Top 5 Tips for Eating Out in Stockholm

I bring you a series of tips for eating out in Stockholm. They are also applicable to eating out in restaurants all over Sweden but the capital and large cities tend to be more expensive.

These tips are for those who do not plan to spend much money on food. On the other hand if you are the kind of traveller who do not skimp while on vacation you might not need these tips but they are worth knowing anyway.

As an introduction let me show you a picture that I saw on Twitter and that motivated this article:

Bill from a Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden
Photo: @laserloeken / twitter

Restaurant Bill in Stockholm

The image above is a bill from a restaurant in Strandvägen, one of the emblematic places to take a walk in Stockholm and from where many of the boat trips through the archipelago and the gastronomic cruises depart.

The details are:

• 2 Pepsi -> 84 SEK
• 1 Dish of the day -> 145 SEK
• 1 Goat cheese salad -> 219 SEK
• 2 Coffees / Teas -> 116 SEK
• Total with VAT: 564 SEK

In my article on tips to save on a trip to Stockholm I already gave some of the ideas I mention here but it is worth highlighting some more.

How to Save Money in Restaurants

• Forget about alcohol and ask for refreshments or, depending on how much you want to save, tap water which is delicious.
• The dish of the day (dagensrätt) or menu of the day (dagensmeny) are your great allies. They usually consist of a plate, free salad buffet, bread and butter and water although it is possible to get more food for your money in some places that I mention later in the article. These menus are only available at noon and the normal price in Stockholm is around 125-165 SEK. In the rest of Sweden it is possible to find it cheaper from 90-100 SEK. However, at night everything is a la carte.
• The a la carte dishes are more expensive (although everything is relative depending on where you currently live). You will think that a goat cheese salad for 219 SEK (21€ / $23.70  / £18.15) should be at least made of gold but you would be surprised. Sure, the prices in Sweden are on par with the standard of living. Those are the prices that let restaurant workers earn good salaries. And that even taking into account that VAT for restaurants is “only” 12%.
• Coffees and teas are best served in coffee shops with lower prices.
• Beware of the exchange rate. In my article about exchanging money in Sweden or paying with a card, I already talked about this topic but let’s take a look again. The bill shows 564 SEK and the amount you should pay if you decide to pay in euros: 75.20€ / $85 / £65. That’s an exchange rate of 13.33 SEK for each euro when the rate as I write these lines is 10.45 SEK / €. That is, if you pay with card in SEK you will end up paying around 54€ / $61 / £46 depending on the exchange rate of your bank and the associated card comission (you can get a better rate if you use Revolut or N26 without comissions abroad) instead of the 75€ that you would pay if you choose to pay in euros. Keep it in mind.

Restaurants to Eat Cheap in Stockholm

I will just name two budget restaurants that I have visited regularly when I don’t want to spend much eating out in Stockholm.

One is a buffet with Swedish classics located on the Gamla Stan’s main street at Västerlånggatan 79 in the vicinity of the famous narrow alley Mårten Trotzigs Gränd. In fact, the restaurant is called Mårten Trotzig.

Mårten Trotzig Restaurant in Gamla Stan, Stockholm
Photo: Israel Úbeda / sweetsweden.com

The other one is a Chinese buffet with sushi and it is very central. It’s called Tang and it’s next to Sergels Torg Square and Drottninggatan Street, just 25 meters away from the T-Centralen subway exit. The exact address is Klarabergsgatan 25.

These are just some reminders for those who are looking to have a good time in Sweden and Stockholm but with the expenses under control. I hope you find them useful. If you have any questions or doubts just drop me a line below.