Vegetarian Pho (vegan)🍜💚 at Sen Chay in Helsinki
Fried noodles, veggies&tofu at Sen Chay in Helsinki
Fried udon noodles and Pho soup at Sen Chay in Helsinki
Vegan
Take-out
Asian
Vietnamese

Small vegetarian restaurant located in the Hakaniemi area, behind Aktia bank. Offers mainly Vietnamese cuisine with fried rice, fried noodles, pho, and other choices with tofu and vegetables. Food is available for pre-ordering and takeaway. Reported May 2017 to be now fully vegan.
Note May 2020: confirmed open. Open Mon-Sat 11:00-19:00, Sun 12:00-19:00.

Venue map for Sen Chay
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97 Reviews

First Review by veganpolyglot

Avatar Tarkington

Tarkington

Points +98

Vegan
18 May 2016

Unexpected find in Helsinki!

Was visiting Helsinki and found this via HappyCow. Really tasty.

They tell you what is vegan if you ask and I had a really nice curry soup which had some barbecued TVP. They made some rice flour pancakes which were vegan as well and were really delicious too. The chili sauce was really spicy, which was welcome as a lot of chili sauce is not vegetarian at Asian restaurants.

Avatar Doro*

Doro*

Points +495

Vegan
10 Feb 2016

Hidden gem?

Sen Chay is a bit hidden, walking from Hakaniemi marketplace towards the bridge, left hand sided in a "back"yard. I would have never known about it if I did not pass the sign "vegan vegetarian smoothie" almost every day ;)
So today I finally went there with a friend - and definitely it won't be the last time! While I had broccoli, paprika, fried tofu and nuts ("nut curry, if I remember correctly) my otherwise omni friend chose Pho soup. Mine was very tasty, not extra-ordinary, but especially for Finland, nicely spiced and made from fresh vegetables. My friend has quite high expectations of Pho soup and she also liked it :)
My dish cost 9,50€, what might seem not too cheap, but for Finnish standards it is OK and the portion was just right, filling, but not too much. They also had a lunch list of three dishes, which were unsignificantly cheaper than the normal price (about 1€, if I remember correctly).
The service was nice and the atmosphere cozy enough to stay for a while for chatting :)

Recommendable!

Pros: tasty, fresh ingredients, friendly service

Cons: lunch not much cheaper than normal

broccoli, paprika, fried tofu and nuts on rice, 9,50€ at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Avatar kexi

kexi

Points +52

Vegan
15 Jan 2016

Thumbs up for serving only vegetarian!

This must be one of only two Asian places in Helsinki that don't serve meat. Which is awesome. The food was good, and their menu is just as messy as anywhere.

You need to go through the gate to get in the inner yard of the building. They usually have a sign pointing to the restaurant.

Avatar chart94

chart94

Points +242

Vegan
10 Oct 2015

not vegan, but good

I don't know why the happy cow label says vegan because they do use yogurt and eggs here. Almost everything is vegan though.

I got a mango smoothie and the broccoli peanut tofu and the first was ok, the tofu dish was delicious.

Affordable, hard to find, but a great place to eat in a good location. The people were nice.

Avatar MuikkusenMatkassa

MuikkusenMatkassa

Points +110

Vegetarian
12 Sep 2015

All the meals are either vegetarian or vegan

Really good asian vegetarian/vegan food. The restaurant is little bit hidden, so you have to know where to look for it. Nice, friendly service.

Pros: Only vegetarian/vegan food, thumbs up!, Good tastes, Nice service

Avatar nafanc

nafanc

Points +1615

Vegan
11 Aug 2015

Great flavors

This is a really nice Vietnamese restaurant near Hakaniemi. The dishes are flavorful and the portions are generous.

Pros: Excellent food, Good value

Rice and noodles at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Avatar RikeRikea

RikeRikea

Points +57

Vegetarian
27 Jun 2015

yummi!

This little bit hidden restaurant had pretty good lunch for us. We took filled tomatoes and a noodlesoup and both were delicious. The friendly and nice two ladies cooked after our order (so it needed some time, but worthy!). we had an gingertea (which was ok) and a juice from carrot and pinapple (which we liked).
The prices are for helsinki pretty good. With drinks we payed 24 Euro.
So, we recommend to go there!

Pros: good choice, freshly prepared, inexpensive

Cons: not organic

Avatar NadiaQop

NadiaQop

Points +38

Vegan
02 Jan 2015

Delicious

We were traveling in Helsinki over the Christmas/ NYE holidays and decided to try this place. The food was so delicious we went back for lunch the next day. Highly recommend. The owners are wonderful and make their own hot sauce.

Cons: no alcohol, pretty basic

Avatar Sakuru

Sakuru

Points +665

Vegan
12 Jul 2014

Good lunch

Sen chay has reasonable prices on Helsinki-scale. It offers good lunch, so if you are in the neighbourghood, I recommend it. The place is quite small so take-away is also a good choice.

Pros: Nice service, Good basic lunch, Lots of vegan options

Cons: Not solely vegan

Avatar Hannah Bananna

Hannah Bananna

Points +13

Vegetarian
10 Jun 2014

Happy Camper

How lucky am I to be staying in a hotel around the corner from this place? Great food, great prices. Enough said.

Avatar ulpu

ulpu

Points +181

Vegan
05 Jun 2014

The best place for vegans in Helsinki

THE BEST IN TOWN!
Good sized portions, reasonable pricing, friendly service, beautifully served food from fresh ingredients. Great chilli sauce to add! Maybe a little slow, but I'm willing to wait if it's prepared from scratch. Broad menu. The place is a little hidden, didn't find it at all when it was closed, the a-stand during opening hours will help. Venue is not so amazing, but sympathetic.

Pros: Interesting and beautifully served food, Broad selection, mostly vegan, Inexpensive

Cons: Location

Avatar bleadof

bleadof

Points +47

Vegan
23 Apr 2014

Delicious vegan food

I've now eaten four different portions with spring rolls and even a avocado smoothie. They've all been super yummy! This restaurant is one of my favourite spots to get vegan Asian food. The Vietnamese dishes, along with Thai and Japanese fusion make their offering quite unique. Taking into account the tasty and quality ingredients with great service make the prices almost a steal, ranging from 7-12 euros for a meal.

Pros: quality, price, service

Avatar Tanja*

Tanja*

Points +420

Vegan
11 Apr 2014

Sympathetic little vegetarian restaurant

So many interesting vegan options that it's difficult to choose! Portions also differ from other asian restaurants in Helsinki. Most of the portions are vegan (marked on menu) or vegetarian and available also vegan. They don't use much spices, but you can add some hot chili if you like.

Broccoli and tofu in peanut sauce. at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Pho Xao Carry. Noodles with tofu, mushrooms and coconut. at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Fried noodles with tofu, vegan sausage, shiitake, sprouts and beans. at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Fried udon noodles with tofu, broccoli and beans (vegan) at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Avatar Pitaya

Pitaya

Points +1257

Vegan
20 Feb 2014

Delightful Vietnamese vegetarian restaurant

This small simple place is a lovely addition to the vegetarian restaurant scene in Helsinki. Sen Chay's menu has a nice selection of interesting dishes and vegan options are marked. Flavours are fairly mild - typical to Vietnamese food - but you can add chili and salt to your taste. Service is extremely friendly and nice.

Pros: 1st totally vegetarian Asian restaurant, interesting menu, lovely, friendly service

Cons: small place

Peanut sauce is super yummy here at Sen Chay in Helsinki

vermicelli soup (vegan) at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Stuffed tomatoes (vegan) at Sen Chay in Helsinki

tofu in peanut sauce (vegan) at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Yummy ginger tofu (vegan) at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Avatar tomahola

tomahola

Points +195

Vegetarian
20 Dec 2013

spacey

This "new" restaurant was a surprise! I would not have known about it without HappyCow. They are located in Hakaniemi by a busy road, but nothing reveals that there is a nice vegetarian (egg in some dish) restaurant with five tables. A very small sign by the road says "Nouto Herkku" (takeaway deli), but really there are tables and it is suitable for dining out. Finding your way around a corner into the backyard you see an open sign and "Sen" on the window. I only visited once sofar. I had the wokked vegetables. I would describe the food as honest. I quite like it that way. No extra aroma intensifiers and chemicals that many Asian wok restaurants might add to the food to gain customers. This was genuine taste from fresh vegetables. If you like spicy food there was soy sauce and chilli sauce on the table to help. The staff was friendly and my dish was prepared reasonably fast.

Pros: honest pure food, good location, space and atmosphere for dining out

Cons: no springroll as side dish available yet

Sen Chay can be found by looking for the sign 'Nouto Herkku' at Sen Chay in Helsinki

Avatar veganpolyglot

veganpolyglot

Points +47

Vegan
06 Dec 2013

The only Asian vegetarian restaurant in Helsinki

Visited there 3 times recently. They have a pretty long menu with Vietnamese style food. Those that we tried have been very flavourful, certainly the best veg food in Helsinki.

Most of the menu is vegan, the owners promised to mark which ones when we asked yesterday. The menu is in Finnish, but it does have pictures of the dishes. Haven't asked if they speak English or not.

The owners recently turned vegetarian themselves and turned the restaurant along with them.

The ingredients seem very fresh indeed. The cooking takes a while from the menu; if in a hurry, better choose one of the quick lunch options from the board.

Check their Facebook page for their opening times, they may be changing in the beginning.

Pros: A la carte menu with many choices, Very tasty food, Reasonable prices

Cons: They cook relatively slow, Opening times may vary, check facebook, No English menu

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