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GWEN'S GUIDE TO STOCKHOLM

STOCKHOLM SECTION

Shopping for Christmas food in Stockholm

As the Christmas season approaches in Stockholm, it is very likely that festive food is uppermost in your mind. Luckily, contributor Gwen Ramsey has put together a list of great options for filling your holiday hamper.

Published: 1 December 2011 15:26 CET
Shopping for Christmas food in Stockholm

No matter what your family celebrates during the holiday season it is very likely that your festivities are built around food. And, if there is any occasion to spend some extra cash and effort on food then this is it.

This year more than ever, food and foodies are in focus as the HUI Research (formerly the Swedish Retail Institute) recently declared that 2011’s official Christmas Present is a bag of freshly delivered groceries and recipes, otherwise known in Sweden as “Matkasse”.

Below is a list of delicatessens and food shops that will ensure a successful celebration whether served on your Christmas table (Julbord) or to put in your “matkasse”.

Fish:Carrotte

Bröderna Axelssons Fisk (Dalagatan 78, Vasastan)

This small fish store in Vasastan has remained a local favorite due it’s close contact with reliable suppliers and commitment to personal service. At Bröderna Axelssons, quality reins over quantity and while they don’t have the largest selection of fish, they are a dependable stop for Maine lobsters, Norwegian crabs and shrimp from Sweden’s west coast. They also have locations in Sollentuna, Kungsängen and Bromma so stop by before you plan your New Year’s Eve party!

Other fish stores worth noting….

Gamla Stans Fisk (Gamla Stan)

Fiskeläget (Hötorgshallen)

Melanders Fisk (multiple locations)

Meat

Taylors and Jones (Kungsholmen)

Meats and sausages from Sweden as well as cheeses and groceries from the UK is what you will find when you walk down the stairs into this basement butcher shop. Got a family full of meat lovers? T & J is smartly following this year’s trend of groceries-in-a-box by offering a meat box for 2, 4 or 6 people. If that isn’t enough of a reason to check out this shop then stop by and inquire about their sausage making class. It is the perfect gift for the uncle who has everything.

Other meat shops worth noting….

Köttbaren (City)

Sandstroms Kött (Nacka)

Cheese and Deli foods

Vasastans Ost

I can’t help but pop into Vasastans Ost every time I pass by it. It’s a true food-lovers paradise. They have cheeses from all over Europe as well as locally produced delicacies from Sweden and their freshly made sandwiches are heaven on earth.

Vasastans Ost offers cheese tastings, ready-made gift boxes and gift certificates for the holidays.

Planning a Glögg Party? The experts here have a pre-set Glögg Buffet Menu (minimum 10 people) that includes Stilton cheese, duck paté, smoked salmon and much more. Pick it up on your way home from work and your party is a guaranteed success, without the stress.

Winjas Ost Butik (Kungsholmen)

It would be easy to walk by this cheese store if it weren’t for the pungent smell of cheese wafting out to the sidewalk.

Winjas isn’t fancy but it is one of the best shops in town. They have an enormous selection of cheeses; most of which are already pre-cut so you are stuck buying rather large quantities. In addition to cheeses they also have meats, sausages (I recommend the wild boar salami), and other delicacies from around the world.

French food lovers will appreciate their selection of patés as well as duck confit from Castelnaudary. Their staff are pros at helping you put together a gift box that will impress even the pickiest foodie in your family.

Other cheese shops worth noting….

A Tavola (Vasastan)

Gamla Amsterdam (Södermalm)

Androuet (Östermalm)

Chocolate and Confectionaries

Choklad Fabriken (Multiple Locations)

It’s not surprising that there is a shortage of good chocolate stores in a country where the dessert culture is influenced by bulk candy, licorice and sourdough.

Stockholm could use a few more chocolateries, but in the meantime Chokladfabriken does a good job of satisfying your chocolate cravings. For a cozy cup of hot chocolate try their small store and cafe on Regeringsgatan. If you are Christmas shopping then their flagship store on Renstiernas gata is a must where countless beautiful chocolate goodies await you behind the glass counters.

If you don’t know what to buy then why not purchase a gift certificate to a dessert making class so that your loved ones can make their own favorites!

Other chocolate stores worth noting….

Xoko (Vasastan)

Boutique de Chocolat (Gamla Stan)

Middle East/Asian delicacies

Japanska Torget (City)

Stockholm’s largest selection of Japanese tea kettles, cups and accessories and cookware lines the walls of this Japanese store. Regulars often stop by Japanska Torget to stock up on Japanese seaweed cakes, rice cakes, rammen and udon noodle bowls, sauces and sweets.

Indian Food Center (Kungsholmen)

The Indian Food Centre doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it is a treasure of spices on the inside.

You can buy chili powder, curry seasoning, turmeric and plenty of other tear jerking spices along with lentils, nuts, seeds in bulk (500 hg – 1 kg). Perfect for stews, soups and curries that can feed the entire family while ensuring leftovers.

Hötorgshallen (City)

Hötorgshallen is a mecca for food lovers, but what makes this market unique from the others in Sweden is the concentration and assortment of specialty foods from all over the world including, South America, Philippines, Eastern Mediterranean, Hungary, Poland, The Balkans, Finland, Germany, Middle East and more.

Ready-made meals

No time to cook due to the holiday rush? Treat your family (and yourself) to a quick and delicious mid-week meal by picking up a freshly made and ready to eat family meal on your way home from work. The grocery stores and eco-markets listed here offer an exceptional assortment of organic food stuffs and local produce.

Saltå Kvarn (Södermalm)

Urban Deli (Södermalm)

ICA Baner (Östermalm)

Kajsa Warg (multiple locations)

Eat Ekoaffären (City)

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FOOD AND DRINK

OPINION: Are tips in Sweden becoming the norm?

Should you tip in Sweden? Habits are changing fast thanks to new technology and a hard-pressed restaurant trade, writes James Savage.

Published: 5 April 2024 13:59 CEST
OPINION: Are tips in Sweden becoming the norm?

The Local’s guide to tipping in Sweden is clear: tip for good service if you want to, but don’t feel the pressure: where servers in the US, for instance, rely on tips to live, waiters in Sweden have collectively bargained salaries with long vacations and generous benefits. 

But there are signs that this is changing, and the change is being accelerated by card machines. Now, many machines offer three preset gratuity percentages, usually starting with five percent and going up to fifteen or twenty. Previously they just asked the customer to fill in the total amount they wanted to pay.

This subtle change to a user interface sends a not-so-subtle message to customers: that tipping is expected and that most people are probably doing it. The button for not tipping is either a large-lettered ‘No Tip’ or a more subtle ‘Fortsätt’ or ‘Continue’ (it turns out you can continue without selecting a tip amount, but it’s not immediately clear to the user). 

I’ll confess, when I was first presented with this I was mildly irked: I usually tip if I’ve had table service, but waiting staff are treated as professionals and paid properly, guaranteed by deals with unions; menu prices are correspondingly high. The tip was a genuine token of appreciation.

But when I tweeted something to this effect (a tweet that went strangely viral), the responses I got made me think. Many people pointed out that the restaurant trade in Sweden is under enormous pressure, with rising costs, the after-effects of Covid and difficulties recruiting. And as Sweden has become more cosmopolitain, adding ten percent to the bill comes naturally to many.

Boulebar, a restaurant and bar chain with branches around Sweden and Denmark, had a longstanding policy of not accepting tips at all, reasoning that they were outdated and put diners in an uncomfortable position. But in 2021 CEO Henrik Kruse decided to change tack:

“It was a purely financial decision. We were under pressure due to Covid, and we had to keep wages down, so bringing back tips was the solution,” he said, adding that he has a collective agreement and staff also get a union bargained salary, before tips.

Yet for Kruse the new machines, with their pre-set tipping percentages, take things too far:

“We don’t use it, because it makes it even clearer that you’re asking for money. The guest should feel free not to tip. It’s more important for us that the guest feels free to tell people they’re satisfied.”

But for those restaurants that have adopted the new interfaces, the effect has been dramatic. Card processing company Kassacentralen, which was one of the first to launch this feature in Sweden, told Svenska Dagbladet this week that the feature had led to tips for the average establishment doubling, with some places seeing them rise six-fold.

Even unions are relaxed about tipping these days, perhaps understanding that they’re a significant extra income for their members. Union representatives have often in the past spoken out against tipping, arguing that the practice is demeaning to staff and that tips were spread unevenly, with staff in cafés or fast food joints getting nothing at all. But when I called the Swedish Hotel and Restaurant Union (HRF), a spokesman said that the union had no view on the practice, and it was a matter for staff, business owners and customers to decide.

So is tipping now expected in Sweden? The old advice probably still stands; waiters are still not as reliant on tips as staff in many other countries, so a lavish tip is not necessary. But as Swedes start to tip more generously, you might stick out if you leave nothing at all.

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