The Best Restaurants In Malmö, Sweden

Affordable, fresh and innovative: the Asian food at Dubbel Dubbel has made it one of the most popular restaurants around Malmö’s Möllan neighbourhood. While you can order dish-by-dish here, it’s the set menus that people come for. They’re well-priced, at between 215 and 295 kronor (£17-24), and each set menu gives you a good mix of Dubbel Dubbel’s dumplings, mantao (steamed Chinese buns), salads and rice. In winter the restaurant is a cosy indoor affair; when the weather gets warmer, it moves into its own courtyard and stays outside all summer long. Dubbel Dubbel also has a good beer selection and tasty cocktails, and is perfect for a laid-back dinner with friends in the multicultural and lively area of Möllan. Make sure to book, though – it gets busy.

Any Malmöit (person from Malmö) will tell you that Folkets Park – the inner-city park – is where it’s at; there’s always something happening at one of the venues here. Far i Hatten is a popular bar and restaurant in the middle of the park, open Wednesday to Sunday. The big courtyard is a busy hangout space in the summer, while in the winter, the focus is on the restaurant located inside the cute, old-fashioned timber buildings that make up the venue. A restaurant and entertainment space has been here since the 19th century, and is still a popular spot for a fun night out. The food is great, too – choose between their stone-baked pizzas or mix and match the smaller plates, which include dishes featuring jerusalem artichoke, pork belly and roast pumpkin. You can also let the kitchen create a menu for you for a set price.

Cosy Davidshallstorg, a square in the middle of Malmö, is home to plenty of vintage shops, bars and cafés, as well as one of Malmö’s best sushi places, Hai. The name is a bit of a pun: it means “yes” in Japanese, but sounds a lot like the way southern Swedes say “hej” when they greet each other. The extensive menu features exquisite sushi, as well as a selection of robatayaki, yakisoba and other hot dishes at good prices. The fresh tuna poke bowl is another great, well-priced option, and there’s a selection of udon soups for cold days. Staff are friendly and helpful, and Hai’s outdoor tables with a view of the square is a lovely place to spend a summer evening.

A coastal city like Malmö naturally has good seafood, but which restaurant does it best? Johan P is a safe bet; a classic Malmö restaurant that specialises in fish and seafood and where the ingredients are bought fresh every morning. They’ll fulfil any fish craving you might have, whether you’re after a lobster roll, scallops, a tuna bourguignon or any of the other delicacies on the menu. The upmarket restaurant does a lunch special as well as a brunch menu, and the location is perfect: in the middle of the shopping district. If you fancy cooking your own fish, Johan P’s seafood shop can help with that, too.

The trendy yet homely feel of Bastard quickly made it a favourite with food-loving crowds. The open-view kitchen, located right in the middle of the dimly lit dining room, offers honest, classic European fare. There’s a special affection for meat, as one should expect of a restaurant whose logo features a juicy pig. Meals start with the house’s Bastardplanka, a selection of cold cuts served on Bastard’s signature wood plate with a knife stuck into it. For other courses, chef Andreas Dahlberg likes to creatively use succulent off-cuts. This keeps the restaurant affordable while still providing tasty, innovative options for hungry customers.

Lyran’s food makes people use superlatives: it’s been described as “magical” and is regularly at the top of lists of the city’s best restaurants. The restaurant, in the Möllan neighbourhood, only serves set menus, but they’re well-priced and thoughtfully composed. All dishes are made from seasonal ingredients that have been sourced as locally as possible, which means the tasting menu changes daily. One day it might feature fish from the North Sea, Swedish kiwifruit, beef from Skåne and truffles from Umbria, all used to create exciting, innovative dishes, and you can always choose between a vegetarian menu, fish menu or fish-and-meat menu. A must-visit for gourmands.

The oldest Chinese restaurant in Malmö, Kin Long opened in 1964 and is still going strong. The central location is a bonus, but it’s the great food made from seasonal produce that keeps people coming back. Choose a set menu or compose your own from the long list of dishes, which includes a lot of authentic courses not always found in Chinese restaurants in Sweden. The intimate, informal space with its big windows and traditional red Chinese lanterns has a cosy, laid-back atmosphere. Kin Long also recently opened its own wine bar with a homely feel next to the restaurant. Here, visitors can wait for a table to become free, or enjoy a drink after their dinner.

Everything is stripped down to the bare essentials at Saltimporten Canteen. The no-frills venue features long, simple wood benches and tables, and the kitchen presents one set menu, plus a vegetarian option. But far from being a weakness, simplicity is Saltimporten Canteen’s winning point. This is the place to go for a tranquil Nordic-style lunch, and to taste interesting and unexpected Scandinavian dishes. These are frequently transformed or replaced altogether, and prepared with fresh produce from local suppliers. The delicious bread and light beer that accompany the food are also noteworthy.

Korea meets Sweden at Namu, a Korean restaurant in the middle of Malmö. It was awarded a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide in 2017 and serves Korean dishes like kimchi and beef gangnam-style. There’s a lovely lunch menu here, too, with different kinds of bibimbap as well as ramyun and bokkum, all made from local produce. One of the best places to go for Asian food in the city – no wonder, considering that the chef, Jennie Walldén, won the Swedish version of Masterchef in 2013 and has refined her skills even more since.

Visiting Malmö’s Bloom in the Park is a surprise every time. The talented chefs Titti Qvarnström and André Schink have embraced a no-menu philosophy, which consists of deciding on new dishes daily, based on the available ingredients and their current mood. The kitchen’s overall approach, however, leans towards an experimental and unpredictable deconstruction of classic French cuisine. The venue is characterised by a modern, sleek interpretation of elegant interior design. The interlocking white panels that cover the wall stand out as the most unique feature: an original setting that matches the eclectic food. Bloom in the Park also offers a take-away service and a tearoom in which to enjoy a relaxing break during the day.

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