Sweden signature dishes

23 regional dishes covered across Sweden, each with the canonical version and where to eat it, city by city.

Ärtsoppa och PannkakorMain course · StockholmYellow pea soup with cured pork and marjoram, traditionally followed by thin Swedish pancakes (pannkakor) with whipped cream and lingonberry jam.Gravlax (dill-cured salmon)Main course · StockholmGravlax is salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill for 48 hours then sliced thin and served with mustard-dill sauce, rye bread or boiled potatoes.Halv Special (Hot Dog)Main course · GothenburgA curled potato sausage in a soft bread roll with mustard, ketchup and crispy onions from a street kiosk.Janssons FrestelseMain course · StockholmLayered potato gratin with sweet pickled Swedish anchovies (sprats), onions and cream, baked until the top crusts golden and the centre stays silky.Kanelbulle (cinnamon bun)Main course · StockholmSweden's signature pastry: a cardamom-and-cinnamon spiced wheat dough rolled with butter, sugar and cinnamon, topped with pearl sugar.Köttbullar (Swedish meatballs)Main course · StockholmKöttbullar are Sweden's national dish: small beef-and-pork meatballs in cream sauce with mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam and pickled cucumber.Löjrom (bleak roe)Main course · StockholmTiny orange-red roe from the bleak fish (löja), harvested from the Bothnian coast in winter.Neapolitan PizzaMain course · GothenburgWood-fired Neapolitan pizza with blistered cornichione, San Marzano tomato and local Swedish dairy.Pyttipanna (Swedish hash)Main course · StockholmA diced hash of cubed potatoes, onion and meat (sausage, ham or leftover roast) fried in butter, served with pickled beetroot and a fried egg on top.Raggmunk (potato pancake)Dessert · StockholmA grated-potato pancake fried crisp in butter, served with crisp bacon and lingonberry jam.Semla (Lent cream bun)Main course · StockholmA cardamom-spiced wheat bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream, dusted with icing sugar.SmörgåsbordMain course · StockholmSurströmming (fermented Baltic herring)Main course · StockholmLightly salted Baltic herring fermented in barrels for two months, sold in swollen tins.Toast SkagenBread · 2 citiesSSwedish AquavitMain course · GothenburgBBohus Raka (West Coast Prawns)Main course · GothenburgCold-water prawns from the Bohus archipelago, eaten standing at a market counter with bread and mayonnaise.HHagabulle (Giant Cinnamon Bun)Main course · GothenburgGothenburg's outsized cinnamon bun, baked at Cafe Husaren in Haga since 1890.IInlagd Sill (Pickled Herring)Main course · GothenburgSwedish pickled herring in multiple preparations: mustard, dill, onion, or cream sauce.KKraeftskiva (Crayfish Party)Main course · GothenburgSignal crayfish boiled with dill and salt, served cold with hard cheese, toast and aquavit in August.LLangoustine from the Bohus SkargardMain course · GothenburgNorwegian langoustine sourced from the Bohus archipelago, prepared with Nordic restraint: lightly grilled or raw with foraged herb emulsions.WWest Coast Lobster (Hummerpremiar)Main course · GothenburgEuropean lobster from the North Sea caught on the first Sunday of September when the Swedish lobster season officially opens.GGrebbestad OystersMain course · GothenburgNative flat oysters and Pacific oysters from the Grebbestad fjords on the Bohuslan coast, served raw with lemon and mignonette.WWest Coast IPAMain course · GothenburgA clean, hop-forward India Pale Ale with citrus and pine notes that Stigbergets made into a Gothenburg signature.