Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

CHRISTMAS

Christmas in Sweden: The 10 best julbord in the Stockholm area

Whether you're a Swedish Christmas newbie or a seasoned julbord connoisseur, here's The Local's selection of 10 of the best festive meals in the Stockholm area this winter. Feel free to share other tips in the comments!

Published: 23 November 2021 10:20 CET
Updated: 15 December 2022 14:55 CET
Christmas in Sweden: The 10 best julbord in the Stockholm area
File photo of a julbord at Stallmästaregården in Stockholm. Photo: Leif R Jansson/Scanpix

The Swedish julbord is an extensive spread that has evolved from a variety of traditions and today consists of an elaborate buffet of typical Christmas food. It is popular not only to sit down for a julbord on Christmas Eve with family, but also to go out for a special julbord meal at a restaurant in the run-up to Christmas – with family, friends or colleagues. See here for the low-down on the Swedish julbord.

National Archives, Stockholm

This julbord, which was held in the more roomy Norra Latin building on Norrmalm last year, has returned to the former National Archives on Stockholm’s Riddarholmen islet for 2022. Created by Swedish chef Niklas Ekstedt, the julbord offers both traditional meaty dishes and a decent selection of vegetarian options.

When: November 11th-December 25th

Price: From 795-1,295 kronor depending on day of the week

Skansen, Stockholm

Outdoor museum Skansen is not only home to one of the best Christmas markets in the Swedish capital, it also offers julbord at four of its restaurants. Depending on which restaurant you go to, you can choose between classic, vegan or multi-cultural julbord, á la carte or buffet. You can also choose your preferred setting: Do you want to eat in a stylish, modern dining room, or a cottage with a history dating back to the 19th century?

When: Dates vary depending on restaurant, but the julbord is generally available from around mid or late November

Price: Again, the price varies depending on restaurant, but expect around 600 kronor

Domtrappkällaren, Uppsala

Venture north of Stockholm to the university town of Uppsala (around half an hour with SJ’s trains or an hour with SL’s trains – if you have a Stockholm SL travel pass, don’t forget you need to buy a separate add-on ticket for Uppsala) to have dinner at one of the town’s oldest restaurants. Domtrappkällaren is located in the cellars of a building originally from the 13th century, which has been renovated several times.

When: November 30th-December 23rd

Price: Between 395 and 645 kronor, depending on time and day of the week

Hermans, Stockholm

Hermans is one of few restaurants that offers an entirely vegan julbord – a green oasis for those who want to avoid the usually very meat-heavy Christmas buffet. Located on the hills of Stockholm’s hipster Södermalm island, it offers an incredible view over the Swedish capital.

When: Friday-Sunday the first three weekends in December

Price: 450 kronor for the Friday lunch julbord, 595 kronor for the other days

Julbord archipelago cruise, Stockholm

Can’t decide where to go for your julbord? Have one on the go, or rather, on a boat. The Strömma cruise company offers Christmas buffet cruises which will let you admire the views of the Stockholm archipelago while sipping a hot cup of glögg or munching on herring or Swedish meatballs. There are both lunch and dinner options, but be aware that if you go for the dinner option it will be dark outside – but, since this is Sweden in winter, there are sure to be plenty of decorative Christmas lights to enjoy as you travel past the many islands of Stockholm.

When: November 24th-December 24th

Price: 695 kronor for the lunch cruise, 845 kronor for the dinner cruise

Rissne gård, Sundbyberg

Rissne gård in Sundbyberg, north-west of Stockholm, was built in 1648 and renovated in the 19th century. Don’t forget to look up at the ceiling to admire the paintings, and pay special attention to the hand-forged door hinges, depicting troll heads and wild animals from the mid-17th century. And then, of course, there’s also the julbord which will serve up all the traditional food you might expect at a Swedish Christmas meal: herring, home-smoked salmon and sausages, and of course homemade meatballs. There are also vegetarian options.

Get here by taking the metro, blue line, to Rissne, then walk.

When: November 25th-December 24th

Price: Between 595 and 850 kronor, 995 kronor on Christmas Eve

Gripsholms Värdshus, Mariefred

It’s worth going for a walk through lovely small town Mariefred before sitting down for a traditional Christmas meal at Gripsholms Värdshus. You may even want to pay a visit to Gripsholm Castle, built on the orders of King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century and home to one of the most startling pieces of taxidermy in Sweden: a lion that looks like… there are no words to describe it, click here to see for yourself.

Getting here takes about an hour by train from Stockholm Central. Take the train to Läggesta Station, then change to a bus to Mariefred.

When: November 25th-December 24th

Price: Between 695 and 895 kronor, 1,145 kronor on Christmas Eve

Van der Nootska Palatset, Stockholm

The traditional Swedish julbord is a smörgåsbord-style buffet, but at Van der Nootska Palatset the food will be offered to you at the table in four servings. The palace was named after Dutchman Thomas van der Noot, who built it after arriving in Sweden in the 1650s, and it’s the perfect venue to get into the Christmas spirit. Through the years it has also been home to some of Stockholm’s wealthiest families, and then during the area’s decadence of the 19th century, it hosted various businesses including a tobacco factory, a beer house and a brothel.

And yes, there be ghosts.

When: From November 23rd-December 22nd

Price: 825-995 kronor, depending on time and day of the week

Långholmens Wärdshus, Stockholm

The julbord at Långholmens Wärdshus starts, as many julbord do, with a cup of glögg, before you are invited to sit down and enjoy a traditional meal including a pickled herring they call the “Sean Connery herring”. You may want to go on a guided tour of the former Långholmen Prison before your meal. Stockholm’s Långholmen island was home to a prison from the 18th century until 1975.

When: November 18th-December 22nd

Price: Between 595 and 995 kronor depending on time and day of the week

Stallmästaregården, Solna

Stallmästaregården’s iconic julbord is served up at Haga Tingshus, a former courthouse in the Haga Park north of Stockholm. Crown Princess Victoria and her family live in the park, but we can’t promise you’ll meet them. But never mind the royals, what food is on offer? All the Swedish Christmas classics, including salmon from the restaurant’s own smokehouse and homemade meat terrines. There are also vegetarian options.

When: November 25th-December 24th

Price: Between 795 and 995 kronor, 1195 kronor on Christmas Eve

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

COST OF LIVING

How to save money this Christmas in Sweden

This Christmas looks set to be an expensive one, with inflation rising, driven by rising food and energy prices. Here are our tips for how you can save some money this Christmas in Sweden.

Published: 15 December 2022 13:44 CET
Updated: 15 December 2022 15:45 CET
How to save money this Christmas in Sweden

Gifts

Gifts can feel like a difficult expense to cut down on, as you don’t want the person receiving the gift to feel like you don’t value them. Having said that, a gift doesn’t have to be expensive to be good.

One tip for buying cheaper gifts is buying something second hand. You can use Sellpy for second hand clothes and accessories, and Tradera or Facebook Marketplace for general second-hand goods, including furniture, electronics and home decor.

You could also try making something yourself – are you good at painting or sewing, for example? Could you bake them something and package it in a nice box?

For children, there are a wide range of second-hand toys and books available online (again, have a look on Tradera and Facebook Marketplace), and at second-hand shops like Stadsmissionen or Erikshjälpen.

Food

For some families, Christmas is all about food. With inflation rising and the price of both food and the electricity used to cook it going up, this Christmas looks set to be more expensive than usual.

There are a few ways to lower your food costs this year.

You can use a service like Matsmart to buy food at a reduced price which would otherwise go to waste, or you can keep an eye on the offers at your local supermarkets and pick up food you need for Christmas when you see it on offer.

You can also shop at cheaper supermarkets – a 2022 Matpriskollen comparison of over 2,500 products on sale at Swedish supermarkets showed that Sweden’s joint-cheapest supermarkets are Willys and Lidl, followed by ICA Maxi, Stora Coop and City Gross (which was as cheap as Lidy and Willys when the ten percent discount offered to members was factored in).

You can also lower your food costs by asking your guests to bring something with them, such as drinks, bread, or another item they can easily take with them if they don’t live close by.

If you’ll be by yourself or with a couple of other people, see if you have any other friends who are staying in Sweden and don’t have any plans yet – maybe they don’t celebrate Christmas, or aren’t sure what they’ll be doing as they’re also an immigrant in Sweden and won’t be going home this Christmas?

Ask if they want to join you for the Christmas meal, and share the costs of food. You can even skip the presents if you prefer, just make sure you discuss this in advance so you’re all on the same page.

Travel

If travelling abroad you’ve most likely booked your Christmas travel by now, but one tip for those of you travelling within Sweden is to look for carshares, like this Facebook group and this website connecting drivers with potential passengers looking to travel between two cities or towns in Sweden. You may be asked to pay half of the cost of petrol, but this will still come out cheaper than driving by yourself in many cases.

Try searching for the term samåkning and the cities you’re looking to travel between if you’re interested in a carshare.

As far as train travel is concerned, the best advice is to book as early as possible – so if you haven’t booked your Christmas travel yet, make sure to do it as soon as you can.

Decorations

Christmas decorations don’t have to be expensive either. Second-hand shops are full of Swedish Advent candelabras and Christmas star lights at this time of year. Just make sure to check how much energy they use before you buy so you don’t end up with an (even more) sky-high energy bill when January comes around.

Swedes are also big fans of making their own Christmas decorations or julpyssel, like pepparkakor or smällkarameller filled with sweets and hung on the Christmas tree to eat once Christmas is over, so why not give that a try this year instead of buying expensive decorations?

Many Swedes also decorate their homes with natural decorations like small branches, twigs and pinecones in vases or bowls at Christmas, so try picking up some on your next walk if you want to follow this tradition. Do note, though, that you are not permitted to break twigs or branches off living trees without asking the landowners’ permission, so only collect items that have already fallen to the ground.

SHOW COMMENTS