Merikortteli building in Punavuori welcomes new pizza restaurant and popular indie cinema

The Merikortteli building in the Punavuori district is rapidly developing into an attractive quarter for dining and entertainment, as its diverse service offerings further expand with the arrival of the Italian pizza restaurant Forza and the popular indie cinema Riviera. Merikortteli on Telakkakatu in the vibrant Punavuori district of Helsinki has developed tremendously in recent years and already houses Kaffa Roastery and Moko Market Café. The historic property adds its own unique atmosphere to the premises in the quarter.

Forza’s restaurateurs Luca and Salla-Maria Platania previously introduced to Finland pizza al taglio, the Roman style of pizzas baked in a tray. The couple now want to offer the most diverse pizza experience possible: Neopolitan pizza will be baked in a wood-fired oven, while Roman pizza will be baked in an artisanal electric oven and served together with a range of other dishes. The pizza experience will be complemented by Italian deep-fried delicacies.

“For years already we have been looking for premises where we could have a genuine wood-fired oven – there are not many of those in the city centre. Now at Merikortteli we can finally realise our dream,” Salla-Maria says.

The cosy indie cinema Riviera is planning to expand to the Punavuori district having gained enormous popularity. The screenings at the Riviera cinema in the Kallio district are regularly sold out, so its owners decided to open a new cinema inside the bohemian Merikortteli building. The new cinema will also feature a bigger kitchen at the new premises.

“We aim to make things better, more lovely and more fun all the time – both in Kallio and on the other side of the bridge. Our new location will have its own unique appeal, customers and staff and serve as a sister cinema to our location in Kallio. Let the adventure begin!” says Riviera’s founder Atte Laurila.

“These new arrivals bring even more wonderful experiences to the already impressive service offerings in the area. At the same time, we at Antilooppi are naturally overjoyed that the new arrivals will further improve the services for our other tenants at Merikortteli,” says Asset Manager Maarit Kivelä.

“At all our premises, we aim to provide a diverse range of services within the same building. These well-thought-out service and restaurant concepts serve not only the users of the premises but also local residents and the surrounding neighbourhood,” says Tuomas Sahi, CEO of Antilooppi.