Finland is known for a lot of things and somehow in that mix of hockey and natural beauty is the country’s high coffee consumption.
In this guide, I will cover the best places to drink coffee in Rovaniemi, Finland. To be honest, we don’t have many cafes in Rovaniemi. This city only has a handful of permanent residents and most tourists can get coffee at their hotels or restaurants, so what we do have works for us.
If youʻre booking your trip to Lapland last minute, I have you covered. Below are some of the top tours, hotels, and more!
🇫🇮 Top activities and tours in Rovaniemi:
- Northern lights photo tour with lavvu (the BEST aurora tour!)
- Dog-sledding in Lapland (bucket list activity at Apukka Resort)
- Snowhotel visit from Rovaniemi (wheelchair-accessible option starting in Dec.)
🛌 Top hotels and lodging in Rovaniemi:
- Arctic TreeHouse Hotel (famous place by Santa Claus Village)
- Hostel Koti (a budget option w/ private rooms)
- Apukka Resort (glass igloos in a remote location)
- Arctic Light Hotel (top-rated in Rovaniemi city center)
🚗 Looking to travel around Lapland independently? Click here to check Finland rental car rates!
But if someone wanted to come to town and open up an independent cafe in Rovaniemi, I would not be opposed!
These are the best coffee shops in Rovaniemi and they are a mix of chains and independent cafes. In this guide, I will list the independent cafes before the chains to encourage you to check them out.
Some of the places listed also have tasty breakfast and lunch buffet options. Let me know if I am missing anywhere worth visiting so I can stop in and check it out (and list it below).
In this post...
Coffee Shops and Cafes in Rovaniemi
1. Cafe & Bar 21
Location: Rovakatu 21
Website: https://www.cafebar21.fi/en/home/
Cafe & Bar 21 is my favorite cafe in Rovaniemi but it can be difficult to get in there during the high season. Locals and tourists both love this place! They are known for their coffee, waffles, salads, and dessert bar (with tasty ice cream).
The Rovaniemi cafe and restaurant is owned by the same team as Gustav Kitchen & Bar (one of my favorite restaurants in town) and Yuca, the Mexican restaurant next door.
Cafe & Bar 21 is open from Monday to Thursday (11am to 9pm), Friday (11am to 10pm) and Saturday (12pm to 10pm). They are closed on Sundays.
2. Hostel Cafe Koti
Location: Valtakatu 21
Website: https://hostelcafekoti.fi/cafe
Cafe Koti was the first cafe I ever visited in Rovaniemi on a trip here pre-pandemic (I also stayed at the hostel there, so that’s kind of the reason why). They have an amazing breakfast and lunch buffet and are open to the public for both.
The breakfast buffet is €12.90 per person (Monday through Friday from 7am until 10am and Saturdays and Sundays from 8am until 11am) and the lunch buffet is €14.50 per person (available Monday to Friday from 11am until 2pm).
Coffee and tea are included at both places. And, their coffee comes from Johan & Nyström!
While the breakfast and lunch buffet hours are pretty short, you can visit Cafe Koti outside of those hours and enjoy a coffee or a drink.
They are open Monday to Friday (7am to 8pm), Saturday (8am to 6pm), and Sunday (8am to 11am). They are also open on public holidays with their Sunday hours.
3. Loft Cafe & Snacks Shop
Location: Joulumaantie 1 on the 2nd floor (Santa Claus Village)
Website: https://loftcafe.fi/
Every spot on this guide is located in Rovaniemi city center, except Loft Cafe & Snacks Shop, which is situated at Santa Claus Village.
You will find them on the second floor of Joulumaantie 1 (you can see more on the map I created below). They are a locally-owned coffee shop run by Päivi Yazaoui.
I usually grab one of their homemade hot chocolates when I go there (my recent favorite has been the gingerbread hot chocolate), but aside from that, you’ll find coffee (espresso-based drinks and filtered coffee), tea, mulled wine, and alcoholic drinks like beer and wine.
They also have cakes, snacks, sandwiches, and a Finnish design corner where you can find locally crafted souvenirs to take home. I usually just grab a cinnamon bun.
Loft also has a cocktail lounge next door that is open daily from 12:30pm until 9:30pm (last call at 9pm).
Loft Cafe & Snacks Shop is open daily from 9am until 7pm.
4. Sisustus & Cafe
Location: Poromiehentie 7
Website: https://sisustuscafe.fi/
Sisustus & Cafe is a small cafe located in a pink/peach wooden home close to the center of Rovaniemi. To be honest, I had no idea this was a cafe until I wandered past one day and saw the sign up close (I have pretty lousy eyesight).
It is most notably a furniture and souvenir shop with all kinds of beautifully crafted pieces. But, it also has coffee and a few types of pastries!
I have only been once as I tend to go to the city center for work purposes and it is not the ideal setting to do so. But, I intend to head back soon and see if they are still selling the delicious brioche I had there.
Sisustus & Cafe is open Wednesday to Friday from 11am to 5pm and Saturday from 11am to 3pm.
5. Robert’s Coffee
Location: Koskikatu 14
Website: https://robertscoffee.com/cafe/rovaniemi/
Robert’s Coffee is the newest addition to Rovaniemi’s growing cafe scene. This is a chain that was started by Robert Paulig in Helsinki in 1992 (that is when the first shop opened) that is well-known across Finland and has a few branches outside the country.
I was always very shocked we never had one in Rovaniemi, but low and behold, we got one in November 2024.
The Robert’s Coffee in Rovaniemi is located in the center of town and is pretty spacious and cozy on the inside. You’ll find a variety of coffee options and hot chocolates, as well as different types of tea.
They also have gelato, including a cinnamon bun-flavored one I can’t stop thinking about since I first tried it! There are also sandwiches, pastries, and cakes for sale.
Perhaps the best thing about Robert’s Coffee here is that they offer an affordable lunch buffet on weekdays from 11am to 2pm for €13.90 per person. It has salad, oven potatoes, soup, coffee/tea, and a small gelato included.
Robert’s Coffee Rovaniemi is open Monday through Friday (8am to 8pm), Saturday (9am to 7pm), and Sunday (10am to 6pm).
6. Espresso House
Location: Maakuntakatu 31 (inside Sampokeskus)
Website: https://espressohouse.com/en/find-us/sampokeskus-rovaniemi
Espresso House Rovaniemi is probably the place I frequent the most in the entire city. I work from the city 2-3 days a week so I don’t have to sit at home and this is where I find myself usually.
I don’t like sitting around independent cafes for long periods as it takes up a table that others can’t use (our cafes are always busy) but I don’t really mind doing that at a Swedish coffee chain (sorry, Espresso House!).
Nevertheless, I do always buy something and it is usually a large cup of their Signature Brew coffee and a cinnamon bun. They offer one free refill on that cup of coffee so it is a pretty good deal and I can sit around for a few hours working.
They have really good working tables, so you will find a lot of university students doing the same thing. They also offer sandwiches and other types of pastries and cakes, as well as espresso-based drinks.
Espresso House Rovaniemi is open from 8am until 10pm daily. It has a large, wheelchair-friendly bathroom.
7. Coffee House
Location: Maakuntakatu 30 (beside Sokos)
Website: https://www.raflaamo.fi/fi/ravintola/rovaniemi/coffee-house-rovaniemi
Coffee House is another one of the chain cafes on this list (Robert’s and Espresso House being the other two).
While I don’t go here as often as Espresso House, I do stop in sometimes when I need a change of scenery. The reason I pick Espresso House over Coffee House is simply because I like their cinnamon buns better. Nothing more.
They offer filtered coffee, espresso-based drinks, alcoholic drinks, cakes, and small eats.
Coffee House is open from Monday to Friday (8am to 8pm), Saturday (10am to 8pm), and Sunday (11am to 8pm). The cafe is wheelchair-friendly but their bathroom is not and is extremely small.
Honorable Mention: Choco Deli (Rinteenkulma)
Location: Inside Rinteenkulma Mall
Website: https://chocodeli.fi/
I am ashamed to say that I have not been to Choco Deli just yet. It is in the mall but it always has a lot of people inside so I just pass by it.
I will make it a point to go in the upcoming week and have a coffee and check it out myself. Anywhere that sells chocolate is my kind of place, so I am sure it will be added to this guide as an additional coffee shop option! It gets stellar reviews.
New to drinking coffee in Finland?
If this is your first trip to Finland, you will quickly notice that coffee is just as commonplace as water. You will find it everywhere. Every restaurant, hotel, etc.
Your hotel will most likely provide you with coffee and there will most likely be a place to help yourself to it in the lobby. Some restaurants offer coffee with lunch for free (actually most do – Gustav, Santamus, Thaibaan, Cafe & Bar 21, Santa’s Kebab, etc).
Coffee here is black and can be a little sour tasting if you’re used to dark roasts and bitter flavors (southern Europe comes to mind). This is pretty true across the Nordics.
It is easy to get used to but if you have options for the types of coffee at a place and don’t like the sourness of Nordic coffee, just ask for the darkest roast they have.
You can also get discounted refills at some coffee shops, so be sure to ask when you’re paying for your initial cup of coffee. I work from Espresso House a lot and they offer a free refill.
Rovaniemi Cafes (On a Map!)
Did I miss any good Rovaniemi cafes in this guide? Let me know in the comments so I can go check them out (and add them here).
More Rovaniemi Travel Guides
- Rovaniemi in winter
- Places to eat in Rovaniemi
- Best Rovaniemi day trips
- Rovaniemi budget hacks
- Review of the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel
- Getting from Rovaniemi Airport to the city center
- Best tours in Rovaniemi
- Rovaniemi in November
- Northern lights in Rovaniemi
- Dog sledding in Rovaniemi
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Megan is a travel blogger and writer with a background in digital marketing. Originally from Richmond, VA, she now lives in Finnish Lapland after previous stints in Norway, Germany, Armenia, and Kazakhstan. She has a passion for winter travel, as well as the Nordic countries, but you can also find her eating her way through Italy, perusing perfume stores in Paris, or taking road trips through the USA. Megan has written for or been featured by National Geographic, Forbes, Lonely Planet, the New York Times, and more. She co-authored Fodor’s Travel ‘Essential Norway’ (2020) and has visited 45 US states and 100+ countries.