Alepa

I know… it’s Alepa. Big whoop. But I am obsessed with their Rainbow croissants, which at 39 cents each are the best deal in Helsinki. I am cheap. Why? Because I like money. I like really good, really cheap food. Why? Because I am from this magical land called San Francisco where the cheap, delicious food: household ratio is skewed in favor of the food side.
I digress. This Alepa has a few things going for it: Better croissants than Kanniston Leipomo down the block (€ 2.80 each) at around ¹⁄₈ the price… sorry, KL. They are open until 11 p.m. God bless you, Alepa! This location is the only Alepa I know of that carries my favorite soup from Amerrika. They carry gluten free bread. They have a lot of organic vegetables. They never run out Fazer Geisha bars.
Downside: they run out of food really fast. The remodel seems to have reinvigorated shoppers and it can be very busy and a little understaffed between 5 and 7 p.m.
Finnish people LOVE their chocolate wrapped in bread. God bless them but really? Meh. HOWEVER, a Rainbow croissant wrapped around a strip of Fazer dark chocolate is delicious. Toss in the oven for 2 minutes and for less than € 1 you have a chocolate croissant that beats the € 3-​€ 6 sub-​par chocolate croissants you’ll find at local bakeries. AND you can say they were homemade ;) Plus– the cashiers always patiently allow me to stumble through my clumsy Finglish at the checkout line instead of just snapping at me in English :)