As a teenager, this used to be my favourite place, coz tehir cinnamon rolls are so big and SO YUMMY! It´s very popular among the tourists as well as the locals. Always full.
Summertime it´s nice if you happpen to get a table outside.
They renovated the place a while ago, and after the renovation I haven´t been going there anyymore, as I think now the system is even messier than before, just too much hastle if you just want to have a quick lunch.
Salads are actually quite ok, all bakery stuff is yummy, but it is not a nice environment to enjoy what you are eating. Too much noise and messy messy messy!
Personally I much prefer cafe Strindberg, which is just around the corner.
But the Cinnamon ROlls are great though!

Helsinki is an interesting town, but a food town it aint. So finding a place that does a great, fresh salad (its what they are famous for as well as their baked goods) is a real score. The only annoying thing is getting a seat, since its so popular. So go early or late, or get friends to snag a good table, then sit back and tuck into a large salad topped with fresh salmon, parmesan shavings, artichoke hearts and more. If you are hungry, close out with a 'pulla', the classic Finnish cinnamon pastry, and a strong Finnish coffee.

In my view this is the best café in Helsinki. It has a nice ambience both upstairs and downstairs (where you're in what looks like a cellar). The lunchtime salads are delicious, plentiful and fresh and there is a great range of coffees and teas. The staff are also very friendly and courteous. Above all, it has the finest selection of cakes and buns in Helsinki and they are enormous. Unless something has changed they also offer free refills of the coffee.

In Summer it's pleasant to sit outside on the Esplanade across from the park and just a short walk to the harbour with its famous market. It's not the cheapest place in Helsinki but you get what you pay for.