MILAN – Fika, or the act of taking a break over coffee and a snack, is a Swedish tradition that, at its roots, encourages people to pause and reset. Sweden enjoys a highly developed culture when it comes to baked goods, and everywhere in Stockholm, you’ll find cafés and cake shops brimming with atmosphere, character, and quality, whether traditional or contemporary-creative.
Here is a selection of fancy cafés in Stockholm, all worth a visit in themselves.
Café Saturnus
Eriksbergsgatan 6, Östermalm
Café Saturn has taken its inspiration from France and the high quality permeates everything that is served. They are perhaps best known for their large cinnamon buns, but French-style dishes and sweet pastries are also served here. Saturnus is also a popular hangout local Swedish celebrities that live in the area, so make sure you are up to date on who’s who in Sweden! Don’t miss out on looking at the mosaic floor of the room, which is a work of art in itself.
Sturekatten
Riddargatan 4, Östermalm
Another classic on Stockholm’s café map is Sturekatten, which is a stone’s throw from Stureplan. Here, Swedish classic coffee bread and simpler dishes such as toasted sandwiches are served. The café is housed in a building from the 18th century on three levels and has a interior style that is bourgeois turn of the century. The pastry shop has its own bakery that follows the traditions of recipes from the 30s. Here, for example, Gempfer and a simple but delicious chocolate cake are baked.
Rosendals Trädgårdscafé
Rosendalsvägen 38, Djurgården
Rosendal’s garden, with its beautiful flower beds, vegetable plots and orchard, is an excursion in itself. In the middle of the greenhouses there is a garden café with a clear craftsmanship profile. Everything that is served is based on organic produce in season from their own garden or local organic farm producers. Wall to wall with the café is Rosendal’s wood oven bakery where all bread and pastries served in the cafe are produced by hand.
Under kastanjen
Kindstugatan 1, Gamla Stan
In the heart of the old town is a tiny cobblestone square with a large chestnut tree in the middle. It is perhaps one of Stockholm’s most beautiful squares, which is commonly known as the Burnt plot. As the name reveals, our next tip is there in the square, under the chestnut. Here, bread, cakes and food are baked all of which are gluten free, though there are gluten options, for those who prefer. Unlike many other cafes in Stockholm, dogs are allowed at Under Kastanjen.
Drop Coffee
Wollmar Yxkullsgatan 10, Södermalm
On Södermalm, which has been named one of the world’s hippest districts several times, is the award-winning coffee brewery Drop Coffee. Here everything is for the coffee connoisseur or anyone who just wants to enjoy a good cup of Swedish coffee. In addition to a large selection of beans, where all the coffee is roasted in their own roastery, it has a good breakfast selection and light lunches are offered. Popular with both Stockholmers and tourists.
Mahalo
Odengatan 26,Vasastan or Hornsgatan 61, Södermalm
In comparison to the aforementioned cafes, Mahalo is a newcomer to Stockholm’s café map and is found in both Vasastan and Hornstull on Södermalm. It is a colorful health café where everything served is vegan and many items are organic. In addition, all food that is cooked from scratch is free of both gluten, lactose and refined sugar. It offers everything from fruity bowls and savory wraps to plant-based pastries.
