Cafés with Homemade Pastries in Sweden
When Ester Nordhammar opened this konditori in 1928, Swedish women had held the vote for barely a decade and female business owners were scarce. She employed only women and ran the place until her death in 1961. Crystal lamps, velvet chairs, and princess cakes carry her legacy forward.
Formerly Mellqvist Kaffebar, this Södermalm institution is featured in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium novels as Mikael Blomkvist’s go-to spot and served as the author’s own regular café, too. It serves David Haugaard’s micro-roasted coffee alongside Valhallabageriet pastries and has a sunny terrace.
A converted tannery beside the Säveån river now houses gastronomy, creative studios, and a sauna. A rest stop on the Gotaleden worth planning around: coffee from a friend’s roastery, freshly baked buns, as well as local and Mediterranean dishes, fuel hikers for the next leg.
Around the corner from the award-winning restaurant PM & Vänner, this bakery produces naturally leavened loaves and buttery pastries from local and organic ingredients. While “bröd” means bread, “sovel” is old Småland dialect for the scraps you spread on it, rooted in scarcity rather than abundance.
A former waterworks on Lake Kottlasjön now houses a stone-oven bakery where cinnamon and cardamom buns share the heat with slow-fermented bread. The building dates to 1915. Coffee from nearby Lidingö Rosteri accompanies the food. Ideal as a walking destination or as a summer escape from the city.
Two former Stockholmers who met through surfing, Fredrik Ekman and Claes Johansson, started this stone-oven bakery north of Visby in 2014. Their team bakes with organic Gotland flour and shapes cardamom buns with butter. Vintage food vans roam the island in summer.
On Sweden’s southern tip, Per Söderberg and Tilde Möller bake bread in a stone oven using organic flour from Skåne and Bornholm. Loaves proof slowly; pastéis de nata with free-range local eggs and real butter are irresistible. Some ingredients come from their own kitchen garden.
Housed in a heritage building from the 19th century, this café is widely known for its generous cake buffet. The garden overlooks the archipelago and fortress. Luckily, it has enough tables to allow guests to slow down. Seaside holiday feeling, also thanks to the ferry ride from Stockholm.
This specialty roastery on Kungsholmen sources beans directly from South and Central American farmers. Baristas pull espresso with care and provide tasting cards detailing the origin and altitude. Empanadas and medialunas bring Buenos Aires to the North; curious guests try the espresso tonic.
The interior of “The Bean & The Moustache” came from a closed konditori in Svalöv, giving this tiny coffee bar its authentic 1950s charm. Beans from Swedish micro-roasters rotate through two batch brews and two espressos, with hand brewing available on request. Organic tea, craft chocolate, and liquorice are on the shelves.
The scent of stone-baked levain greets visitors to this small, French-inspired bakery on Lidingö. Owners Fredrik and Anna both have credentials from the Nobel Banquet. The Tosca bun with almond topping and a buttery base is a local favorite. Coffee beans and apple juice come from the island.
Sisters Alma and Alvida Jansson founded this patisserie in 1903. The name honors explorer S. A. Andrée, who had passed overhead by balloon, preparing for his expedition to the North Pole. Today, siblings Tina, Per, and Elin continue the family tradition with stone-oven bread and handmade pralines.
A marble staircase leads to the upper room of the oldest konditori in Umeå, running since 1927. Co-owner Jessica Sandberg, a member of Sweden’s national pastry team with European championship titles, oversees the baking. The princess cake and sandwiches are local favourites.
This classic konditori on Karlavägen has served the upscale neighborhood since 1920. Now run by award-winning chef Mattias Ljungberg, it offers both traditional recipes and new inventions such as the famous “semmelwrap.” Lesser-noticed delights are the buttery Rimbo bun and the painted tiles on the walls.
At this award-winning pâtisserie, master pastry chef Josefin Gauffin brings world-class technique to Dalarna. After years in Stockholm, including the commission for a royal wedding cake, she returned home to bake Budapest rolls and sesame-miso éclairs that look like jewellery.
What if dietary restrictions meant no compromise? At this dedicated gluten-free bakery, everything is also oat-free and lactose-free, with many vegan options. Constraints breed creativity here: the choux-semla hybrid merges French pastry technique with Swedish tradition.
Magnus Johansson set a record by creating the Nobel Banquet dessert eleven times. His bakery in the modern district of Hammarby Sjöstad, founded in 2011, brings refined craft to everyday pastries, cakes, and breads. The bostocks alone justify the detour. Glass walls reveal the busy workshop.
Anders Oskarsson, who runs this 1920s bakery, was named World’s Best Pastry Chef in 2017, and a gold medal on display proves it. He created the mini princess cake in a taco-like shell. Everything is made from scratch, using vanilla, organic Gotland flour, Valrhona chocolate, and other selected ingredients.
Uppsala’s oldest operating café, founded in 1878 by confectioner Erik Ofvandahl, has occupied its Sysslomansgatan address near the cathedral for well over a century. Filter coffee comes with free refills, a tradition called påtår. One specialty is the Linnébakelse: a marzipan pastry bearing the profile of botanist Carl von Linné.
Frida Leijon, the multiple-award-winning pastry chef who helped create a royal wedding cake, opened this stone-oven bakery in 2017. Seasonal tarts, mousse cakes with meringue, almond croissants, and cardamom buns line the counter. Three Uppsala locations now serve her fine creations.