Sample the diverse flavours of Uppsala

The university town of Uppsala – located about a 30-minute train-ride from Stockholm – is a hit with foodies. Unsurprisingly so. Wander around the charming streets and historic squares and you’ll come across a strong line-up of eminent restaurants, allowing you to sample classic Swedish food and international cuisine, as well as various crossover concepts. Whichever type of restaurant you opt for, you’ll find that many focus on organic, locally-sourced produce served in season.

Here are some of Uppsala’s best restaurants:

Villa Anna

Nestling in Uppsala’s historic centre, the award-winning gastro-hotel Hotel Villa Anna is a 19th century landmark that exudes elegance and homeliness at the same time. Its upmarket, experience-based restaurant offers small and large set menus as well as an à la carte selection. Innovative dishes currently featuring on the menu include lightly smoked rainbow trout served with ramson, timut pepper and soured buttermilk; and tartar of reindeer sprinkled with juniper, pistachio and black garlic.

Dryck & Mat

Fine dining establishment Dryck & Mat (drink and food) is one for the wine and beer connoisseur. Drinks are sourced carefully from Sweden and beyond and paired perfectly with imaginatively composed dishes – crayfish with hazelnut and grilled nectarine being just one example. Choose from the à la carte menu or opt for tasting menus large and small. If you fancy a post-dinner drink, pop into the bar next door, Sju Flaskor (seven bottles), named so, because they always have seven spirits and seven cocktails on the menu.

Miss Voon

A modern restaurant perched on the eleventh floor of Elite Hotel Academia in central Uppsala, Miss Voon offers fine Asian/European fusion food and cityscape views. The regularly changing menu is imaginative – think asparagus with yuzu-koshu hollandaise and tuna with papaya, peanut, coriander and lime. The flavoursome and beautifully presented dishes come in half portions (it’s recommended that you order three to four) and the drinks list features many hard-to-find options, such as Yona Yona, a pale ale from Japan.

Jay Fu’s at Uppsala Saluhall

A delightfully unpredictable fusion, Jay Fu’s restaurant serves up dishes blending American and Asian influences. Expect “hearty meat dishes” inspired by restaurateur Jay Fu, who ran an American-Asian steakhouse in the Californian desert in the 1960s and 70s. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the covered food market, the Uppsala Saluhall. This spot is popular with locals and among its lively stalls you’ll find produce from near and far.

Klostergatan 5

Dedicated to Swedish produce, bistro Klostergatan 5 serves up creatively assembled dishes and platters based on a diverse range of organic produce. Cheeses, charcuterie products and vegetables are sourced from small-scale farms, and the menu changes according to the season. Open all day long, it’s a great place to hang out at any time. You can take a seat inside or out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, or relax with a drink and a cheese platter as night falls.

Hambergs

Established in 1982, and right in the middle of Uppsala’s bustling restaurant square Fyristorg, Hambergs has evolved from a fishmonger to a top restaurant, offering both a fresh fish shop and deli counter on the premises. The restaurant has a French bistro feel to it, and due to its relaxed, unpretentious ambience the kitchen focuses on fresh, carefully sourced ingredients. The diverse but entirely seafood-based menu encompasses everything from shrimp salad with apple and horseradish to cured salmon with creamy dill potatoes.

The Loco

The Loco prides itself on its fun-loving attitude and relaxed atmosphere. Even the menu is free-spirited, offering all manner of dishes and snacks to mix and match. The Loco’s popular lunchtime “comfort bowls” can take almost any shape – from hearty schnitzel and potato mash combinations to Japanese-inspired variants with teriyaki chicken, sushi rice, soybeans and ginger.

As this cluster of restaurants illustrates, there are options for every culinary taste in Uppsala, with plenty of unique concepts to surprise and delight.