Where to eat in and around Lund, Sweden

Imagine a university town similar to Cambridge minus the crowds of tourists and you'll have some idea of what to expect if visiting Lund. Situated just above Malmo in the southern region of Skane, this university town emerges from fields of golden rapeseed as you arrive by train. It's pretty cobbled streets radiate from the central cathedral whose twin pointed towers dominate the skyline. Considering that its student population is approximately 40,000 its surprisingly quiet. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to spend a week here during a work visit, taking up every chance to explore between meetings. 

Magnolia blooming outside Lund University

In late April, Lund was just beginning to burst into bloom, magnolia and cherry blossom in gardens, parks and streets, turning the town pink. In the sunshine, it was easy to feel the lure of spring although the wind was still arctic and sudden intense rain showers appeared from nowhere. Scandinavia has a reputation for being expensive but given the current prices in the UK, it wasn't necessarily more so than eating out at home but its very hard to get your head around the hundreds of Swedish Krona and forget how much you are spending. Swedes appeared to eat out more at lunch and certainly ate dinner far earlier than other European countries. Restaurants closed early, sometimes as early as 9pm and most were full by 6.30-7pm. Sundays and Mondays many places were shut. We did eat outside on one night but despite heat lamps and blankets it got a bit too chilly, perhaps a better idea later in the year. Self-catering is obviously cheaper but don't think you can stock up for dinner and pick up a nice bottle of wine in the same supermarket. Alcohol can only be bought at dedicated alcohol shops and don't expect to find anything cold either. If you want a chilled glass of wine at home after work you need to get organised. It did seem to be perfectly acceptable to drink in restaurants without ordering food, literally every restaurant we went to asked if we wanted to drink or eat. Sweden is an almost cashless country, practically everywhere is card only and we didn't need cash once.

Swedish bun with cardamom from Love Coffee

'Fika': coffee, cake and time to think, an essential part of the Swedish day. Swedes drink a LOT of coffee, crazy amounts and at all times of the day (and that's coming from a half Dutch coffee addict who cannot function without at least four espressos each morning). Weirdly though, it was practically impossible to get an espresso and all that seemed to be offered was filter coffee. In work meetings, my colleagues thought it was hilarious I couldn't keep up with the caffeine load. I sneaked out from a meeting to escape for a pot of green tea at a tiny and rather charming coffee shop (Love Coffee, Klostergatan 1L), and was tempted by a Swedish bun, speckled with cardamom from the long wooden counter. No more expensive than coffee and cake from a London independent at about £3.50.

Raw beef, raspberries and poppy seeds at Matrummet

A short walk from the centre in a small modern hotel (The More, good spacious rooms), Tripadvisor rated Matrummet (Kastanjegatan 18) as one of the top restaurants in Lund. It isn't cheap, so be prepared to part with a considerable chunk of digital cash (cards only) and it may be advisable to book (we did). Serving modern Swedish/European cuisine but with a strong focus on provenance it deserves its reputation, the quality of the food enhanced by the superb service from just two front of house staff. We started with a locally produced gin and tonic and a tiny bruschetta of Jerusalem artichokes. Finally getting our heads around the exchange rate we chose the (just) slightly cheaper 4 course menu. Crisply fried blinis, sour cream, stonefish roe and a showering of dill were sublime but didn't stop me casting a lustful eye in the direction of my partner's raw beef, raspberries, foraged herbs and poppy seeds, it looked divine. Our second course was a dish of seasonal white asparagus, hollandaise, almonds and foraged nettles, then an spoonful of icy granita to cleanse the palate before the main course. Iberico pork, tiny new potatoes and a salad of more asparagus, this time the more familiar green. We finished with another seasonal product, rhubarb, with meringue, sorrel and honey. The honey was taken from the hive during the summer, frozen and put back later in the year, mixing up the fragrances of flowers from across the season. It was a lovely meal, just don't look at your bank balance until you've had a stiff drink (about £100 per person with wine).

'St Louis' style slow cooked beef ribs at Mat & Destillat

Another upmarket restaurant specialising in modern Swedish cuisine was Mat & Destillat (Kyrkogatan 17). A daily lunch special was excellent value at approximately £11-12 and it was clearly popular as the restaurant was packed. Their evening menu was a little pricier (£25-28 per main) but still very good value for the quality of food. We enjoyed roast fillet of lamb and some seriously massive 'St Louis' style beef ribs, with more seasonal asparagus. A shared dessert of a wild bilberry mousse, flax seed crackers, thyme syrup and pine tree shoots was unusual and refreshingly delicious.

Wild bilberry mousse at Mat & Destillat

Lund is awash with restaurants serving Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese or variations of all three, although if you are in search of a little chilli heat, you may be a bit disappointed (despite the blandness of traditional food in the UK, we are far more tolerant of spice). Fengsson Dumpling House (Winstrupsgatan 1) is a popular haunt for students and university staff, hidden in a tiny basement room with a handful of seats to eat inside (more tables outside). Service was brisk and there was a short queue. The menu is limited to dumplings (pork, chicken, vegetarian or mixed platters), rice and noodles with a spiced dipping sauce (graded according to heat but the 'very spicy' was pretty mild). A good spot for a cheap takeaway lunch at less than £10 a head.

Vietnamese spicy chicken and rice in Saluhallen

Another cheap but filling lunch was the imaginatively named Viet Cuisine, a Vietnamese food stall in Saluhallen, a small covered market space filled with specialist food traders and well worth a visit. Chicken, prawns or beef and rice or a bowl of beef pho and the option to have it extra spicy. Our chosen dishes of chicken and rice were tasty and comforting, full of perfectly cooked vegetables and tender chicken in a umami rich soy based sauce. Soft drinks and water only and you may have to share a table but at £15 for two this was a great place to eat well cheaply.

Vegetarian shitake mushroom summer rolls, Ihsiri

More upmarket (probably best to book), Ihsiri was a busy and clearly popular South East Asian restaurant with a short menu. Starters of vegetarian spring and summer rolls were beautifully presented with a jungle of greens but lacked a little in spice and flavour. Better was the main course of pad Thai with crisply fried tofu and a sriracha style sauce. Roughly about £50 for two with wine, a bit more if you choose seafood.

Affogato, Osteria Cucco

Searching for something simple and good value to eat after a hectic day at work, we just stumbled across a tiny local Italian, Osteria Cucco, down a side street near Saluhallen. The tiny interior was all Scandi wood with a small menu of wood-fired pizzas, spaghetti bolognese and puttanesca. It was perfect, rustically charred sourdough and pasta showered in Parmesan, so good we ate there on three nights. It even served espresso, and a gloriously decadent affogato (they make their own ice cream). The sort of small neighbourhood bistro you always dream of running after a few glasses of wine. Pizzas were £12-15 and pasta a few pounds more.

Swedish meatballs and lingonberries, Kulturen

There are several well designed and interesting museums in Lund (many linked to the university), worth visiting in themselves but also for their food. We didn't get the chance to visit the Botanical Gardens but many colleagues suggested it was a good spot for lunch. Skissernas, the museum of 'sketches' (officially the 'process of art') had a wonderful looking restaurant which was packed out most days so escaped the attentions of my gastronomic research. Kulturen, an open air museum of Swedish culture was a fantastic place to spend a day or more, there was so much to see and also had a charming restaurant with an outdoor terrace. Here we lunched on the Swedish classic of meatballs and lingonberries and a garlicky roast cauliflower and almond salad. This was excellent value at about £40 for two with a glass of wine and service.

The daily special, Ya Ha, Helsingborg

Helsingborg, a 30 minute train journey north of Lund, has a whole different atmosphere to the university town. Busier, grittier and more city like with a much more noticeable diverse community. It's a port city, a 20 minute ferry takes you to Denmark. Along the harbour it's all new and modern with a range of restaurants and cafés facing the expensive looking boats. We grabbed a sunny sheltered corner of the terrace in Ya-Ha (the wind was icy) after catching sight of the daily special on a blackboard outside. My attempts at translation indicated it was some kind of roast chicken for approximately £15 which was correct although it was served in a bowl which wasn't the easiest to eat from. 

Salty liquorice ice cream from Gelato House, Helsingborg

Further up, in a rustic looking shack, we bought ice cream from Gelato House, hand made by the seller. I chose the 'lakrids' flavour, based on the famous salty liquorice from Sweden. It was absolutely delicious, best ice cream of the trip, although not the best food for the weather (we ate it huddled against a fence to escape the freezing arctic wind). Two scoops in a small pot approximately £3.50.

Traditional smorrebrod, Heering, Copenhagen

With Denmark less than an hour by train from Lund, we nipped across the border to Copenhagen to squeeze another Scandinavian country into our explorations. We started by visiting the famous Little Mermaid statue before she was swamped by crowds and then wandered via the palace onto to Nyhavn, the pretty-as-a-picture harbour famous for its pastel coloured houses. Nyhavn is very touristy and it did feel a bit like eating near Covent Garden but we had a decent (if expensive) traditional smorrebrod (rye bread open sandwich) with marinated herring and a shot of aquavit in Heering. Lunch for two was just over £60, which was a little pricey (we also had a large bowl of chips) and service a bit on the brusque side but enjoyable nonetheless.

A Swedish summer house, Kulturen, Lund

I'd go back to Sweden in a heartbeat, already adding to my list Ystad, train trips further north and would love to go back for midsummer to experience the midnight sun, crayfish parties, swimming and saunas. Its a fascinating place, possible to eat cheaply as well as blow the budget. Plus, I've developed rather an obsession for the Swedish summer house, another itch that may need scratching!