Kojehuone (building 8)
Interview with Ángel Layos:
"Peloton is officially a restaurant, a bike shop, and a bike workshop. We have good coffee, beers, wines, and a selected menu. Everything is made of high-quality ingredients. But Peloton is more – It’s a social space, with a great ambiance and a unique atmosphere.
With Peloton, I am bringing all the passions I have under the same roof. I am originally from Madrid. I used to work in a family owned restaurant, and as a sommelier and manager in a hotel. In 2013, I came to Helsinki to work in my friend’s small wine bar. After that I worked at Ask, Olo and Savoy as a sommelier. I have also a background with bikes, I love mechanics and fix everything myself.
From idea to reality
We had the idea of Peloton, the name and the logo a way before anything happened. We were riding bikes in Helsinki, and the only places we could easily go were Maunulan maja or Pitkäkosken maja. When we had coffee and ”munkki” there, we started to talk that we should have our own place. Finland was missing a proper cycling cafe. Those could be found in Madrid, Girona, London, Berlin, Sydney etc. but not here.
In 2020 I decided to make Peloton happen. But it took a bit longer than expected, and Peloton opened in the spring 2022.
Logical location
Peloton had to be in a special place. Besides Suvilahti and Teurastamo, we were thinking about places a bit further away. Before making the decision, we checked the amount of bike traffic here. There’s a lot of traffic in this area, so this is a logical place for Peloton. If we were in the city centre, it would be more complicated to come with your bike.
This space in Suvilahti is perfect, it’s big, it looks amazing, it’s part of the history of Helsinki. But there’s a challenge how to get people here, because besides us and Stadin Panimo there are not many places to visit. The challenge means also extra motivation. We are here to make it happen, it’s as simple as that.
Seasonal menu and a crazy wine list
We are planning our menu related to the seasons, and we try to be as local as possible. We are also adapting to the wishes of our customers, and the menu is in a constant change. For example, now they are wishing for more options, and we are doing that. We never wanted Peloton to be a fine dining place. But most of us come from fine dining, and it’s very easy to do things that you know by heart.
Our wine list is not massive, but it’s crazy. We have very easy going selected wines, natural wines and very exclusive bottles. Not many people know that you can have amazing bottles with crazy value here.
Welcome as you are
You can come here with your 15 000 euros road bike or with your old Jopo, and we will give you the same treatment - fix your bike. If we haven’t got the correct tools, we will guide you in the right place. Sometimes in the bike shops with high end products, there might be an attitude. But one of our rules is that we are not bike shaming.
Peloton is a place where you can be sweaty and dirty. It’s a restaurant where you can take your bike inside. Peloton is a place where you are welcome as you are."
Photo: Laura Räsänen