Martta café Joensuu

Worl-famous Karelain pies

Martta Café is a summer gem of Joensuu Market Square – a traditional café especially known for its coffee and freshly made Karelian pies, served with or without egg butter. In May 2023, we opened a new and stunning Martta café and Pie Workshop. The building’s architecture draws attention with its exterior walls made of charred recycled wood – worth a visit for that alone!

At Martta café, you’ll be served by a cheerful team of young people, and on offer are Karelian pies baked at the Pie Workshop, along with other savory and sweet homemade pastries from our own bakery. Martta café has been part of Joensuu’s summer market square since 1974 and remains one of its main attractions.

At Martta café, we always strive for sustainability in our operations. Our coffee comes from the local Unison Coffee roastery and is UTZ-certified. The refreshments are produced by the Finnish company Olvi, and we do not use disposable tableware.

Pie Workshop

Opposite the Martta café, at the Pie Workshop, the Karelian pies sold in the café are baked almost daily during the summer. They are made through volunteer effort, with bakers coming from various member associations of the North Karelia Marttas from across the region. In the mornings, you can watch the pie-making process from behind glass windows.

The Pie Workshop has been operating at Joensuu Market Square since 1992. The production and sale of Karelian pies support the professional home economics advisory work of the North Karelia Marttas Association.

In the summer, we organize pie-making classes where participants learn how to make traditional Karelian pies. Children and adults are welcome! In summer 2026, we will hold open pie-making classes between June 24 and July 31, on wednesdays and fridays from 1–2 pm. Read more about the pie-making classes this link.

EVENTS IN SUMMER 2026

Karelian Wednesdays every wednesday, featuring a generous selection of traditional Karelian delicacies such as sultsina, lanttusupikkaita, mahallaan makkoojia and barley flatbread

Martta Tip Of The Week – Instagram live-streams at Martta café (weather permitting)

You can to follow the making of a live broadcast from a font-row seat.

monday 8.6. at 14 pm Use of compost soil

monday 10.8. at 14 pm Raspberry and strawberry, red berries

Themed Tuesdays at the Martta café from 12:00 to 14:00. On odd-numbers weeks, the themes focus on current advisory topics, and on even-numbered weeks, we present the activities of our partner organizations (weather permitting):

2.6. Introductoin to Camping Stoves

9.6. Composting and How To Clean Your Coffee Maker

9.6. Pohjois-Karjalan Syöpäyhdistys ry

16.6. Midsummer Birch Whisks

23.6. Pohjois-Karjalan Muisti ry

30.6. Circular Economy Theme

4.8. Legume tasting

11.8. MLL Joensuun yhdistys

18.8. Potato tasting

25.8. Joensuun Setlementti

la 30.8. klo 10-14 National Mushroom Day: mushroom exhibition