# Food Options in Uppsala (Sweden)



## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

My magical mystery tour takes me to Uppsala (Sweden) next week for business. Does anyone know of a decent restaurant frequented by locals that I should try out?

Also, my ability to speak Swedish is non-existant (other than my ability to say ABBA, Sorenstam, and Wilander)...although I am cramming to learn some phrases so I don't look like a completely ugly American. Is it fair to say that the Swedes will know English...<winking> the American kind not the stuff they speak in the UK.


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## Balfour (Mar 23, 2012)

I've not visited Uppsala, but from my trips to Stockholm and Marstrand my experience is that many Swedes speak English much better than most English people.

Bjorn or Ormonde may be able to help more.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Balfour said:


> my experience is that many Swedes speak English much better than most English people.


Thank you...there's hope then.

I was planning to make some flash cards with some common phrases in Swedish and English, just in case.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

We all speak English. 

Uppsala is a university city, since 1477, so even more there.

The Peppar Peppar restaurant is supposed to be good, www.pepparpeppar.se, as well as Jay Fu, www.jayfu.se.

The stationen restaurant as well. Www.stationen.se.

They are not cheap though... Feel free to pm if you have any questions on this or something else.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Thank you Bjorn.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> Thank you Bjorn.


No problem. Good luck in Uppsala


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

*Stationen Restaurant*

Bjorn, thanks for recommending the Stationen Restaurant. It was excellent. Our group was staying at the Radisson Blu when we realized the train station and the Stationen Restaurant was across the street. So it was a no-brainer to walk over.

The food was excellent. Some highlights: For an appetizer, the chanterelles on sour dough bread were delicious. I had the daily special of braised lamb shank. A colleague had the creme brulee for dessert. All were very nicely prepared. We ended up having a Columbia Crest cabernet with the meal, which was very good, but I did give my boss a little grief for traveling all the way to Sweden to order a Washington wine. However, I will have to give him credit for picking a good wine.

The restaurant is well-appointed and beautifully decorated, and as you would suspect, the Scandinavian hostess and waitresses were incredibly beautiful...and spoke flawless english to my relief.

My colleagues and I wore jackets. I also wore a tie. However, the restaurant was filled with people of all stripes....some in business suits and some with casual wear. All were having a great time. I did notice that many of the folks wore thick heavy coats (parka-esque) and the ubiquitous extra-long warp-around scarf when they arrived...even though the temp outside was relatively mild, around 40F. I guess they're prepared for the worst.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> Bjorn, thanks for recommending the Stationen Restaurant. It was excellent. Our group was staying at the Radisson Blu when we realized the train station and the Stationen Restaurant was across the street. So it was a no-brainer to walk over.
> 
> The food was excellent. Some highlights: For an appetizer, the chanterelles on sour dough bread were delicious. I had the daily special of braised lamb shank. A colleague had the creme brulee for dessert. All were very nicely prepared. We ended up having a Columbia Crest cabernet with the meal, which was very good, but I did give my boss a little grief for traveling all the way to Sweden to order a Washington wine. However, I will have to give him credit for picking a good wine.
> 
> ...


Snow, sounds great! I'm glad it worked out well.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

*Trattoria Roasted Potatoes*

While in Uppsala, my team and I went to a hole-in-the-wall trattoria for dinner. I cannot remember the name, but it was across the street from a bowling alley/diner. The atmosphere was family-friendly and the food was by-and-large average...except for...

a huge plate of roasted potatoes they served with the main course to be shared by all at the table. The potatoes were whole and skinless. The outside was roasted to a crunchy golden brown, and the insides were fluffy and creamy. They were incredibly delicious...and to my (and my colleagues') surprise I must have eaten three of them...and I could have eaten more.

After getting home, I said to myself, this must be pretty easy to make. Sure enough a search for trattoria potatoes on Google produced a similar recipe. I made them this past week for my kids and they loved them.

I'm thinking that variations like tossing the roasted potatoes in olive oil, garlic, and parmasean cheese before serving would be good. Amazing that of all the things from Sweden, I would remember a simple side dish from a non-descript dinner at a non-descript restaurant.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> While in Uppsala, my team and I went to a hole-in-the-wall trattoria for dinner. I cannot remember the name, but it was across the street from a bowling alley/diner. The atmosphere was family-friendly and the food was by-and-large average...except for...
> 
> a huge plate of roasted potatoes they served with the main course to be shared by all at the table. The potatoes were whole and skinless. The outside was roasted to a crunchy golden brown, and the insides were fluffy and creamy. They were incredibly delicious...and to my (and my colleagues') surprise I must have eaten three of them...and I could have eaten more.
> 
> ...


Nice. In my experience, that is often the case. I was in Italy this summer, and the best meal I got was out of a small family owned shack at a stony (fairly nondescript) beach without a tourist in sight besides us. Lovely pasta with seafood and tomato sauce. Simple and well made.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Bjorn said:


> Nice. In my experience, that is often the case. I was in Italy this summer, and the best meal I got was out of a small family owned shack at a stony (fairly nondescript) beach without a tourist in sight besides us. Lovely pasta with seafood and tomato sauce. Simple and well made.


Sounds wonderful...and sometimes finding these hidden gems is as easy as watching where all the tourists go and then heading in the opposite direction!


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Hi SNP, sorry, I've just seen this now. I was away overseas myself. But you got good tips from Björn. That said even eateries further down the scale are very good in Sweden.


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## Kingstonian (Dec 23, 2007)

I found Malmo to be marginally cheaper than Copenhagen. We walked away from the city centre and ate in a busy restaurant in a square in a largely immigrant area. Meal was reasonably priced and paid for on a credit card as we had no Swedish currency just a return train ticket.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Kingstonian said:


> I found Malmo to be marginally cheaper than Copenhagen.


It is, Sweden generally is actually a fair bit cheaper than both Norway and Denmark, (but for different reasons) hence them visiting Sweden at weekends to stock up on various goods that are much cheaper here. The Danes swamp Malmö and Göteborg, the Norwegians swamp Charlottenberg, Karlstad and Göteborg.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> Hi SNP, sorry, I've just seen this now. I was away overseas myself. But you got good tips from Björn. That said even eateries further down the scale are very good in Sweden.


No worries Earl. As you said, Bjorn gave wonderful suggestions, and overall, I was very impressed with your friendly and beautiful country.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> It is, Sweden generally is actually a fair bit cheaper than both Norway and Denmark, (but for different reasons) hence them visiting Sweden at weekends to stock up on various goods that are much cheaper here. The Danes swamp Malmö and Göteborg, the Norwegians swamp Charlottenberg, Karlstad and Göteborg.


Malmö and Sweden is indeed cheaper than Denmark, but when dining, alcohol is a lot more expensive in Sweden which may explain the perceived marginal difference.

Norway is horribly expensive all round.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

I'm on the final leg of another journey to Uppsala and am left wondering how Europeans afford to eat. Yesterday, I purposely went out of my way to walk towards the center of the city to find a cheap eatery for lunch. 

I found a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place and had tofu with mixed vegetables. It was 160 SEK, which I believe is between $25-$30. The meal was simple and delicious, but for basically a fast food meal, in NJ it would have been about half of that. Down south, even cheaper.

Last night at the Oslo Airport Best Western, I had a quick hamburger and beer for about $50. Again the meal was delicious. But what is going on? OK, it's a hotel, so it's going to be expensive, but I think the same meal in a similar hotel in the States would have been cheaper. I'm just a visitor, but how do the locals manage to eat out? 

Is that the secret for the large number of thin Scandanavians? They all ride bikes and the price of food discourages eating.


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## zzdocxx (Sep 26, 2011)

Good heavens.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

zzdocxx said:


> Good heavens.


I'm sure there are inexpensive places that I missed, but even when I'm prepared for the sticker shock (eg, eating in a hotel restaurant), it still surprises me.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> Bjorn, thanks for recommending the Stationen Restaurant. It was excellent. Our group was staying at the Radisson Blu when we realized the train station and the Stationen Restaurant was across the street. So it was a no-brainer to walk over.
> 
> The food was excellent. Some highlights: For an appetizer, the chanterelles on sour dough bread were delicious. I had the daily special of braised lamb shank. A colleague had the creme brulee for dessert. All were very nicely prepared. We ended up having a Columbia Crest cabernet with the meal, which was very good, but I did give my boss a little grief for traveling all the way to Sweden to order a Washington wine. However, I will have to give him credit for picking a good wine.
> 
> ...


My group tried to go back to the Stationen for dinner this most recent trip in April. The restaurant looked the same as it did in 2012, but the vibe was completely different. Instead of a quiet seating area in the room with the big mirror, the place from front to back was filled with college-aged hipsters, and loud music was blasting all around. It was very disorienting. Being the wrong demographic, we smiled and beat a hasty retreat.

I can't really complain as it looked like the restaurant was doing very well under this format.


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> I'm on the final leg of another journey to Uppsala and am left wondering how Europeans afford to eat. Yesterday, I purposely went out of my way to walk towards the center of the city to find a cheap eatery for lunch.
> 
> I found a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place and had tofu with mixed vegetables. It was 160 SEK, which I believe is between $25-$30. The meal was simple and delicious, but for basically a fast food meal, in NJ it would have been about half of that. Down south, even cheaper.
> 
> ...


I generally have lunch at about 90 SEK, so you got shafted 

Norway is different from Sweden because of the oil, very expensive, and there's generally not much good to be eaten. Norway is scandinavias Britain in terms of food 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## Bjorn (May 2, 2010)

Snow Hill Pond said:


> My group tried to go back to the Stationen for dinner this most recent trip in April. The restaurant looked the same as it did in 2012, but the vibe was completely different. Instead of a quiet seating area in the room with the big mirror, the place from front to back was filled with college-aged hipsters, and loud music was blasting all around. It was very disorienting. Being the wrong demographic, we smiled and beat a hasty retreat.
> 
> I can't really complain as it looked like the restaurant was doing very well under this format.


Perhaps you were there on the wrong weekday  Hate it when they do that... Turn it into a club.

Next time, try Villa Anna on Odinslund 3, or Hambergs Fisk on Fyristorg 8. Both should be more pleasing to your demographic. Cab fare should be ok.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Bjorn said:


> I generally have lunch at about 90 SEK, so you got shafted
> 
> Norway is different from Sweden because of the oil, very expensive, and there's generally not much good to be eaten. Norway is scandinavias Britain in terms of food
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


Thanks Bjorn. What is 90 SEK? About $13? Still a little rich for a daily lunch in the States.


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

Bjorn said:


> Perhaps you were there on the wrong weekday  Hate it when they do that... Turn it into a club.
> 
> Next time, try Villa Anna on Odinslund 3, or Hambergs Fisk on Fyristorg 8. Both should be more pleasing to your demographic. Cab fare should be ok.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


It was a Friday. Maybe they turn the restaurant into a disco on the weekends! Oh well...

Thanks for the suggestions. Don't know when I'll be back, but thanks nonetheless.


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