I am a huge fan of food tours and try to convince Dan to take them wherever we go!

Now, when planning Sweden, I did not expect a culinary destination, but I was happily surprised!  Luckily, I came across Food Tours Stockholm when doing research and signed us up!  This tour was informative, both in the historical and culinary sense, delicious and pleasantly provided some insight into modern Swedish culture.  I also found this tour to be an excellent way to spend a day in the winter, as there was minimal outdoor walking!

The tour started at the famous Östermalms Saluhall!  This famous food hall is clean, swanky and probably the nicest food hall I have ever been in!  I recommend visiting here even if you do not take the tour!

 

In Östermalms, we started the tour with a sampling of Swedish cheese.  Who knew the Swedes make such delicious cheese?  They do.  Believe me.  This stand also sold some delicious jams from things I didn’t even know were real.  Think cloudberries.  Yep, thats are a real, tasty berry.

   

After the cheese stand, it was on to a deli stand specializing in Swedish meats, including reindeer and elk!  We tried breakfast beer, smoked elk, a game salami and reindeer.  RIP Rudolph…

 

Next, we walked around the market looking at all of the delicious food!  Seafood is so popular here!  We arrived on one of the first days that Skrei, a type of Norwegian cod, was available for purchase.  Skrei is only available for a limited time during the year, and it was really, really popular, including its own ad campaign!  We were lucky enough to try it at my birthday dinner at Pubologi (click on the link to read about it)!

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After Östermalms, we moved on to the newest fad in Sweden, low carb, high fat!  There is a whole store dedicated to it – LCHF!  We quickly stopped in the shop to try some of their products.  The woman working in the store briefly lived in the U.S. and was thrilled to speak with us!  Dan and I also appreciated this stop, as we try to abide by this diet at home!

Next stop, lunch!!  We went to a restaurant that was packed with locals in the bottom of another food hall, Hötorgshaleen.  The restaurant is called Kajsas Fisk and is famous for its fish soup!  For our lunch, we had a glass of white wine, the famous fish soup, salmon with honey mustard, a traditional quiche type dish and Scandinavia’s famous toast with shrimps and mayonnaise!  All of the food was really great!  My favorites were the salmon and shrimp!

 

At Hötorgshaleen, we also checked out Systembolaget, the Swedish state-owned liquor/wine/beer store.  Hötorgshaleen has one of the few remaining old school Swedish liquor stores, where you puruse the offerings in a small space (think one of each bottle out), take a ticket, and then wait for your number to be called.  When your number is called, you tell the clerk what you want and he gets it for you (they seriously know everything)!  So crazy.  The majority of stores now allow you to browse freely and pick up what you want, but this one is quite the experience.  We picked up a bottle of wine for later!

After lunch, we went for dessert at one of Stockholm’s most famous chocolatiers, Chokladfabriken!  We drank hot chocolate with house made whipped cream and ended with a bon bon!  If you are in Stockholm, definitely pop into one of these for a bon bon (there are a couple locations in the city).  The chocolates also make for a great snack or gift to take home!

 

 

We ended the tour with a walk through Gamla Stan, finishing with a fika (the local phrase for coffee) at one of Stokcholm’s oldest cafes, Sundbergs Konditori.  Sundbergs is just past Mårten Trotzigs (the narrowest street in Stockholm!) and quite quaint.  Here are Dan and I posing at Mårten Trotzigs.

  At Sundbergs, we tasted fika (coffee) and kanebullar, or a cinnamon bun!  

I really enjoyed this tour, from the food to the history lesson!  For example, we learned where and when the first McDonald’s came to Sweden (our guide actually want on opening day!) and passed the gym where Princess Victoria met Prince Daniel!  This was a really great way to see Stockholm and experience its culture through food!

STEAL OUR TOUR

Food Tours Stockholm – The tour cost about $90 US a person, tip included. The tour made up enough food to cover breakfast and lunch. You can make reservations on their website (see 4 hour tour, learn more, reservations on right side).  Definitely make reservations online if you want to do the tour.  Note – there is another company in Sweden that does different food tours, Stockholm Food Tours.  According to our guide, the two companies are friendly and cover different parts of the city! Finally, there is plenty of food to take you through lunch!

ON A BUDGET

You could go to each spot yourself, but I think the tour was worthwhile, especially since it included plenty of food.  I would suggest this as worthwhile splurge if you are a bit of a foodie!

Östermalms Saluhall – Östermalmstorg 114 39 Stockholm, business hours: Mon-Thur 09.30 – 18.00 Fri 09.30 – 19.00 Sat 09.30 – 16.00

Hötorgshaleen – Hötorgshallen, 11157 Stockholm, T-bana Hötorget

Kajsas Fisk – Hötorgshallen 3 111 57 Stockholm (bottom floor), business hours, Monday – Thursday: 11.00 to 18.00, Friday: 10.00 – 18.30, Saturday: 10.00 to 16.00, Sundays and public holidays: closed!

Systembolaget – Systembolaget stores are all over Stockholm.  This particular one is in Hötorgshallen.

Chokladfabriken – Regeringsgatan 58 (city center) and Renstiernas Gata 12 (Södermalm)

Sundbergs Konditori – I don’t think they have a website.  In warm months, they have outdoor seating!