5 places to eat local in Malmö

Last updated: 15 July 2023

Malmö, located in Southern Sweden is the third largest city in country and the 6th largest in the Nordic countries. It’s a former industrial city that now thrives on knowledge brought in by the university and the fact that it’s a hub for foodies.  We partnered with Malmö Tourism to discover five great hidden gems to eat local in Malmö.

1. Bla Hoddans Fisk

We’re greeted by Tobias. A 30-something local boy who clearly has had a lifelong passion for the sea and fishing sustainably.  He explains that Bla Hoddans is a family business that was started in 2004 with his dad.  

Tobias hands me a dark plate.  On it is a salmon fillet gently smoked over Alder wood, accompanied with tomato, lettuce, a zingy tweaked aioli and Rye bread.

At the time of visiting, Bla was smoking salmon in a method acquired from Alaska.  Salmon filleted into tenderloin shape, marinated and smoked on a stick. The end result is somewhat similar to jerky.

2. Salt & Sill Deli

Situated within Malmö central train station, Salt & Sill has been in the same family for five generations.  The flagship Salt & Sill restaurant is located on Klädesholmen just outside Gothenburg, however the brand opened the Deli in Malmö station in 2015.  

Their speciality is herring, one of Sweden’s oldest food traditions with endless varietals.  Salt & Sill served herring three ways.  Filleted on rye with dill pictured below or in an oyster shell with lemon, parsley, red onion, pickled mustard seeds and a touch of chilli.  My favourite was the crumbed deep fried herring accompanied with a creamy dill aioli.  

3. Kaka på Kaka

Meaning Cookie on Cookie, it’s here we tried the Swedish custom of Fika.  It’s not afternoon tea per se but more like dedicated time between friends drinking brewed coffee with a pastry or sweet of your choosing.

Here we sampled, a brownie with roasted coconut, buttery shortbread with homemade raspberry jam and a light & dark chocolate biscuit.  

It's a Swedish way of life, it's time to Fika! We have coffee and an assortment of cookie, cake & brownie to appease the sweetest of teeth.

A photo posted by Roma (& Russell) (@roamingrequired) on Jul 19, 2016 at 2:46am PDT

4. Gastronomi & Harmoni

We met owner and operator Paul.  Initially he’d planned to open one or two days a week, however since opening in 2015 he’s become so popular he’s working six days a week! Gastronomi & Harmoni is currently undergoing renovations, due to be completed in August 2016, we dined alfresco in the summer sun under some umbrellas.  

Presented with a charcuterie, Paul explained the produce in front of us.  

Salami with fennel was accompanied with pickled onions and Spanish olives was presented alongside a gentle but flavoured ham.  This ham is sourced from free range pigs that spend their entire lives outside in the forest. Two types of cheese; organic and the other sourced from cows with a close proximity to the sea.  The latter providing a slightly saltier taste, not dissimilar to Comte which we had at Ambiance à Vindåkra, Michelin star restaurant, the night before.

Paul explained that the eat local in Malmö initiative and supporting the Skane economy is extremely important to him, so where possible, Gastronomi & Harmoni source produce within a 10 km radius.  

5. Green Marmarknad

Long timber benches encourage communal dining as we’re greeted by hostess Majalina.  She explains the Green Marmarknad model and we noted some similarities to the American chain, Wholefoods.  The Green Marmarknad is an open warehouse style eatery situated within a retail presence.  With the store stocking predominately 70% organic products, Majalina explains the deli uses Skane products where possible, but the more important model for Green Marmarknad is the use of organic products and ways in which to reduce waste wherever possible.  A fact that dictates much of the cafes menu items.  

We’re served a turkey beef patty accompanied with sweet potato, grilled courgette, radish served on a bed of Bulgar wheat with turmeric and ajvar sauce.   It’s comprehensive meal, filling and tasty.  

The Essentials| Eat local in Malmö

Each property has been pinned onto this Google map for easy reference.

Disclaimer: I was a guest of Visit Skåne and Malmötown in conjunction with TBEX.  As always, all opinions are my own.