Fika – an everyday Swedish habit
Swedish people don’t just 'fika' in cafés. You fika at home, definitely at work, in the park, down by the beach, basically anywhere you can meet people and wind down with coffee – and your cake.
People who don’t come from Sweden probably think fika is simply a coffee and cake break. But to Swedes it’s a lifestyle and an important part of their culture. Many Swedish people make time for fika every day, where they meet friends and colleagues to share a coffee or tea and enjoy a quick bite. It’s all about stopping and socializing – taking a short break from everyday routines.
To enjoy fika yourself, invite some friends – or people you’ve just met– to the nearest coffee shop, either in the morning, or around 3.00 pm, order your coffee and cake, sit down, preferably by a table with a few candles in winter, and enjoy the warmth of your drink – and the company you’re keeping.
Skåne – home to some of the world’s best cafés
Several of Skåne’s baristas have been voted as the world’s best. So coffee and those small moments of its enjoyment are big stuff here. There are lots of different kinds throughout the region – from ultra hip coffee roasteries to cosy garden cafés. Read on to find your personal favourite below!
Ransviks havsveranda
People have been coming to Ransviks havsveranda near Mölle for over 100 years, when it gave its name to “Mölle sin” – where men and women bathed together. The restaurant and café combine Swedish flavours and Tuscan influences made from certified eco-producers to create tasteful fish, seafood, vegetables or game dishes. The café offers classic “fika” traditions featuring home-baked delights.
Flickorna Lundgren
If you have a sweet tooth or just like sitting in a pretty garden, drop in at the enchanting café that was run by the seven Lundgren sisters from 1938-1988. Today it’s run by one of the sisters’ sons and his family. The café is in Skäret on the Kulla Peninsula with a fantastic view over the sea. Enjoy delicious cakes and pastries, hot regional dishes such as classic äggakaka (a sort of thick omelette) and traditional coffee from a copper pan. Or try their juice along with stone-baked bread, and homemade jams.
Love coffee
Wherever great coffee comes from, you can be sure it’s stocked in this neat coffee shop in Lund. The café sells freshly roasted coffee from various origins and blends for both espresso and filter brewing. They also sell great equipment and offer tips and tricks to give you the best possible coffee experience.
Brödkultur 2.0
Discover the world of Swedish bread at this charming bakery, nestled within the beautiful Sofiero estate. It offers a delightful selection of freshly baked sourdough breads, pastries, and cakes, all baked with care using local ingredients. Relax with a cup of hot coffee or tea and delicious sandwich or muffin and enjoy the picturesque surroundings of Sofiero Castle Park, north of Helsingborg.
Lilla kafferosteriet
Lilla Kafferosteriet is in a beautiful 17th century building in the middle of Malmö. They serve hyper-modern coffee of all flavours for all tastes. All coffee is pre-roasted in a small cast iron roast (image above from their roastery) to get an even temperature, then hand-packed before served and sold. Buy breakfast or enjoy a cake with your coffee.
Solde Kafferosteri
Malmö's Solde is the place for creative hipsters and coffee enthusiasts. Solde’s own roastery sources coffee they can trace to farms and producers. They only work with trusted exporters to ensure the purest, most sustainable coffee possible. Check out their brew school on the website. If you fancy a croissant with your coffee, they bake their own on-site.
Lillaro
Lillaro café & Peleka is a tranquil oasis close to the picturesque village of Förslöv, between Ängelholm and Båstad. Serving local, seasonal ingredients created with love, the café changes its menu from week to week. Try their home-baked “Slo bread” (Saturdays only) or treat yourself to a piece of “slow fashion” from their range of “Peleka” hand-made clothes.
Söderberg & Sara stenugnsbageri
Söderberg & Sara is an artisan bakery that makes quality bread and pastries using produce from local farmers and small mills. Everything is made with natural yeast.
Drop in to one of their cafés in Malmö by S:t Knut, or in Ystad, try their delicious pizzas baked in a traditional wood-fired stove in Malmö’s Saluhallen (market hall) or buy freshly made pasta from their factory (Pastafabriken) in Österlen.
Slottsträdgårdens kafé
Slottsträdgårdens kafé – the castle garden is an organic and gastronomic oasis in a large vegetable and flower garden in Malmö. Surrounded by canals, it features both fruit trees and themed miniature gardens. This charming café is famed for its freshly baked cinnamon buns, fruit crumbles and raw food cakes. The café brews its own beer and sells organic wines and Kombucha.
Ateljén
Ateljén is a popular café in Limhamn, close to Malmö. With its relaxed atmosphere and stylish interior, it's the perfect place to enjoy a delicious coffee, lunch, or Friday After Work. The menu offers dishes from fresh salads and flavourful pizzas to delectable pastries and coffee. Ateljén was voted as Malmö’s best café by the Malmö gastronomy award.
Hallongården
Hallongården sells a range of home-made raspberry-based cakes and biscuits. They also serve juice, jam, marmalade, raspberry ketchup, chutney, raspberry vinegar and more. Discover their delicious open sandwiches with speciality toppings or take your picnic basket and sit among the raspberry bushes.
In the summer you can pick your own raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries and black and red currants. Keep a lookout on their Facebook page which tells you which berries you can pick depending on supply and the weather.
Vismarlöv café och bagarstuga
Enjoy a smooth cup of fair-trade coffee on the glass veranda decorated with old furniture at this relaxed café just outside Svedala. Sample delicious stone-baked bread, cake buffet, hearty sandwiches, mackerel, soup-of-the-week, honey from the farm, home-made marmalades and much more. Vismarslöv café och bagarstuga is well worth a visit.
Gamla bageriet Borrby
If freshly baked bread, cardamom buns and quality coffee is your thing, then visit this old bakery in Borrby in the heart of Österlen. Everything is baked using local, organic ingredients from small producers. Their yeast is fermented for a long time and even some of the flour is ground at the bakery. Stay at their newly renovated cottage next door, just 400 metres from the sea.
Olof Viktors
All bread from Olof Viktors is made from their own sourdough and baked in the traditional way in wood-fired stone ovens. And they sell cakes to die for. It’s no fluke that they have been voted as Sweden’s best patisserie, and won awards for their creations including Sweden’s best cake. A must for every fika-lover, located in the countryside east of Ystad.
Österlenchoklad
This bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the village of Skåne-Tranås in Österlen is famous for its award-winning pralines. Savour their superb chocolates that range from apple cake to smoky dram whisky. Get them from premium resellers around Sweden or buy them from the chocolate factory.
Byvägen 35
An award-winning organic bakery, café and bistro in Österlen, Byvägen 35 adds a genuine yet modern touch to "Swedish fika". Relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee, vegetarian lunch and a wide range of pastries and sweets.
Kaffestugan Alunbruket
Surrounded by the Verkeån nature reserve, Kaffestugan Alunbruket (the Coffee Cottage) is Skåne's oldest café in a traditional half-timbered building outside Brösarp, Österlen. Started in 1930, the café is owned by the fourth generation of owners and sells coffee and cakes according to the season such as elderflower-walnut cake, amaretto-chocolate truffle cake with orange-custard and wild strawberry-pistachio nut ice-cream.
