Well, if you have arrived to the country who invented the word “fika”, you’ve already put yourself in a position good enough. Good coffee can to be found almost everywhere, same goes for pastries. If you’re in the mood to visit a good old café, we got you covered. Here’s three old cafés in Stockholm where locals go.
Vete-Katten, Kungsgatan 55
This little gem is located in the city center, and has been since 1928. The interior has practically stayed the same whilst the city changed around it, and the atmosphere is still the same here as we only can guess it was in the early 1900s. It was opened by a woman called Ester Nordhammar, 42 years old, who had an idea to start a simple patisserie. She wanted to offer bread, buns and pastries of great quality. She exclusively employed young women in her business, up until she died in 1961 there wasn’t a single man working at the café. Today, Vete-Katten has everything from a fabulous breakfast to lovely pastries. And oh, the coffee is great too. What else would you expect? There are three entrances to Vete-Katten; Kungsgatan 55, Klara Norra Kyrkogata 26 and Gamla Brogatan 30. The closest metro stations are T-Centralen and Hötorget.
Sturekatten, Riddargatan 4
The facility where you today find Sturekatten has been through many phases; it’s said that it was a brothel in the 1700s, and in the 1800s it was a sanatorium. In 1941, a woman called Anna Skog moved in with her sister Hiledgard and opened a café. Since they opened it in “their own home”, you’ll notice the personal touch in the interior, with a lot of the furniture in the café belonging to the sisters. The interior is well-kept with decoration, crocheted materials and older paintings from the 1900s, which will immediately take you back to another time, whilst the pastries and what’s said to be Northern Europe’s best baguettes are daily fresh and absolutely yummy. Sturekatten is located on Riddargatan 4, the closest metro station is Östermalmstorg.
Valand, Surbrunnsgatan 48
Valand is a café and confectionery located in the area of Vasastan in central Stockholm, and it has been ever since 1954. For over sixty years it’s been managed by the founder, Stellan Åström, together with his wife Magdalena, with a little help from their family. The interior here screams 1950s; there’s a brown wall panel in teak, lamps from Svenskt Tenn and leather covered chairs. It’s said that they haven’t changed as much as a screw since they opened. It’s still Magdalena who bakes everything. Hard to beat, huh? To head to Valand, take the metro to Odenplan which is the closest metro.
