M-klubi was a restaurant and private club located at the basement of the

Hotel Marski Hotel Marski (or Marski by Scandic) is a hotel opened 1962 on Mannerheimintie 10 in Helsinki, Finland. The hotel was built by Alko-owned Arctia Oy and the nine-storey building with strip windows was designed in 1961 by architect Einari Teräsvi ...

Mannerheimintie Mannerheimintie () (previously known as ''Henrikinkatu'', ''Läntinen ja Itäinen Henrikinkatu'', ''Läntinen ja Itäinen Heikinkatu'', ''Turuntie'', ''Läntinen viertotie'', ''Heikinkatu''), colloquially known as Mansku, named after the Finni ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, from 1962 up to the 1980s. The restaurant could seat 225 people. Its most famous members included mining counselors, trade union leaders and ministers. The club has also been referred to as the "Piggy bank club" and the "Mau-mau club". The membership fee was originally 2000 markka, equivalent to 230

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

in 2008. The club was open from 9 PM to 4 AM.Eronen, Uula
30-vuotiaan Marskin Mau-mau-kerho oli Suomen ensimmäinen seurapiiriklubi Uudistunut hotelli avaa keväällä Marskin ryypyn
''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'' 1 February 1992. Accessed on 28 May 2022. ''

'' commented in its report of the opening of the club that "this was handy in eliminating the so-called afterparties at home which annoyed the neighbours". In 1980 the club had 4700 members.Elomaa, Pekka
35-vuotias Marski mahtimiesten kerhosta metsästyspaikaksi
''

'' 23 January 1997. Accessed on 28 March 2008. Attendees invited to the opening were given a present set to the side of their plate. Women got an orchid and men got a silver disc as a symbol of honorary membership in the club. The evening supper served oxtail soup, river trout and pheasant. The club was opened at 1 AM, when Speaker of the Parliament

Karl-August Fagerholm Karl-August Fagerholm (31 December 1901, in Siuntio – 22 May 1984, in Helsinki) was a Finnish politician. Fagerholm served as Speaker of Parliament and three times Prime Minister of Finland (1948–50, 1956–57, and 1958–59). Fa ...

cut a blue-white ribbon held by CEO Aki Marte.Järvenpää, Eeva
Kuohukerma koolla Marskin avajaisissa
''

'' 2 March 2008. Accessed on 28 March 2008. Throughout the years attendees at the club included all the celebrities in Finland starting from

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland (; ) is the head of state of Finland. The incumbent president is Alexander Stubb, since 1 March 2024. He was elected president for the first time in 2024 Finnish presidential election, 2024. The presi ...

Urho Kekkonen Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (; 3 September 1900 – 31 August 1986), often referred to by his initials UKK, was a Finnish politician who served as the eighth and longest-serving president of Finland from 1956 to 1982. He also served as Prime Minister ...

. Jyrki Hämäläinen and Markku Veijalainen have mentioned in their memoirs that one could see all the most important celebrities of the time at once at the club.

Prime Minister of Finland The prime minister of Finland (; ) is the leader of the Finnish Government. The prime minister and his or her cabinet exercise executive authority in the state. The prime minister is formally ranked third in the protocol after the president ...

Ahti Karjalainen Ahti Kalle Samuli Karjalainen (10 February 1923 – 7 September 1990) was a Finland, Finnish economist and politician. He was a member of the Agrarian League (later known as Keskusta, Centre Party) and served two terms as Prime Minister of Finlan ...

held evening meetings with various focus groups at the club. There was an unfortunate event at the opening of the club when a rat ran through the restaurant hall as the hosts were shaking hands with the invited attendees. The club got in an unfavourable light when the Minister of Education of Denmark was denied entry to the club as he did not have a membership card.

References

{{coord missing, Finland Restaurants in Helsinki Kamppi