6 Things to Eat In Malmö Sweden

Have you ever heard of Malmö Sweden? If I’m honest, it was not on my radar as the first Swedish city to visit.. but I’m glad I did, as I had some seriously great food. So I’m sharing six things you need to eat when you visit Malmö Sweden.

Malmö is the third-largest city in Sweden (behind Stockholm and Gothenburg. (It’s the 6th largest city in Scandinavia)  Thanks to the Öresund Bridge and tramline, Getting to Malmö is super easy to get to and from Copenhagen. Trains run every 20 minutes, and the journey takes about 40 minutes, making it a perfect addition to a trip to Copenhagen. 

The city itself is super charming with a cobblestone square lined with cafes called Lilla Torg.  Throughout the city, half-timbered houses and shops are selling local handicrafts.   If architecture is your thing… there is an incredible library, and Santiago Calatrava’s neo-futuristic skyscraper (the Turning Torso) is worth a visit. If history is your thing…  visit Malmö Castle. Its 6th-century fortress was built by King Christian III of Denmark and houses nature, history, and art exhibits.

But you came here for the food right? Read all about 6 things to eat in Malmö Sweden.

6 things To Eat In Malmö Sweden

Semla Buns

Would you believe that this was my first ever Semla? For the uninitiated.. semla is a Swedish cardamom yeast bun stuffed with very soft marzipan, topped with a ton of whipped cream, and finished with a dusting of icing sugar. This beauty was from Kondatori Hollandia.

Yes, Swedish people adore them. But so do Norwegians, Danes & Finns. They are sometimes served with jam instead of marzipan in Norway and Finland. ⁠

⁠A semla is a seasonal bun that traditionally starts around Shrove Tuesday and disappears at Easter. These days, most places start in January. ⁠

Fun fact: It used to be illegal to serve a semla outside of the accepted period in Sweden.

Hollandia
Södra Förstadsgatan 8, 211 43 Malmö, Sweden

Meatballs

As cliche as it sounds… the one thing that I wanted to eat in Sweden was meatballs. ⁠⠀⁠⠀

I asked around and a couple of locals suggested that I go to Ikea . Apparently, they are home food and not typically served in restaurants.

I might have struck gold in finding a restaurant serving them in Malmö… Bullen is next door to Hollandia where I had the semla bun. The meatballs were big and meaty… the gravy was divine. Loved the pickles and the lingonberry compote. Such a filling meal.. and regrettably I don’t think that I could look at Ikea meatballs the same again. ⁠⠀

I am ruined for all future Swedish Meatballs by Bullen. ⁠⠀

TOP TIP: This place got super busy right at lunchtime. I arrived at 12 on the dot and got a seat. Arrive early to avoid a wait.

Bullen
Storgatan 35, 211 41 Malmö, Sweden

Fika

Fika is translated as “a coffee and cake break”, which is sort of correct. As pretentious as this sounds, Fika is a concept, a state of mind, an attitude, and an important part of Swedish culture. Many Swedes consider that it is almost essential to make time for Fika every day. It means making time for friends and colleagues to share a cup of coffee and a little something to eat.

I stopped for my Fika at St Jakob’s and had this delectable Coconut top.  It was very much a Goldilocks moment as it was the PERFECT coconut delight.  Not too sweet, Not too dry just perfect with a cup of excellent coffee. 

FUN FACT: The word fika actually derives from the 19th-century slang word for coffee: kaffi. Invert the word kaffi, and you get fika.

Gibraltargatan 3, 211 18 Malmö, Sweden

Pizza

Is there a food that you like… but don’t love it enough to order all the time? ⁠

Yep, that’s me with pizza Don’t Hate on me, please! I like pizza but there are so many other things id choose to eat first…..⁠⠀

That was until I had this pizza from Hedvigsdal Vedugn & Vin at Malmö Saluhall. Don’t know what makes is so incredible …it had the perfect sourdough crust with a dreamy chew. Creme Fraiche, smoked mozzarella, roasted potatoes, capers, lemon zest, rosemary and ?BROWN BUTTER ?⁠⠀

If I could have this pizza every day… it would be my number one crush. The sad thing is this was just a daily special, It’s safe to say that if this one-off pizza could make me swoon, all the specials would. ⁠⠀

I fell in love with this pizza sooo much I attempted to recreate it at home. Here is my recipe for Brown Butter and Rosemary Potato Pizza.

TOP TIP: Malmö Saluhall is a food hall with incredible looking producer and food stalls. If i had more time (and more room in my stomach i would eaten more)

Malmö Saluhall
Gibraltargatan 6, 211 18 Malmö, Sweden

Burgers

I hear ya… Burgers in Sweden… Yep.. this burger rivaled some of my favs in London. Just look at this burger from Surf Shack in Malö… look how stacked it is. ⁠⠀

It is kinda like a love child between Shake Shack & Five Guys, so it was hitting my sweet spot. You can completely customize your burgers using fresh local ingredients. ⁠⠀You choose your bun style… they have sweet, savory, gluten-free, and a lettuce wrap. ⁠⠀
You choose your protein. I doubled up… but you can do beef and crispy chicken. ⁠⠀
You choose your toppings… I went with double cheese and bacon. ⁠⠀
Then your sauces and veg. ⁠Then you eat and make a beautiful mess of yourself. ⁠⠀

TOP TIP: Order the garlic fries as they are as fit as this burger.⁠⠀

They Have 2 locations in Malmö
Surf Shack
Västergatan 9A, 211 21 Malmö, Sweden

Baked Goods

To say that Swedes do great baked goods is kinda an understatement… Cardamon Buns & Semla are kinda the stars of the show… but I loved these Punschrulle or Dammsugare (which translates to vacuum cleaner) referring to how they are made by the bakers. They collect crumbs and stale cookies for the decadent filling. ⠀

The Center is this truffle like mixture of crushed biscuits, butter & cocoa that’s doused in liqueur. Then they are covered in green marzipan and the ends are dipped in chocolate⠀

I found these at  Konditori Katarina , but you can find them in most Swedish bakeries. ⠀

FUN FACT:  You can get these by the box in IKEA, but the saying is true everything tastes better locally. 

Konditori Katarina
Hamngatan 4, 211 22 Malmö, Sweden

Other Eats

There were loads of other things that i wanted to eat in Malmö, but ran out of time. Falafel is HUGE thanks to the large middle eastern immigrants.

I wanted to eat at Bastard. Apparently, it’s the place to see and be seen in Malmö. I was less excited about the status but more thrilled by the cooking here is of the nose-to-tail eating school, Hello pig’s feet, or boudin blanc with some expertly crafted cocktails.

Also on my list was the uber-chic local bistro, Lyran to nosh on some dreamy dishes using ingredients such as birch sap elixir, local goat’s cheese, wild duck, Swedish fallow deer, and Sea buckthorn.

So how delicious is this list of 6 Things to eat in Malmö Sweden?