Understated Abroad

Stockholm was one of the coolest and most hip cities I have ever had the fortune of visiting. I knew coming in that the city had a hipster reputation but I didn't know how good the food would be!! In Switzerland the food was good, but it had been a long long time since I had had fried chicken or tacos or BRUNCH.  It had also been forever since I had had a good cup of filter coffee. Stockholm had all of this and more, and quickly became one of my favorite European cities. To celebrate the wonderfulness that is the city of islands, I thought I'd do a round-up of all the best food I had there because there were some GEMS in this city.

Best Brunch: Greasy Spoon

Brunch an essential part of the food scene in Stockholm, and Greasy Spoon does it SO WELL. The food was amazing (I recommend the bacon scotch pancakes, the full English, and any variety of egg) and the coffee had FREE REFILLS!! UGHHHHHH just like home.  Another cool part of this cool spot was that all the waiters and waitresses all wore overalls, but not in like a farmer way, in like a trendy/comfy/casual/cool way. Overall, if you only eat in one place in Stockholm, make it this one. 

Best Tacos: La Neta

La Neta was the first place I ate in Stockholm, and it really set the tone for the whole city. The tacos were INCREDIBLE and authentic, the employees spoke Spanish with me, and the salsa was deliciosa. 

Best Fika: Cafe Pascal

Fika, aka the best cultural tradition I have ever heard of, and also the love of my life, is the Swedish tradition of a coffee/snack break.  Because of this,  the cafes and coffee in Stockholm really are a cut above the rest. All of them were really great (even the chain spots like Espresso House), but Cafe Pascal was cute and airy and had a great cinnamon roll. Fika is everything in Stockholm, and fika is everything to me.

Friendliest Employees: Cafe Bolingo

Trying to find a place to brunch on a Sunday morning in Stockholm without a 4-hour wait is a lot like trying to find a place to park at a Razorback football game. It's nearly impossible. So when we found Cafe Bolingo with nearly no one in it, we didn't know what to expect. What we found was fantastic food and friendly service. They even gave us free coffee and pastries when our food took longer to cook than expected. Why is everyone so nice in this country? 

Overall Sweden was an incredible country and Stockholm had way more to offer than just its incredible food scene. If you haven't already, think about saying Hej Hej to the Swedes and enjoying the land of the fika.