Stockholm Specialty Coffee Guide

When I last visited Stockholm in 2011, the only coffee shop I went to was Café Stiernan in Gamla Stan. The notes I made in my global travel spreadsheet read: "good spot for coffee — with latte art!!" Happily, the Stockholm coffee scene has come a long way in the past five years and there were plenty of great cafés waiting for me this time. Here are a few of my favourites — scroll to the end for a handy map.

Café Pascal (Vasastan)

I arrived at Café Pascal, located on a quiet side street in Vasastan, at lunchtime on a sunny Saturday and it was seriously busy. The queue snaked almost to the door, but the cheerful and efficient baristas served everyone promptly and it was my turn to order in no time. There is plenty of seating inside the café, though — a combination of long, sharing tables, smaller spaces and window seats; there were also a few tables on the pavement but on such a gorgeous day, these had long since been nabbed.

Café Pascal serves coffee from a variety of microroasteries. While I was there, they were offering coffee from two Swedish roasters: Koppi in Helsingborg and Lund-based Love. There is a dedicated brew bar as well as an espresso machine, and I decided to go for an Ethiopian Nano Challa coffee from Koppi, brewed through the V60, as recommended by the barista. Despite the queue, the barista did a superb job with my pourover — in fact, it was easily within the top three pourovers I've had this year. The fruity flavours came out so nicely that I couldn't stop sniffing my coffee! Of course, it tasted great too.

Café Pascal is also a great brunch spot and there are plenty of tempting salads and sandwiches on the menu — the prices aren't especially cheap, but this is Stockholm. I went for the Swedish take on avo toast: avocado and a nearly poached egg on rye brad, which was really delicious. The café itself is beautiful with its rustic-chic décor and the baristas really, really care about making each cup of coffee awesome. If you're in Stockholm, don't miss this place.

Café Pascal is located at Norrtullsgatan 4. Instagram.


Drop Coffee (Södermalm)

After having the pleasure of trying Drop Coffee's beans recently at both Flat White and Milkbar, I was keen to visit their base in their hometown. Their roastery was a little too far out of town for me to stop by on this trip, but I did make it to their Södermalm coffee bar. Inside, the design is very minimalist: light wood accented with pops of yellow. There weren't any hand-brewed filters on offer so I ordered a cortado and took a seat in the window so that I could people-watch (always a fun activity in quirky Södermalm).

The coffee was a Kenyan variety — coincidentally, my second Kenyan cortado in under an hour — and it was very nicely brewed, although on the longer side. The subtler notes of the coffee still came through well, though, and I was very pleased. There are a few seats outside for those warmer days and plenty more inside for when the weather is less kind. A few light bites are on offer too and you can buy bags of beans to take home.

Drop Coffee is located at Wollmar Yxkullsgatan 10. Twitter. Instagram.


Johan & Nyström (Södermalm; Arlanda Airport)

I visited Johan & Nyström's Helsinki café a few years ago and really liked it so I was looking forward to stopping by the original Stockholm concept boutique. I was not disappointed! I visited on two occasions, trying two different V60 pourovers (one from an El Salvador coffee and one from Ethiopia) and a cortado (made with a Kenyan variety). All three drinks were brewed expertly by friendly, knowledgeable baristas and isn't their custom espresso machine one of the most beautiful you've ever seen?

The café itself is a small warren of interconnected rooms and so even when it's busy (which it was on both of my visits), you can usually find a cosy nook to make your own. I particularly liked the raised seats behind the brew bar, which has plenty of cushions for you to rest against. They run a variety of workshops and courses too and if you aren't sure which bag of beans to buy, they are happy to let you sample a few varieties. The bags themselves are gorgeous too — each decorated with an animal typical of the country the beans come from. I bought a bag of Ethiopian Guji coffee to take home and I've been enjoying it this week brewed through my Aeropress.

Best of all, though, is that Johan & Nyström now has a coffee bar at Arlanda airport in the arrivals section of Terminal 2. In my rush to get into the city centre and the Södermalm J&N, I didn't stop for coffee on my arrival, but it's great to know that the option is there. With the exception of PDX, whose Stumptown coffee bar opened a few months after my visit to Portland earlier this year, it's rare to find specialty coffee at an airport. At J&N, you could get a great espresso-based drink or a pourover, and if you've forgotten to buy gifts to take home, their coffee beans are sure to be a winner!

Johan & Nyström's concept boutique is located at Swedenborgsgatan 7. Twitter. Instagram.


Kaffeverket (Vasastan)

I hit Kaffeverket, located on one of Vasastan's broader boulevards, just at brunch time and there was a bit of a queue. In the absence of a pourover on the menu, I ordered a cortado and managed to grab a seat at one of the sharing tables, climbing over a bench in a most un-ladylike fashion. The coffee was good and the pastries and brunch dishes looked lovely. The whole café was very Instagrammable, from its tiled walls, well-curated artwork and pendant light bulbs.

Kaffeverket is located at Sankt Eriksgatan 88. Instagram.


Melqvist Kaffebar (Vasastan)

A very popular weekend brunch spot, Melqvist Kaffebar, located right next to Sankt Eriksplan Tunnelbana station, was heaving when I got there. I didn't have the energy to fight for a table, even though the food looked great, so I just got a cortado to take away, which was pretty nice. This café is definitely best enjoyed from one of the sunny pavement tables.

Melqvist Kaffebar is located at Rörstrandsgatan 4. Facebook.


Snickarbacken (Norrmalm).

Part café, part lifestyle boutique and part gallery, Snickarbacken, tucked away on a quiet street in Norrmalm, is all things to all people. Happily, they do all of these things well! My friend and I stopped by for fika on a Saturday afternoon, sharing a V60 for two, brewed with a Kenyan Kabingara coffee from Gothenburg-based roaster Per Nordby. It was a fruity brew with strong citrus notes, and even though it was my fifth coffee of the day, I really enjoyed it.

Snickarbacken 7 is (unsurprisingly) located at Snickarbacken 7. Instagram.

There were several other coffee shops on my list, including three that I couldn't visit as they were closed. Tasman Café (Torsgatan 31) in Vasastan is a popular antipodean-style café and I'd hoped to do brunch there but alas, they don't open at weekends. In Norrmalm, I failed to check out Bianchi Café & Cycles (Norrlandsgatan 20), which is closed on Sundays (although Google Maps is ignorant of this), and Kafé Esaias (Drottninggatan 102B), which serves coffee from Gothenburg roaster Da Matteo, but which I ran out of time to visit.

Weekend in Stockholm: Where To Shop and Eat

For such a short visit to Stockholm, I managed to check out a fair few cafés, restaurants and shops and I've listed some of my favourites below; I'm saving most of the best coffee shops for tomorrow's post, although a couple are featured here too; for sight-seeing suggestions and practical tips, check out this post.

Gamla Stan
I wanted to experience a tasting menu while in Stockholm and I decided on Pubologi (Stora Nygatan 20), which has the same owners as my hotel. The restaurant is small, with only 20 or so covers, and minimalist. They are only open in the evenings and do a five-course tasting menu, which varies seasonally, for 695 SEK (about £64). I knew it was going to be a good meal when I walked in to the sound of The National. Curiously, at each place setting there is a glass panel above a small drawer that holds the menu, serviette and enough cutlery for all of the courses. The service was truly excellent and the food was incredible. It was the best kind of tasting menu in that it pushed me way outside my comfort zone — I probably wouldn't have ordered any of the dishes from an à la carte menu but I enjoyed everything and finished every bite. The dishes were creative with wonderful flavour combinations; my favourite might have been the chard-baked pike-perch with tart butter, grilled corn and tarragon juice, but the initial 'snacks' were great too. I finished the meal with a glass of housemade plum liqueuer, and what a meal it was! I definitely recommend Pubologi but booking is essential.

On Saturday night, my friend and I went for drinks at one of the bars in my hotel, Tweed (Lilla Nygatan 5), which is a vintage-insired whiskey joint. The cocktail menu is extensive. I asked after the 'PBJ on Wholegrain' just to rule it out but the waiter pitched it well: the peanut butter is blended with the whiskey using a special machine and the end product was absolutely delicious, by turns smooth and tart. Tweed is a fun and cosy spot for a drink (or two). The other Gamla Stan bar on my list was Corner Club (Lilla Nygatan 16); I didn't have time to visit but it looked like an excellent spot for cocktails.

A lot of the shops on Gamla Stan are geared towards tourists, but there are a couple of nice lifestyle and homeware boutiques on Västerlånggatan: Iris Hantverk (no. 24), which has gorgeous throws and Swedish-made gifts, and E. Torndahl (no. 63), which stocks a small but well-curated collection of accessories and homewares. I particularly liked the Nordlys (northern lights) Skandinavisk candles at E. Torndahl; they would make a beautiful gift.

Kungsholmen
There are three branches of Grandpa in Stockholm (the others are in Södermalm and Norrmalm) but this location at Fridhemsgatan 43 was the first one I visited and probably my favourite. Grandpa is effortlessly cool but unpretentious and sells men's and women's fashions and accessories, gifts and homewares. You can even buy samples of the paint they use for their walls! The Kungsholmen branch is connected to an equally cool bar and restaurant called Sixten & Frans. I wasn't there at the right time, but it looked like a hip but relaxed place to hang out.

Norrmalm
The café-gallery-shop space at Snickarbacken (pictured below) no. 7 is a good option for refuelling after a hard morning of pounding the pavements of Norrmalm. The coffee is very good and it's a nice place for a light lunch or pastry. There are multiple branches of the bakery Fabrique in Stockholm (there are also three in London), including at Drottninggatan 102, and the cinnamon and cardamom buns are always spot on. For a good-value and very tasty burger, I recommend Vigårda (pictured below); they have several branches but I went to the one near the bus station at Kungsgatan 25. The restaurant is cool and minimalist and there's a cocktail bar too. Just be aware that they don't take cash.

If Muji and Ikea had a baby, it might look a bit like Granit, which sells good-value and well-designed minimalist homewares. It's a great place for stocking up on items for your kitchen or living room; sadly, I couldn't quite carry home the solid granite cutting board! There are a handful of branches in central Stockholm, but the store at Kungsgatan 42 was my favourite. If Granit stocks the useful, then DesignTorget stocks the beautiful and useful. A little more expensive than Granit, DesignTorget, as its name suggests, sells some lovely design goods — it's a great place for gift shopping. H&M isn't, perhaps, the most exciting shop to include in a shopping guide but the store at Drottninggatan 50, Norrmalm's main drag, is currently a pop-up interiors concept store. They sell fresh flowers and some higher-end (but still cheap) homewares with a design twist.

Östermalm
I didn't spend much time in the district that lies, as its name may suggest, to the east of Norrmalm. I did stop by Östermalms Saluhall, the historic gourmet food hall on Östermalmstorg. It's a good place to shop for food or to grab a drink or a light bite at one of the counters. The restaurant at Strandvägen 1 (named, strangely enough, Strandvägen 1), right on the harbour looked lovely — modern and unpretentious — and I heard great things about the rotisserie chicken.

Södermalm
I arrived in Stockholm at lunchtime and headed straight to Södermalm, stopping for lunch at Bageri Petrus (Swedenborgsgatan 4B). I had a delicious cardamom bun and a mozzarella baguette (on divine house-baked bread). You can eat in but I walked up to Mariatorget park to enjoy the afternoon sunshine. Another great bakery find was Il Caffè Söder (Södermannagatan 23; pictured below), which had a huge queue outside on a sunny Sunday afternoon. They do all sorts of cakes and pastries, but the blackcurrant bun I had was beautiful and very tasty.

I had lunch on Sunday at the self-proclaimed 'meatballeria' Meatballs for the People (Nytorgsgatan 30). You order at the bar — the classic meatballs, served with mash, lingonberries and cucumber, are 125 SEK (about £11.50), or 95 SEK if you arrive before noon. I sat at the bar and there was a hip but relaxed vibe. You can even buy some meatballs to cook at home. It was, unfortunately, closed at lunch on Sunday, but Woodstockholmen (Mosebacke torg 9), near the Katarina lift, looked like a lovely neighbourhood restaurant. I also liked the look of Pelikan (Blekingegatan 40).

Södermalm is a shopper's paradise and there are numerous places to indulge in some retail therapy, from quirky independent stores to Swedish and international chains. In the area known as SoFo (South of Folkungagatan), I really liked 6/5/4 (Nytorgsgatan 27; pictured below), which sells men's and women's fashions with a surfy, outdoor vibe; they also have an in-shop coffee shop, reminding me of Saturdays Surf in SoHo, New York. For higher-end Swedish fashions, Acne Studios is just across the road at no. 36, and next door to that is a branch of Swedish Hasbeens for all your funky shoe needs. Slightly further south at Nytorget 4 is a great deli and casual eatery called Urban Deli (pictured below). If it's a nice day, pick up a picnic to eat in Nytorget park.

Further west on Åsögatan is Stutterheim Raincoats ("Swedish melancholy at its driest") at no. 136 and clothing and accessories boutique Rokas at no. 128. One block north at Kocksgatan 19 is a craft beer store and bar called Bottle Shop (technically, Bottl3 5hop).

In the more northerly section of Södermalm (NoSo?), west of the bridges to Gamla Stan, there are some lovely shops on Hornsgatan, including vintage boutique Herr Judit (no. 65); House of Rym (no. 73), which sells Swedish ceramics and homewares; and cool fashion boutique WOS (no. 98). One block further south is Krukmakargatan, which also has some great shops, including the petite but perfectly formed independent book and magazine store Papercut at no. 24.


Vasastan
I didn't do much shopping in Vasastan, the smart neighbourhood northwest of Norrmalm, as I was primarily there to café-hop. Bakery & Spice (Torsgatan 46; pictured below) is a tiny bakery that sells fantastic bread and buns; my cinammon bun came topped with pecans. A few doors down is Kaffeverket (Sankt Eriksgatan 88); I went for coffee but it's a really popular brunch spot, as is the lovely Cafe Pascal (Norrtullsgatan 4), which does fab salads and brunchy sandwiches.

Weekend in Stockholm: Things To Do, Places to Stay

Although I have a couple of five-day trips booked over the next two months, a colleague's impromptu weekend trip to Gothenburg — combined with a BA sale — spurred me into booking my own weekend trip to Sweden but to Stockholm instead. I went to Stockholm in early 2011 and, despite the weather being icy and me being ill, I really liked the city and have wanted to go back ever since. The speciality coffee scene has expanded greatly since then too and I'll be writing about some of the cafés I visited in a separate post. I'll also cover my two other favourite holiday activities — eating and shopping — in another post; today, I am writing about some of the things I did and some general travel tips.

I was in Stockholm for only 60 hours but I managed to cram a lot in. Our flight landed at Arlanda a few minutes early and because I'd travelled very light, with only a large handbag, I zipped through the airport and was on the Flygbussarna airport bus by 12.45 pm on Friday, reaching the central bus terminal by 1.30 pm. The bus was about 198 SEK return (about £18) if you book online — much cheaper than the Arlanda Express train, which gets you into the city centre in 20 minutes. It was a 15-minute walk to my hotel in Gamla Stan (the old town), about which more later, and I only stayed long enough to check in and switch over to my smaller handbag before heading back out.

The Stockholm archipelago consists of thousands of islands of varying sizes, connected by bridges or, in some cases, by boat. Gamla Stan is pretty, quaint and very popular with tourists. I usually prefer to stay in quieter, cooler neighbourhoods — close to where the most promising coffee shops are located — but booking my hotel so late limited my choices and Gamla Stan has the benefit of being a 15-minute walk from both the shops and cafés of Norrmalm to the north and the hipster paradise that is Södermalm to the south.

Stockholm has an excellent public transport system and you can get one-day and three-day passes transport passes known as SL cards. However, these are quite pricey and because a) the weather was so beautiful and b) I like walking, I didn't use public transport at all. The city centre is quite compact anyway, so although my feet were a little achey after pounding 13 miles worth of pavements each day, I have no regrets. If you think you will take the Tunnelbana (metro), buses or boats a few times a day, it may be worth buying an SL card.

My first destination on Friday afternoon was to Södermalm. I had a couple of coffee shops on my list (you'll know which ones if you follow me on Instagram) and my second priority was to get something to eat. The only challenge with this in Söder is choosing from the many great bakeries and lunch spots. As I walked around the neighbourhood, some of the streets and buildings did refresh my memory. In particular, I was pleased to see that my favourite punny hairdresser's — Cut the Crap — was still in business. I also remembered (too late) that the cliffs and hills on the northern edge of Södermalm can be tricky to navigate around.

Earlier this year, many of Stockholm's museums stopped charging admission. Fotografiska, the photography museum, wasn't one of them but it was worth the 120 SEK (£11) admission fee. There were several excellent exhibitions, including one of Anton Corbijn's work. The view of the city from the rooftop café-bar is great, the loos are the coolest museum bathrooms I've ever seen and there is a good shop too. Do be aware that like a number of places in Stockholm, they don't take cash.

Initially, I thought I'd catch a bus and a boat over to the island of Skeppsholmen but I ended up walking along the harbour, through Gamla Stan and around the main harbour to the small, verdant island. Skeppsholmen is home to Moderna, the modern art museum, and if you cross the island onto an even smaller isle called Kastellholmen, you can visit the castle and enjoy great views over Djurgården and Södermalm.

I had read that Moderna was free on Friday evenings but it turns out that it's free all the time. They have an excellent permanent collection and a lovely book shop, although the temporary exhibitions weren't my cup of tea. My culture quota fulfilled, I wandered back to Gamla Stan to get changed for dinner — more about that in my next post.

On both Saturday and Sunday morning, I went for a run along a wonderful jogging/cycling circuit called the Riddarfjärden Loop, a mostly flat 4.5-mile circuit that takes you from Gamla Stan, west past the city hall and the grand buildings of Kungsholmen, back over Västerbron and along the Södermalm waterfront. The whole route is on either pavements or separated jogging paths and on such gloriously sunny but crisp mornings as last weekend, the conditions were perfect.

After showering off and a quick breakfast at my hotel, I headed straight back out to the Stadshuset (city hall), which is the office for many politicians and civil servants and also hosts the annual Nobel Banquet. There are regular tours for 100 SEK (check the times off-season) and you can also climb the 106-metre tower for 500 SEK. You have to join a tour group and it's quite a steep climb (there is a lift that takes you some of the way if you need it), but it's well worth it for the panoramic views across the city. The bell tower itself is pretty impressive too. Afterwards, I sat down by the water for a bit and then sneaked in a quick leap. Hey, the sunshine was filling me with joy!

For most of the rest of the afternoon, I was carrying out the shopping, eating and caffeinating portion of my day, wandering from Kungsholmen, through smart Vasastan and back down through Norrmalm. I met for lunch with a London friend who has just moved to Stockholm and we shopped in Norrmalm for a bit, visited the Östermalms Saluhall gourmet food hall and then food a place on the waterfront in the sunshine to sit and relax with a drink or two. Everyone seemed so happy as they enjoyed what might be the last warm(ish), sunny weekend of the season.

After my Sunday morning run, which was even easier once I had the route mastered, I checked out of my hotel and went to join the free Stockholm walking tour, which leaves from outside Gamla Stan Tunnelbana at 10 am and 1 pm. Initially, I'd thought about going to the Vasamuseet, which celebrates the ill-fated 'Titanic of Sweden', but the weather was so nice that I didn't really feel like being inside and besides, as a former tourist-information employee, I love walking tours.

We were a big group — 40 people or so — but our cheerful and cool guide kept us informed — and out of the path of cyclists — as we walked past some of the city's most famous landmarks in the old town and new. If you're short on time and are keen to get a flavour of some of the city's key sights, from the parliament and palace, to the building where 'Stockholm syndrome' got its name and a statue with a warm belly, these free tours work well. The tip I gave to the guide was probably the only cash I really needed for the whole trip (and even then, I bet she would have preferred PayPal if I'd asked).

Another reason I had wanted to do the walking tour on Sunday morning was that many of the shops and cafés are closed then — some shops don't open at all on Sundays, so do your research in advance. After the tour (and a couple of failed coffee shop visits) and a stroll around the Hötorget flea market, I headed back to Södermalm where I climbed the steep steps to Katarinavägen, which gives a great view of the city. You used to be able to get the Katarinahissen (lift), but it's been closed for a while. If it's open, you can also ride in the lift of the bar-restaurant called Gondolen, which I went to on my last trip.

After lunch in SoFo (the area of Södermalm South of Folkungagatan), I spent most of the afternoon hopping from hipster boutique to cool coffee bar to relaxed park. Södermalm is definitely a great place for whiling away hours people-watching and soaking up the cool atmosphere over a fika or a drink. I slowly began to make my way back to the bus station, via my hotel to pick up my bag, the Nobel Museum (getting ready for this week) and a fab burger joint for dinner.

Two-and-a-half days isn't very long to spend in Stockholm but with two museums, a walking tour and 40 miles of exploring the city on foot, I accomplished a lot. If you think you will visit a lot of museums and other sights, the Stockholm Pass may be worth the money (it wasn't for me); it doesn't include transport either. I had also read about Stockholm being a near-cashless society but I hadn't anticipated how many places wouldn't accept cash, from major museums, to big coffee shops, to restaurants. I rarely carry cash at home, but as a lone traveller, I think it's usually sensible to get a little local currency just in case. Unfortunately, the airport ATM only dispensed 500 SEK notes and I failed to get rid of one final 200 SEK note after both the final coffee shop I visited and the burger joint rejected my money. Consider yourself warned...

As for my hotel, I stayed at the nautical-themed Victory Hotel in the heart of Gamla Stan. I paid about £90 per night for a very small single room, but as you can probably tell, I wasn't in my room very much, and it was quiet, well-appointed and comfortable; the shower was great too and the wifi performed well. The hotel staff were extremely friendly too and there's a sauna and medieval plunge pool (!) in the basement and a hot- and cold-buffet breakfast. The location is very central too.

Last time, I stayed at the stylish Hotel Birger Jarl in Norrmalm, which was a little too pricey this time. I also really liked the look of Story Hotel in Östermalm (there was a good deal on the Mr & Mrs Smith website too), which is more of the kind of hotel I typically gravitate towards.