In Stockholm you don't just "grab a coffee", you have fika. It's one of the most Swedish customs there is and the perfect excuse to get to know the city through pretty cafés, sourdough bakeries and cinnamon and cardamom buns. Here are the spots from our Stockholm PDF travel guide, organized by neighborhood, with what to order at each one.
What is fika?
Fika is a break for coffee (or tea) with something sweet, usually mid-morning or mid-afternoon, with friends, family or coworkers. The point isn't the coffee, it's the break: stopping, sitting down and chatting for a while. In many Swedish companies it's so ingrained that it's part of the daily routine. The word works for everything: it's a verb ("shall we fika?") and a noun ("let's meet for fika").
For travelers it's the perfect plan between sights, especially in winter, when it gets dark early and you just want to duck into somewhere warm. And in summer, as we mention in the guide, the terraces in Södermalm and Gamla Stan fill up with people having fika in the sun until sunset.
What to order: kanelbulle, kardemummabulle and other Swedish treats
- Kanelbulle: the Swedish cinnamon bun. It's a brioche-style dough lightly spiced with cardamom, rolled up with butter, sugar and cinnamon, and topped with pearl sugar. It's less sugary than an American cinnamon roll. It even has its own day: October 4 is Kanelbullens dag.
- Kardemummabulle: the same idea, but with cardamom as the star. It's usually shaped like a knot or a braid. If you only try one bun in Stockholm, make it this one.
- Semla: a cardamom bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. It's a winter classic, around February, before Lent.
- Prinsesstårta: princess cake, with sponge cake, custard, whipped cream and a green marzipan dome. It's the classic cake of the konditori (traditional pastry shops).
Norrmalm and the center: classic konditori
Vete-Katten
It's at Kungsgatan 55 and is one of the best-known and oldest konditori in the city, with old-school tearooms. What to order: a slice of prinsesstårta, which they have all year round, or a semla if you're there between February and April. When to go: an afternoon fika after shopping on Drottninggatan.
Gast
It's at Rådmansgatan 57, between Norrmalm and Vasastan. It's a specialty coffee shop that rotates roasters. What to order: a filter coffee with a sourdough sandwich. When to go: a quick, good breakfast.
Gamla Stan: fika in the old town
Skeppsbro Bageri
It's at Skeppsbron 21, by the Gamla Stan waterfront. It's an organic bakery that mills its own flour, and you can taste it in the bread and buns. It regularly shows up on lists of the city's best bakeries. What to order: a kardemummabulle and sourdough bread. When to go: before you start exploring Gamla Stan in the morning, when there's hardly anyone around yet.
Our tip for the old town: it's the most touristy area, so take a good look before sitting down at just any terrace on the main streets. The side alleys and small squares have way more charm.
Södermalm: the neighborhood with the coolest cafés
Södermalm is Stockholm's most bohemian and creative neighborhood, and for us the best one for fika. Here you'll find specialty coffee, neighborhood bakeries and lots going on around Nytorget.
Drop Coffee
It's at Wollmar Yxkullsgatan 10, next to Mariatorget metro station. They're one of Sweden's best-known specialty roasters and have been roasting light-roast coffee since 2009. Open 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends. What to order: a filter or an espresso from their selection of the day, with pastries from Svedjan bakery. When to go: your first stop before heading up to Monteliusvägen for the views over Gamla Stan.
Kaferang, Gildas Rum and Pom & Flora
These are three cafés from the guide you can combine on one walk around Nytorget, the trendiest corner of Södermalm. Kaferang (Skånegatan 81) is a café-bistro right next to the square, perfect for a cappuccino with a sourdough sandwich. Gildas Rum is a café full of character, ideal for an afternoon fika. Pom & Flora is our pick for a heartier breakfast or brunch.
Sébastien på Söder and Cykelcafé Le Mond
To round out your Södermalm route, the guide also includes Sébastien på Söder, a neighborhood bakery, and Cykelcafé Le Mond, a cycling-themed café, very fitting for a city as bike-friendly as Stockholm.
The café at Fotografiska
If you're going to the Fotografiska photography museum (it's in our 3-day itinerary), don't leave without heading up to its café. It has incredible views over the water and the city, and it's a great spot for a relaxed breakfast or brunch.
Östermalm: elegant bakeries and the biggest bun
Café Saturnus
It's at Eriksbergsgatan 6 and is famous for having the biggest kanelbulle in the city (sharing is pretty much mandatory). It has a French-café feel and gets very busy, especially for Sunday brunch. What to order: the giant kanelbulle, of course. When to go: a mid-morning fika as a couple or with a group.
Tössebageriet
It's a classic pastry shop at Karlavägen 77. What to order: their tössetårta, a layered cream cake, and in February a semla, which is what all of Stockholm knows it for. When to go: grab it to go and eat it in a nearby park like Humlegården.
Valhallabageriet
It's at Valhallavägen 174 and is a neighborhood bakery with sourdough bread. What to order: their kanelbulle. When to go: breakfast, if you're staying in the area.
Vasastan: the quiet neighborhood for a Sunday fika
In the guide we describe it as a quiet residential area, perfect for a Sunday of cafés, bookstores and antique shops.
Lillebrors Bageri
It's at Rörstrandsgatan 12, a really pleasant street lined with terraces. What to order: their brown-butter kardemummabulle, one of the most famous in the city. When to go: first thing in the morning. On weekends there's a line and the buns sell out.
Café Pascal and Konditori Ritorno
Two very different styles a few minutes' walk apart. Café Pascal (Norrtullsgatan 4) is a modern specialty coffee shop. Order a flat white with a cardamom bun. Konditori Ritorno (Odengatan 80-82) is a konditori from 1959 with its retro decor still intact, ideal for a prinsesstårta or a semla in season. Very close by you also have Kaffeverket, another of the neighborhood cafés we recommend.
Fabrique
Fabrique is a stone-oven bakery with locations all over the city, so you'll have one nearby wherever you are. Their kardemummabulle is a safe bet if none of the places above are on your way.
Djurgården: fika in a greenhouse
Rosendals Trädgård
It's one of the plans we recommend most in the guide. Rosendals Trädgård is a biodynamic garden on Djurgården with a café inside a greenhouse and a wood-fired bakery. Much of the food comes from their own garden. What to order: a filter coffee with their cardamom bun, or a full brunch. When to go: lunch or fika on your museum day (Vasa, ABBA, Skansen), since it's on the same island.
Practical tips for fika in Stockholm
- Opening hours: many bakeries open early and close mid-afternoon. The most famous buns sell out, so a morning fika is the safe bet.
- Paying: cash is hardly used in Sweden. Bring a card or pay with your phone. Some places flat-out don't accept bills.
- Kaffe påtår: at some cafés and konditori your second cup of filter coffee (påtår) is free or very cheap. Ask before ordering another.
- Saving money: the Karma app, which we also recommend in the guide, offers food from restaurants and cafés at a discount at the end of the day.
- Route: group cafés by neighborhood. A Mariatorget–Monteliusvägen–Nytorget walk through Södermalm lets you squeeze in two or three fikas without taking the metro.
More Stockholm
If you're planning your trip, our post what to see in Stockholm in 3 days has the day-by-day itinerary, getting in from the airport and the best neighborhoods to stay in. And if you're pairing it with Denmark, here are the prettiest cafés in Copenhagen.
In our Stockholm PDF travel guide you'll find the full list of cafés and bakeries (almost 30), restaurants by type of food, hotels by price, markets, thrift stores, summer and winter plans and a 3-day itinerary, with every spot saved on Google Maps.
