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COFFEE

Five perfect cafés for studying or working in Malmö

Malmö is home to a growing number of students, while the city’s creative industries have brought a large number of freelancers. Here are some of our favourite cafés to head to with your laptop in Sweden's third city.

Published: 5 February 2019 14:12 CET
Five perfect cafés for studying or working in Malmö
The new university has brought a lot of students to Malmö. Photo: Kentaroo Tryman/Imagebank Sweden
Bröd och Vänner 
 
An oasis of cosiness on the otherwise bleak Nobeltorget square, Bröd och Vänner (Bread and Friends) is a favourite for freelancers and students, with just as many customers tapping away on laptops as chatting over lunch or breakfast.
 
Christer Havung started the café to fulfil a passion for sourdough baking, after fleeing Stockholm’s advertising industry. It shows. The bread — especially the levain, roffe and malte loaves — is fantastic. The cinnamon and cardamom rolls are contenders for Malmö’s best, as are the almond semlor which are just coming into season. If you want a more substantial lunch, the salads, soups and quiches are good too.
 
The best thing, though, is the atmosphere. The clientele is diverse, taking in everyone from builders to local hipsters, the music is unobtrusive but deftly chosen, and the slightly kooky staff keep it all humming along nicely.
 
Address: Nobelvägen 44 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

A post shared by P4 Malmöhus Sveriges Radio (@p4malmohus) on Oct 15, 2018 at 1:39am PDT

 
St Knuts Café and Bageri 
 
There is nothing trendy about St Knuts Café & Bageri. Lebanese owner Walid Ahmad Charif refuses free coffee refills and grumbles about people just coming for the wifi, but nevertheless it is popular among digital nomads. 

It is good value, however, particularly if you go for the 55-kronor omelette and coffee combo. Lebanon’s French influence means Charif and his team make decent croissants. And it somehow feels like a Swedish konditori despite the soundtrack of classic Arabic music. From spring to autumn, the cafe puts tables out on the square, making it one of Malmö's best places to while away a summer afternoon. 
 
Address: S:t Knuts torg
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

A post shared by Ahmad Ahmad ???? (@ifbbpro_ahmad) on Nov 17, 2015 at 1:31am PST

 
Kaffé Doffeln
 
Under his contract, co-owner Jakob de Vries had just two weeks to decorate this café space by Malmö’s Triangeln station before opening it at the end of 2012. Making it cosy has been a gradual process, with a new floor, new lights and new furniture arriving piecemeal over the years.
 
Originally intended to serve commuters to Lund and Copenhagen, Doffeln is increasingly drawing a crowd of freelancers and students drawn by its relaxed atmosphere for working. Croissants and coffee are priced to tempt the commuter crowd, so are good value, although you do have to pay for refills. 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

Öppettider 30/4 kl. 8-17 & 1/5 kl. 8-17? Ha en trevlig helg!

A post shared by Kafé Doffeln (@doffeln) on Apr 27, 2018 at 2:38am PDT

 
READ ALSO:
Camoccia Café
 
When Median Zannoun opened Camoccia café on a corner of Malmö’s Möllevången Square in 2014 he said he wanted it to be a place where “all types of people can meet — rich and poor — everyone”.

With its unusual fake cavern interior and Italian ice cream, the café is arguably one of the most integrated places in the city, drawing the city's intelligentsia, who loudly debate politics and play backgammon on the tables outside, as well as freelancers and students with laptops in tow.

 
Address: Smedjegatan 1 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

 

A post shared by @ donacharlotta on Aug 13, 2017 at 4:40am PDT

 
Jord 
 
Jord is another popular spot for laptop warriors. Light streams in through the glass windows which make up two of sides of the long rectangular rooms, where a mostly young crowd (early 20s to early 30s) chat, type, or plot their film scripts in expensive looking notebooks. The food is vegan or vegetarian, with an all-day breakfast buffet featuring imaginative healthy fare such as “carrot cake porridge”. 
 
Address: Falsterbogatan 1
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
 

A post shared by frukost, fik och butik. (@jordmalmo) on Nov 17, 2018 at 5:16am PST

 
 
 

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ECONOMY

‘Fully booked for a month’ – France’s bars and cafés prepare to reopen after six months of closure

France's bars, restaurants and cafés will finally be allowed to reopen on Wednesday after six months of closure. But with reduced capacity and a bad weather forecast, it's not be the reopening many were hoping for.

Published: 18 May 2021 09:05 CEST
'Fully booked for a month' - France's bars and cafés prepare to reopen after six months of closure
Terraces will be able to reopen at a 50 percent capacity with a maximum of six people per table maximum (everyone must be seated). Photo by BERTRAND GUAY / AFP

Wednesday, May 19th marks phase two of France’s reopening plan, which allows bars, restaurants and cafés to open up their outdoor areas only.

IN DETAIL France’s calendar for reopening 

All booked up

At Pipalottes, a restaurant in the 9th arrondissement, everyone is busy cleaning and getting the place ready for the big day. “We’re trying to make the most of the space on the terrace to be able to get everyone in, but we’re having to cancel some reservations,” said Maximilien, the owner whose terrace will accommodate 48 people. “We’re trying our best to keep everyone happy.”

On Wednesday, large terraces can reopen at a 50 percent capacity with a maximum of six people per table (everyone must be seated), and the curfew will be shifted from 7pm to 9pm. Indoor spaces will reopen on June 9th, when the curfew will be shifted to 10pm.

A ten minute walk away is Sausalito, a wine bar and restaurant that is also fully booked for Wednesday and Thursday night. “We’ve been booked up for the 19th for about a month,” said the owner, Antoine.

He is looking forward to reopening but like many business owners, he hopes this will be the final reopening. “I know that in the UK they are getting worried about the Indian variant, so we need to be careful and play by the rules. We’re crossing our fingers that we will be able to stay open all summer.”

“Parisians love having a drink on a terrasse. Six months without terraces is far too long. It’s just a pity that the weather isn’t great,” added Antoine.

Bad weather forecast

Others aren’t so optimistic, with storms and heavy rain forecast for much of the country.

“I think we’ll have our usual customers who will at least pop in for a drink,” says Alex, the owner of Source Infinie, a restaurant in the 10th arrondissement, which currently has 30 tables facing the street. “But we definitely won’t have the same amount of people we would have if we had good weather.” 

READ ALSO: Storms, rain and strong winds forecast for week France’s café terraces reopen

It’s bad news for François, the owner of Le Bistrot de Madeleine in the 9th arrondissement, who can expand capacity from 14 to 40 if the weather is good enough.

“It’s a real problem, because if it rains I can only seat people in this area,” he says gesturing at the space covered by a blue awning.

“We’ll open on the 19th, it’s important and we are looking forward to seeing our customers again. But we might have to close on some days if the weather is bad, and it’s not worth it for us if we can only serve 12 or 14 people,” he said.

“We are very dependent on the weather. But we are also very happy to be able to reopen, so we’ll have to take it one day at a time,” he said.

Social distancing and strict rules on capacity 

The capital’s bars and restaurants were allowed to stretch their outdoor terraces onto the pavement or the street last summer to allow more outdoor socialising, and these changes have been extended until at least June 2021 – after which they will have to be paid for.

Sausalito is one of the many businesses to have set up a terrance made from wooden pallets in what would usually be taken up by parked cars. “At some point we will have to pay for it, but we don’t know when yet.” said the owner, Antoine. 

Asia, the owner of Les Jolies Mômes in the 9th, has benefited from this measure, which means she can spread out her tables for 50 customers and maintain social distancing more easily. “We are lucky enough to be on a small pedestrian square, and the increased terrace space means we can follow the health restrictions.”

Large terraces will only be allowed to fill up half their space on Wednesday, but last week government officials announced that establishments with small terraces will not be subject to this rule – as long as social distancing measures are followed.

“We will make sure to keep around 1m between tables, but we haven’t been given any precise indications,” said François.

READ ALSO: Paris to keep its expanded outdoor café terraces until summer 2021

Serving food outside

The risk of bad weather, reduced number of tables and the curfew at 9pm makes it very difficult for some restaurants to serve food.

Source Infinie has decided to wait until June 9th, when aside customers being able to sit indoors, the curfew will be shifted to 10pm. “We are a restaurant, but since we are not able to welcome customers inside, and only have 50 percent of the space on our terraces, we’ve decided we’ll only be serving drinks for the time being,” says Alex, the restaurant’s director. 

“It’s far too expensive for the number of customers are allowed to seat, especially with the weather we have at the moment,” he said. “We’ll try to do our best, but I think we’ll have to be patient and unfortunately, even if people are looking forward to eating out again, we won’t be going back to normal straight away.”

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