The guide to the best cafés in Stockholm

With their decadent French pastries, freshly-baked bread, excellent breakfast deals and homemade lunches, Fosch Artisan Pâtisserie draws in the crowds from morning until dinner time. In 2018 they won a prestigious award for Stockholm's best café.

Gilda’s Rum is a popular and cosy café with a distinct boho-chic vibe à la your kitschy grandmother. Settle into an armchair with a cuppa and pastry in hand. The candlelit interior offers a cheerful respite; during the summer the sun-drenched terrace facilitates prolonged coffee-sessions.

Judging by the classic interiors, this is a very traditional Swedish café. The atmosphere is laid-back and homely, perfect for anyone wanting to stay a while and work, eat lunch with friends or have a coffee in peace and quiet. Yet the menu is modern and on-trend, with Insta-friendly avocado on toast, smoothie bowls, omelettes and Asian salads. An excellent combination of two worlds.

Take a trip out to Herrängens Gård by Fruängen where you can go for a walk in leafy surroundings around Lake Långsjön before stopping for a cosy coffee or lunch at this historic house. They serve hearty lunch dishes and delicious cakes and pastries for the sweet-toothed.

When you're in the mood to try something a bit different, head to Dirty Coco, where they serve up decadent desserts such as pancakes, waffles, chocolate fondue and chocolate-dipped strawberries. Eat in unique, completely pink premises, covered with thousands of flowers.

Top-notch ingredients and craftsmanship are the name of the game at Thelins, and have been for more than a hundred years. At this branch of Thelins on Kungsgatan they've retained a classic konditori feel, with natural materials, café chairs, cosy lighting and a long counter filled with sandwiches, cakes and pastries for all occasions and tastes. Drop by and pick up your goodies to take home with you, or why not stay and enjoy lunch and a glass of wine with a friend in the café.

This organic artisan bakery and popular café is housed in a former customshouse on Skeppsbrokajen. Have a coffee and cinnamon bun or sourdough sandwich and enjoy the view over the water, either indoors or outside when weather allows.

Stora Bageriet is run by veterans in the café industry, the same team who run Gast. Stora Bageriet serves specialty coffee, sourdough bread, sandwiches, natural wines and beer from local producers in the beautiful premises of Scenkonstmuseet, the Swedish Museum of Performing Arts

No two days are ever the same at Skroten; the owner duo Maria and Josefin combine the archipelago, recycling, interior design and food here in the form of a café, restaurant and ship's chandlery. The result is a charming hangout full of nautical elements, and a menu that offers both sweet and savoury, hot and cold. Everything is cooked from scratch, often with locally produced ingredients.

You'll find Lykke Kaffegårder a stone's throw from Nytorget in Södermalm, serving everything from coffee to small dishes and cocktails. They're open all day, so drop by for an espresso, something to eat, or post-work drink. They're passionate about coffee and the coffee they serve comes from farms in which they're part-owners.

Annika and Lovisa, the mother and daughter team who run this popular café, have brought a small corner of France to Stockholm. The French are experts in exactly what this duo love: food, coffee, croissants, talking to people and hanging out in cafés.

A classic konditori where it feels as though time has stood still since the 1930s. Take a seat for lunch or breakfast, or coffee and dinner. During the summer months you can eat al fresco, with views over Vasa Park.

Coffee from Johan & Nyström's roastery is served at various spots around Stockholm, but if you want to get the full experience you should visit their own coffee bar at Mariatorget. Sit down with an espresso and maybe a bun or sandwich in the middle of Södermalm. During the summer months, they open up their popular outdoor seating area on Swedenborgsgatan.

Grillska Huset is owned by Statsmissionen's charity. With emphasis on organic and local produce the menu combines international influences with Swedish tradition. Their award-winning pastries are well worth the trip.

A real Stockholm classic in the heart of town with a charming atmosphere and updated café and konditori selection. Sit and enjoy a long fika break in one of their many rooms, or take a seat in the inner courtyard in good weather. Vete-Katten has been on Kungsgatan since 1928 and their large range includes homemade chocolates.

Exposed brick walls, bistro chairs and top-notch ingredients. Pascal has quickly become a favourite café of in-the-know Stockholmers and both branches are stylish and ambitious - whether you're after breakfast, lunch or just a fantastic fika.

Amidst Bergius Botanical Garden an old conservatory has been converted into lovely café and farmers market complete with an outdoor terrace for sunny afternoons. Gamla Orangeriet offers fresh pastries, food and coffee from a local coffee roaster. The café is a popular destination, be it summer or winter.

This concept at this Nytorget café fits right in in the hip surroundings of Södermalm. This means healthy, fresh and colourful dishes for breakfast, brunch, lunch and coffee, often vegan and gluten-free.

Il Caffè is a favourite of freelancers, so it's often full of laptop-wielding hipsters working on their next pitch. If you want to get in with the in-crowd, head to one of the cafés which can be found in Kungsholmen, Södermalm and the city centre - and in LA, but hey, it's Stockholm's best cafés we're talking about here.

Under the same roof as the beer bar and brewery Ölkemi, this coffee bar in Skanstull is passionate about specialty coffee, and they serve their own brand. You'll also find fresh sandwiches and freshly fried donuts to combine with your coffee, at any time of the day.

Buns and bread galore are served at this popular spot close to Östra Station. The two-storey industrial-style café serves both sweet and savoury treats and you can eat in or grab your goodies to go.

This quaint bakery has been located on Kungsholmen since the 1920s. The current owners have preserved the authentic vibe in combination with modern, organic and sustainable practices. Bulleboden is famous for its sourdough buns.

Enjoy homemade food and homebaked cakes and pastries in a charming former apothecarist's residence in Upplands Väsby. Step into the yellow wooden villa and take a seat, read a book or play a boardgame. During the summer months you can sit in the leafy garden, if the weather allows. They serve simple lunches every day such as soups and salads and you'll always find gluten and lactose-free, as well as vegan, options on the menu.

Time has stood still at Gunnarsons in Skanstull. Buy buns and bread with you from the own bakery downstairs, or go upstairs and enjoy food and coffee upstairs.

Tösse gained notoriety for their semmel wrap, i.e. a semla Lenten bun in the form of a wrap, but they make equally delicious cakes and pastries during the other months of the year. Several of the staff have been part of the national chef team and the national pastry team, and even won pastry chef of the year - including Mattias Ljungberg, who runs the café and is one of Sweden's and the world's best-known pastry chefs.

If you happen to be passing by Djurgården, or simply feel like enjoying freshly baked pastries surrounded by greenery, then pay a visit to Lusknäppen, the Nordic Museum's café and bar. Museum visitors and others with a sweet tooth can indulge in cinnamon buns, pastries, and simpler lunch dishes under the lime trees. You can also unwind with a glass of wine or a beer during after-work hours. The café is open all summer as well as at weekends during the winter.

Decidedly Parisian Saturnus offers petite dejuner, lunch and baked goods throughout the day. Despite classic offerings such as croissant and pain au chocolat the Swedish influences are apparent, illustrated by the gigantic cinnamon and cardamom buns proudly displayed upon the counter.

After a promenade around the scenic gardens of Rosendal and Djurgården an afternoon pick-me-up is a prerequisite. The greenhouse-cum-café offers a completely organic menu with biodynamic food and pastries.

Colourful Vurma doesn't hold back - they make their food and coffee with an abundance of natural ingredients and love. During the summer months, the outdoor terrace with a view of the water draws in the crowds, while the cosy interior is the place to be during cool autumn and winter evenings.

Feast on fresh, colourful bowls, sandwiches and cakes and pastries in equally fresh surroundings. The leafy café with its fruity menu is reminiscent of healthfood joints in warmer parts of the world, such as Los Angeles and Bali.

KMK, the Royal Motor Boat Club, is perhaps best known as a central waterside restaurant with a welcoming, cosy atmosphere. And KMK is all that, but it's also a curated wine bar with fun snacks, smaller dishes and pizza. And of course sweet cakes and pastries. All with a view of the canal, boating and Djurgården on the other side of the water.

Drink coffee like a true Italian at this classic espresso bar in Bibliotekstan. Sempre is something of a hidden gem, tucked away on a city-centre side street but once you find it, Italian coffee and pastries such as cantuccini and cornetto await.

Café Fix is ​​said to be the city's oldest café, with a history that dates back to 1910. Their menu may have changed since then, but the rustic feel remains thanks to exposed brick walls and well-preserved interiors details. The menu includes hearty hot dishes, sandwiches and coffee, along with vegetarian and vegan options.

City bakery Brot bakes everything on site using the so-called cold fermentation method, which means mixing dough the day before and letting them develop their flavours in the fridge for 12–16 hours. It makes for loaves with a crisp exterior and delicious interior. But they're not only experts in bread, they also bake cakes and pastries and make ice cream that can be enjoyed on the spot.

The combination at Karla Café may seem unusual. You can eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, drink a glass of wine - and even eat sushi here. It's proved a popular concept, with something for all tastes at at all times of day. 

In what used to be the PUB department store building on Hötorget, you'll now find the Haymarket by Scandic hotel with its restaurant, bar and café, Gretas on the ground floor. Enjoy a healthy fika in updated 1920s surroundings inspired by the heyday of Greta Garbo. A light, airy meeting place that also has an outdoor dining area open in the summer months.