Want to know the best cafés in your part of town? Olivia Hahne, our hottest new contributor, is on a one woman-and-baby mission to find them out for you. We’ll be publishing her weekly reviews from tomorrow; in the meantime, check out her criteria for finding the best fika in Stockholm below.

What better way to soak up a city’s essence than to dive head-first into the coffee culture on offer. And in case you hadn’t noticed, Swedes love their coffee. So, in a selfless act of philanthropy, I’ve decided to take it upon myself to visit some of Stockholm’s finest caffeine peddling institutions and to give you, the discerning reader, the verdict.

You’re welcome.

Stringent review criteria will (possibly) be adhered to, namely:

Coffee

Is it any good? We’re talking strength, taste, size (it does matter) and, as this is Stockholm, price.

Food

What’s on offer? A selection of Delicato chokladbollar I could buy for less than half the price at ICA or an array of in-house baked awesomeness?

Service

Friendly and welcoming or does the person behind the counter look like they’re sucking on a wedge of lemon?

Ambience

Are we talking sterile Ikea showroom, the latest place to check into on Facebook (seriously, how did our 400+ ‘friends’ know we were somewhere worth bragging about before social media was invented?) or a café of the warm, weathered armchair variety.

Buggy-friendly

For all you latte mammas and pappas out there, I’ll be finding out just which cafés are buggy friendly and which expect you to leave your 3 or 4 wheeled friend outside. Extra points will be awarded for any kind patrons who open doors / help carry the buggy up stairs.

Recommendations of cafes worth checking out are always appreciated but if the names include the words ‘Espresso’, ‘House’, or ‘Waynes’, I won’t be going. Just saying.

Article: Olivia Hahne

Photo Credit: Let Ideas Compete