Eat Like A Swede: 4 Things to Eat in Stockholm

My favorite part of traveling is taking photos, but my second favorite thing is taking photos of food.

Just kidding! It’s eating the food!

Even though I like to try all sorts of things while visiting a place, I do also like to try the local favorites, no matter how kitschy or typical they might seem. So here it is, my round up of Swedish favorites, trendy or not.

You can’t talk about Swedish food without talking about meatballs. I am sure the options for good meatballs in Stockholm are endless, but I ended up eating at the popular Södermalm spot, Meatballs For The People. This restaurant is tucked away on a quiet corner, but don’t be fooled, it still gets packed around dinner time. Luckily, I got there around 5 so there was no issue getting a table right away. (Sidenote: When I got on their website while writing this to look something up, I discovered the restaurant is closed in the summer months, but they set up a truck at Djurgårdsbrunn). My friend and I both got the Classic dish, which comes with cream sauce, potato purée, lingonberries and pickled cucumber, but I got it with the lamb meatballs and my friend got it with beef so we could try both. And both were absolutely delicious.

When I was planning my trip to the Nordic countries I wasn’t expecting much of a craft beer scene, but I was pleasantly surprised in Sweden. Meatballs For The People had several local beers on tap, and the Sleepy Bulldog Pale Ale was really excellent. To top it off we had raspberry pie for dessert.

If you stay in Södermalm until dusk, make sure to walk over to Monteliusvägen afterwards for some gorgeous sunset views.

Oh! Also Kara and Nate from YouTube showed up while we were eating and I almost lost my shizz. We worked up the courage to say hello and they couldn’t have been cooler about our obvious fan-girling. If you haven’t watched their videos, definitely check them out!

Having a Swedish cinnamon bun was pretty high on the to eat list, but I hadn’t really looked up where to go before actually getting to Stockholm. I was staying at a hostel in Gamla Stan (old town) and according to the internet, Naturbageriet Sattva seemed like the place to go. It’s a quiet little bakery located on the edge of Gamla Stan but the first thing you see when you walk in is a huge pile of buns. It’s apparently a vegan bakery, which I actually didn’t really consider when going since the reviews were so good. A note for Americans: don’t expect a warm gooey cinnamon bun in Sweden. While still delicious, the buns here are crunchier and not served straight out of the oven (although this seems like a missed opportunity). So once I was over the fact that IKEA has been straight up lying this whole time, Naturbageriet Sattva does serve a nice and authentic cinnamon bun.

We’ve all been there. You’ve had a long day and you just want to eat something easy and go back to your hotel/hostel/Airbnb. For many of us, McDonald’s is the go to in any country. Mostly because you know that quarter pounder with cheese is going to be the same everywhere, from Canada to Singapore, and it’s going to come out fast. And while you feel a little guilty (not that guilty if I’m being completely honest) for eating that McDonald’s on your vacation, it gets the job done. Well, after a long day out in the Stockholm archipelago, we were wanting something fast and easy but didn’t want to end up at an American chain. Enter Max’s. Basically the McDonald’s of Scandinavia, it’s both delicious and technically still eating local! You can order off one of the many kiosks if you don’t feel like talking to a human, and a slew of delicious burger options await you. Burger: good. French Fries: good. Soda: refills are not free.

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I know there is so much more to Swedish cuisine and I can’t wait to go back and eat some more, but for now these are my essential Swedish eats and drinks. If you have been to Sweden, let me know in the comments or on Instagram what your favorite Swedish treats are!