drink culture is never permanent, it continues to change all the time. It is influenced by individuals, communities, society, and the state.
FOOD TATTOO – Flying Karelian pie and other food tattoos
27.1.2023– 7.1.2024
FOOD TATTOO – an exhibition highlights different food and drink tattoos and the stories behind them.
history, people have gotten tattoos for many different reasons. The earliest ones have been found on the skin of Egyptian mummies and Ötzi the Iceman. For indigenous people, tattoos were not only decorations. They have been connected to religion, rituals, medicine, family ties or group identity. In some places, people have believed tattoos have the power to keep evil spirits away or cure illnesses.
Beloved and valued things become tattoos on the skin. If your passion is food, just about anything from a fork to a courgette may be inked on your arm. Many people get tattoos of their favourite foods or ingredients they enjoy. There is an almost unlimited number of possibilities for tattoos with a food and beverage theme. There are just as many stories behind those tattoos as there are people carrying them.
For this exhibition more than 100 different food and beverage tattoos, and their associated stories, were shared with Hotel and Restaurant Museum in the spring of 2022.The tattoos selected for the exhibition photographed by Meeri Koutaniemi. Ethnography students at the University of Helsinki were responsible for the interviews and story texts. Social and cultural anthropologist Suvi Jaakkola acted as an external expert in the project.
Guided tours for groups
Deepen your experience with a guided tour. Guided tours to the exhibition – with or without drinks and food – are available in English, Swedish and Finnish. The tours last approximately 45 minutes. Maximum group size 15 people.
We offer also virtual guided tours.
Reservations for Guided Tours
By email: varaukset(at)hotellijaravintolamuseo.fi
By phone: +358 (0)44 747 4106
Reservations are recommended to be made at least one week in advance.
Organise a Meeting or Party
The Hotel and Restaurant Museum is an excellent venue for events of all sizes and unforgettable celebrations. The museum is suitable for workshops, meetings, and small lectures. You can even rent the whole museum for a private event. We will be delighted to organise a catering service for you.
Venue Inquiries
Contact information: Anni Pelkonen: anni.pelkonen(at)hotellijaravintolamuseo.fi or +358 (0)44 747 4107
Information Service
Information service is for everyone interested in Finnish culinary culture and the history of travel, hotels, restaurants and cafés in Finland. On the spot it is possible to study museum’s archive materials like menus, bottle labels, photos of restaurants and hotels and also literature. You can also contact us by e-mail.
Open: Tue-Fri by agreement, free entrance
Contact information: tietopalvelu(at)hotellijaravintolamuseo.fi
Map and Traffic Connections
Metro: Ruoholahti, about 600 m from the station
Bus stop: Salmisaari
Tram: 8 (Kaapelitehdas)
More information: Helsinki City Transport