Coffee & tea

Stockholm is packed with cafés that mostly have a modern design or just a cozy one. Rival tries to fill this gap by being a sophisticated and smart but yet homey place to hang out. Its Parisian-like decoration with mirrors and photos of famous and not-so-famous Swedes as well as its big windows turned to the trees of Mariatorget make this spot a great place for meeting a friend, work, study or just reading the daily newspaper.

Café Rival has his own bakery and during lunch time serves great crossover food ranging from soups and pastas to quinoa salads. While it is typically full during lunch time it is possible to find a table without any waiting, most of the time. It is also very popular among locals for an afternoon coffee as it has delicious pastry.

Besides the main local just at the entrance, there is also a smaller one a level above and in case you get to pass by here on a sunny day, just take a sit on the tables outside overlooking the calm Mariatorget park.

Vurma is mostly a café but also a bakery. Because of the second, it is possible to combine the great ingredient combinations they have with various kinds of freshly baked breads. I also love the excellent pasta/quinoa salad choice they have. In fact both of these selections are almost unlimited as customers are free to pick the ingredients according to their wishes.

This spot is also very popular among vegans as Vurma offers a wide variety of alternatives for them. But maybe the strongest point of Vurma is the environment. It has a mix of kitsch and cozy with warm wallpapers, plenty of colors on the tables and dishes and many small tasteful details.

The clientele is loyal and friendly and even though it is usually crowded, Vurma still manages to hold a relaxed mood where time passes slowly. Even though Vurma can be found in Gästrikegatan and Polhemsgatan (closed in Hornstull for the moment), it still manages to keep its very local feeling!

When I returned to Stockholm after six years abroad this continental coffee bar had replaced Platanos Livs – for many years my local grocery store, and source of milk and breakfast cereal.

Kaffebar is really what it claims to be: a bar where you drink mainly coffee, but in contrast to most other, much smaller ones of its kind you find in Stockholm Kaffebar is a rather large place. During the weekends it’s crowded with locals in their mid-thirties and upwards, grabbing a quick coffee on their feet by the large windows facing St Paulsgatan.

True to its Italian inspiration, Kaffebar serves toasts, but with Swedish style filling such as Västerbotten cheese or Falukorv. They also have mini croissants and some Italian patisseries. Not the place to go for a big lunch, but perfect for people watching or for grabbing a quick coffee.

In each major area or hub of Stockholm city, you’ll be able to find different indoor ‘markets’ where you can go to buy high quality meats. fresh produce, dried herbs and etc. Perhaps the most famous of them and quite popular for the tourists and locals alike is Ostermalmshallen. However, in this post I’ll be talking about the lesser known, ever-busy Hotorgshallen located right in the city center.

Everytime my sister and I shop on Drottningatan we make it a point to stop here (like many of the other shoppers) to recharge and get our dose of vitamins and minerals with the huge variety of dried fruits, nuts and berries which are free to sample and try. We used to be quite shy but now its a fight with the other curious and hungry shoppers to get the last dried Incaberry.

Along with the meat and seafood vendors you can find different restaurants, fine chocolates as well as a Finnish food store all in Hotorgshallen. It’s definitely one of the most diverse halls in Stockholm city. What’s special about Hotorgshallen and all other ‘halls’ in Stockholm is that every vendor has very high standards for the freshness and quality of what they sell or serve, so you are sure to be getting the very best without having to pay a very high price!

The fairytale about the islands who lost it’s loaf…

Once upon a time there was an island named Utö which had a long tradition of baking. Most widely known is their dark loaf that’s been named after the island. A couple of years ago a charming and wealthy gentleman knocked on the door of the baker who owned the secret recipe and asked for permission to come in.

After a few hours the gentleman took the boat back to the mainland and little did the other people know, that in his pocket he held a copy of the secret recipe. As the news got out that the old bakery had sold their recipe to the gentleman a great depression hit the island. The years went by and people got on with their lives, until last summer.

One morning the people on the island sensed something in the air, what was it, springtime? Were the lilac in bloom? They all started to move towards the main harbor to find that a new bakery had opened. The old loaf was far gone and forgotten. A young man with fiery cheeks was baking the most exquisite breads and rolls. The island had regained its glory. As the summer went along it turned out that the young man was one of Sweden’s most promising bakers. 

Take a tour to Utö, follow the scent of fresh baked delicacies and you will be able to get a taste of the island.