The best Christmas buffets (julbord) in Stockholm 2024
- The city's top traditional and alternative Christmas dinners
Your guide to Stockholm’s best julbord
To eat a Christmas dinner is one of the nicest traditions while waiting for Santa, and already at the end of November, Stockholm’s restaurants set out their magnificent Christmas tables. There are both traditional Christmas buffets for those who want to maximize the Christmas atmosphere and alternative versions for those who want a Christmas dinner (or lunch) with different flavors than the classic ones. And whether you wish to book a cozy meal for you and your partner or a large Christmas buffet for a company, there are plenty of options.
To help you find your way among the gems, we’ve made a guide to Stockholm’s best’ julbord.’ Invite your family, friends, or colleagues at work and book a wonderful experience where you can enjoy your Christmas food favorites, the beautiful lights, and the cozy atmosphere filling the city this time of year.
Traditional julbord
If herring, salmon, ham, meatballs, beetroot salad, and all the other Swedish Christmas food are your thing, you should go for a traditional Christmas buffet with all the classic dishes. Stockholm is full of fantastic Christmas buffets in beautifully decorated premises guaranteed to put you in the perfect Christmas spirit up until Christmas Eve.
Elite Hotel Marina Tower
Take a seat in the cozy dining room, soak up the atmosphere, and enjoy the food. The buffet offers both hot and cold dishes, where traditional flavors are combined with vegetarian Christmas dishes. The icing on the cake is the dessert table filled with tasty treats. The Christmas buffet is served in the evening Tuesday to Saturday and there is room for up to 250 people. If you’re at least 50 people, you can also book Christmas dinner or Christmas lunch on Sundays and Mondays.
Getting to Elite Hotel Marina Tower is easy. Put on your winter coat and walk along the quays, take the car, the bus from Slussen, or why not the waterway – the most pleasant way to get here. Just hop on one of SL’s commuter ferries.
Mälardrottningen
Mälardrottningen’s traditional Christmas table is a luxurious and generous Christmas buffet served between November 28 and December 21. You enjoy it in the ship’s newly renovated dining room Brasserie Hutton with glamorous art deco-style décor and seating for up to 150 people. This setting will take you on a wonderful time travel back to the happy 1920s with an elegant luxury yacht feel, a dining experience guaranteed to get you in the right mood for the Christmas holidays.
La Botanica
The gigantic buffet features dishes from all over the world and something for everyone – whatever your taste. There are Christmas classics such as herring, salmon, Jansson’s temptation, chipolata, meatballs, and red beet salad. But also less Christmassy but tasty dishes like buffalo wings, BBQ ribs, pizza, pancakes, and fresh spring rolls. Simply, a delightful mix.
After dinner, you can enjoy a variety of fun activities such as bowling, billiards, arcade games, mini-golf, smart darts, bumper cars, shuffleboard, and pentathlon. In other words, La Botanica is a hot candidate for Stockholm’s most fun Christmas buffet. And if you want to enhance the experience even more, you can combine the Christmas buffet with Joe Labero’s exclusive magic show Labero’s Magic World.
Artipelag
Artipelag’s classic Christmas buffet – Photo: © Jesus Rogelio
A classic Christmas food experience in a stunning archipelago environment. That’s what Artipelag, the fantastic art museum on the scenic Värmdö in the Stockholm archipelago, offers at Christmas time. Between November 28 and December 22, they light the fireplace and set their traditional Christmas buffets with all imaginable delicacies. The food and the cozy environment, combined with the magnificent view of Baggensfjärden, guarantee a deluxe Christmas atmosphere.
Craftsmanship, quality, and locally produced ingredients are at the center, and all food is prepared from scratch. The extensive buffet offers meat, fish, and vegetarian, cold and hot dishes, salads, bread from their bakery – in short, everything you can think of. And if you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you can get a vegetarian or vegan plate (notify the restaurant in advance). Everything ends with a generous and beautiful dessert table with treats from their award-winning bakery and patisserie. With the food, you drink delicious drinks carefully selected by the restaurant’s sommelier – their own ‘julmust’ (Christmas root beer), seasoned snaps, and locally produced beer.
At Artipelag, both small and large groups can have a grand end to the year. Book a table for two or bring the whole company (up to 80 people) to the archipelago. Those who want to sit separately in a quieter environment can also book a Chambre séparée for 8–20 people.
Movitz
Old Town in December plus a classic Christmas buffet is a hard-to-beat combination. And that’s exactly what you get at the historic and cozy restaurant Movitz, located in a vault from the 17th century on Tyska Brinken. Here you’ll enjoy a great vibe when Christmas is coming, and between November 28 and December 20, they set up their classic and popular Christmas buffet. Monday to Saturday, they have two sittings per day, and on Sundays, it’s only open for larger private parties.
Start the evening with a non-alcoholic welcome mulled wine, then enjoy plenty of delicacies at the large buffet. Here you can find several kinds of herring, salmon, pâtés, sausages, rice pudding, and salads. There’s also turkey, mutton, and roast beef. And, of course, Christmas classics such as ham, Jansson’s temptation, meatballs, and chipolata. Plus, the number 1 highlight of the buffet: the seafood. Indulge in smoked prawns, prawns, wine-boiled mussels, scampi, crayfish, Skagen mixture, and crab claws. There are also many vegetarian options. End it all in the best way with a big dessert table, fruit, and coffee or tea before moving to Movitz’s popular pub with a wide selection of beers and a friendly atmosphere.
Brostugan
The Christmas buffet is served between November 29 and December 22 and is a classic model with all the flavors we all know and love. Christmas ham, raw spiced salmon, roast beef, chipolata, meatballs, spare rib, pickled herring, beetroot salad, Skagen mix, jellied veal, and leg of lamb are just a few examples. There’s also a well-stocked dessert table and, of course, coffee and mulled wine. Brostugan welcomes parties of up to 100 people and also offers a Christmas buffet for takeaway.
Sjätte Tunnan
Sjätte Tunnan’s Christmas feast is served at the tables in five rounds – three kinds of herring, fruit platter, cold-cut, hot dishes, and sweets – and during this historic Christmas food trip, you’re offered a wide range of culinary delicacies. A few examples are smoked raw spiced salmon with green mustard sauce, Camelina meat from lamb roast beef, or long-baked cured pork side. And don’t miss the chance to try the restaurant’s homemade mead, medieval mulled wine (hypokras), and spicy schnapps. In addition, you and your party can expand your Christmas experience with an exciting walk in the Old Town before the Christmas dinner. The tour focuses on the dead’s early service on Christmas Day, and it’s a collaboration with Sweden History Tours.
Blå Porten
The festivities begin outdoors in Blå Porten’s lovely garden, where Santa Claus serves you and your company steaming hot mulled wine. You then move indoors to a beautiful and atmospheric 1900s setting where you’re served the greatest hits of the restaurant’s regular menu – quiche with feta cheese and spinach, meatballs, and tomato and feta cheese salad. Of course, vegetarian options are also available (as well as vegan dishes if pre-booked).
Fågelbrohus
Christmas in Stockholm’s archipelago is something special, and when you visit the hotel Fågelbrohus on beautiful Värmdö, you’re guaranteed to get in the right spirit. Leave the city noise and stress behind, check into a rural idyll in scenic surroundings, and celebrate Christmas with extra everything. Here you can enjoy all your favorite Christmas food, a heated outdoor pool, a lovely overnight stay, and a tasty breakfast buffet. And so much more. What else could you want for Christmas? The fact that the hotel is dressed in its finest winter costume makes it even better.
The country feeling captures you as soon as you enter and in the living room, and naturally, the fireplace is burning. The evening begins with a glass of homemade and warming mulled wine and then continues with a magnificent buffet with all the classic Christmas flavors. Start with the delicious appetizer buffet, then enjoy the main course served on a plate at the table, and end it all with the elegant dessert table filled with sweets and cheeses. Then sleep well in comfortable beds and just enjoy life. At Fågelbrohus, Christmas gets a little better.
Hotel Kung Carl
Sit down in the charming dining room, enjoy the cozy lively environment, and taste the goodies – a traditional Christmas buffet filled with Swedish classics. It’s also possible to book a Christmas party for work at Hotel Kung Carl. Their exclusive banquet room or chambre séparée on the fourth floor is ready for parties of 15 people and up. Here you can enjoy a delicious Christmas dinner privately in an intimate and festive atmosphere guaranteed to get all colleagues in the holiday spirit.
Tre Valv
If you want to enjoy a Christmas buffet in Stockhom 2024 in a unique building from Sweden’s 15th century, you should head towards Järntorget in Old Town, more specifically the restaurant Tre Valv. Just as it sounds, the restaurant consists of three rustic vaults, perfectly preserved and restored. The vaults will be decorated for the holidays, and this is also where the Christmas tables are set.
You’re greeted with a glass of mulled wine, and then you can enjoy a buffet of traditional Christmas food mixed with some new elements. There’s also a large vegetarian menu if you prefer that. If you want to sit separately, it’s possible to book a private vault for you and your company. Feel free to step into this historic atmosphere for a Christmas buffet you’ll remember for a long time.
M/S Vindhem
Stockholm is known as the Venice of the North, so having a Christmas smorgasbord at sea perfectly combines sightseeing and Swedish Christmas food. On the boat M/S Vindhem, you can go on a Christmas buffet cruise (lunch or dinner) among islands and islets, where you can enjoy both a magnificent view of the archipelago and all the traditional dishes you could ever want. Herring, Christmas ham, chipolata sausage, Jansson’s temptation, salmon, and lutefisk are just a few of the delicacies.
In addition, M/S Vindhem has added a marine touch to the buffet with, among other things, prawns, Caesar salad with hot smoked salmon, bloater, seafood pâté, and homemade Skagen mixture. If there’s room in your stomach after that, there is a long line of delicious desserts and cheese platters. The Christmas food is accompanied by a troubadour who entertains with mixed music that increases the Christmas mood. A perfect Christmas buffet for the whole family.
Gamla Riksarkivet
You and your company enjoy the buffet in one of the beautiful halls. There’s everything from romantic tables for two and intimate dining rooms for small groups to the grandiose Forskarsalen, where up to 114 people can eat under gorgeous crystal chandeliers. And if you bring children, don’t miss Gamla Riksarkivet’s own movie theater, where a professional babysitter can take care of the little ones if the parents want to enjoy their food in peace. The Christmas buffet at Gamla Riksarkivet starts as early as November 8 and is served daily until Christmas Day. In addition, there is a lovely Christmas lunch.
Alternative julbord
We all want to have good food and drinks at Christmas time, but not everyone loves meatballs, Christmas ham, herring, and all other classic Christmas food (or wants to wait until Christmas Eve). Most people also like the Christmas atmosphere, but perhaps with a smaller dose of Santas, Christmas trees, and Bing Crosby’s White Christmas? Then it’s nice that Stockholm’s restaurant scene also offers many high-class alternative Christmas dinners where you can enjoy other less Christmassy – but delicious – flavors.
Beirut Café
In an atmospheric and inviting room, they serve carefully prepared Lebanese food with rich flavors and well-seasoned combinations. The Christmas menu is a tasting menu with both cold and hot meze plus mixed grill. It all ends with coffee and dessert guaranteed to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you like to eat Christmas food at home but don’t like to cook it yourself, Beirut Café also offers Christmas food catering. You can order the same delicious tasting menu that you can eat on site.
The Old Smokehouse
With its scenic location in Saltsjö-Boo, the restaurant offers a unique combination of American and Swedish cooking traditions. If you go here on a normal day, you’ll find everything from pulled pork burgers to Swedish potato dumplings with porcini mushrooms. The inspiration comes from the American South and the passion for smoked food runs like a golden thread through the menu. Long-term smoking in home-built smokers is the order of the day here.
What brightens up the winter darkness at the Christmas table is precisely this wonderful combination. The Christmas table is served with delicacies such as carpaccio on fired scallops, porter braised reindeer leg from selected Sami villages, ribs of course but with brown cabbage and apple and of course accessories such as Västerbotten and porcini stuffed Swedish potato dumplings. Among many other things.
The Old Smokehouse is not just a stylish restaurant on the outside. It’s an exciting and tasty choice for this year’s Christmas table.
Florentine
How about a glamorous Christmas experience with an Italian theme? Then book Christmas dinner at the Italian restaurant Florentine, located at Medborgarplatsen in Södermalm. During the holiday season, this exclusive and modern trattoria transforms into a magical Christmas destination where you’ll be taken on a culinary journey to Italy combined with an atmosphere always at its best. More is more!
Bring your family, friends, or colleagues and sit in the lovely premises with room for 200+ guests. Here, you can enjoy a delicious dinner of 3-4 courses with all Italian delicacies. All are exceptionally well prepared from carefully selected ingredients. First-class wines or other good drinks perfectly complement the food – not least Florentine’s craft cocktails served in the restaurant’s magnificent 360-degree cocktail bar. And when dinner is over, and the plates are empty, the festivities are far from over. Get ready for an Italian Christmas party you’ll remember.
Lebanon Meza Lounge
In this stunning venue where the oriental mystique is rooted in the walls, you’ll enjoy aromatic dishes with spicy flavors, seductive tones, oriental entertainment, and glorious colors. In short, Lebanon Meza Lounge has a complete concept in true Lebanese style and a magical Christmas experience guaranteed free of herring and sausages. Invite your family, friends, or colleagues, and have a great evening.
Brillo Pizza
On the menu, you’ll find delicious taste experiences like shrimp pizza with roe, cold-smoked salmon, glazed Christmas ham with mustard, and meatball-and-sausage pizza with beet salad. And to finish it off – a dessert pizza with a saffron flavor. Yummy. You can enjoy the food in a cozy atmosphere with a relaxed, lively vibe that’s sure to put you in a good mood. If you’d rather enjoy the Christmas pizzas at home or the office, Brillo Pizza also offers catering, and you can even book the restaurants for a larger Christmas feast or mingling event.
Norrtullsgatan 10, Vasastan
Erik Dahlbergsallén 16, Östermalm
Invece
Invece’s delicious Christmas menu consists of four courses where you can enjoy everything from antipasti and truffles to handmade ravioli, veal fillet, char, and vendace roe. And, of course, it all ends with wonderful sweets. You can order a matching wine package with your meal, but there are also other drinks for those who wish. Take a seat in the stylish dining room with its brown leather sofas, green wood panels, and charming retro posters and enjoy your dinner. And if you fancy a good drink before or after dinner, this Södermalm gem also has a nice cocktail bar with a New York vibe.
NOFO Hotel
The charming boutique and design hotel NOFO Hotel is located in a landmarked building from 1780 in Södermalm’s trendy neighborhoods. Here you can not only stay first class but also eat and drink well. Especially at Christmas time when you and your company can take a pleasant break from the December stress and experience a luxurious Christmas celebration in cozy The Vault. Get down to the underground for a magical evening where the flavors and scents of Christmas set the right mood.
The evening begins with a delightful drink and then continues with a fabulous three-course menu full of the best flavors of Christmas. Traditional Christmas dishes like meatballs and ribs are combined with a variety of seafood, charcuterie, and cheeses. Plus a tasty dessert as the finishing touch. All with NOFO Hotel’s own twist and heavenly good. The Christmas dinner can be booked by 5-12 people and includes drinks (you can also get the key to the well-stocked wine cellar).
High-quality food and drink in a colorful and delightfully quirky environment where the love of art, design, and travel really shines – it’s impossible not to enjoy yourself at NOFO Hotel. And the perfect end to the evening is a visit to the hotel’s fantastic wine bar.
Smådalarö Gård
The Christmas spirit hardly gets better than in the archipelago. A perfect place to enjoy a grand Christmas dinner in a close-to-nature archipelago environment is the award-winning destination Smådalarö Gård in Stockholm’s southern archipelago. Throughout December, you can enjoy an exclusive Christmas dinner with the flavors of the archipelago. How about a luxurious seafood platter with lobster, oysters, crayfish, and smoked prawns? A delicious fish buffet with herring, salmon, and Baltic herring? And a lovely dessert table full of sweets as a grand final?
If you want an even better experience, you can also book the Christmas offer with an overnight stay, a serving of hot apple and cinnamon drinks, a Christmas dinner, and a breakfast buffet. Perfect if you want to leave your Christmas preparations and everyday life at home and relax in a warm environment full of crackling fires, classic Christmas decorations, and everything else that puts you in that magical Christmas feeling. Smådalarö Gård also offers exclusive Christmas Eve and New Year’s celebrations.
Swing by Golfbaren
At Swing by Golfbaren in Vasastan, you can enjoy one of Stockholm’s best Christmas dinners in 2024. And definitely the city’s funniest one. How about combining a US-inspired three-course meal with an exciting round of mini-golf? Not your ordinary Christmas table, as they put it themselves.
In a genuine 1930s spirit, the Christmas dinner offers the best from the other side of the Atlantic mixed with classic Swedish Christmas flavors. The dishes are shared, and you eat them together at the tables where you are served everything from cold cuts to delicious desserts. Before or after the Christmas meal, you can then challenge each other in mini-golf and see who’s the party’s number 1 when it comes to hole-in-ones – guaranteed to lift everyone’s (Christmas) mood. It’s possible to book a Christmas dinner for up to 80 people, and you can choose either lunch or dinner. Take the Christmas party with your friends, colleagues, or family to a new level at Swing by Golfbaren!
Basta
How about an Italian-themed Christmas table with a fantastic view of Stockholm’s rooftops? Then you should take the elevator up to the fourth floor in Åhléns City, where you’ll find the restaurant Basta. Their spectacular rooftop bar is a popular outdoor hangout during the warmer months, but Basta delivers high-class dining experiences all year round. Not least at Christmas time. Between November 23 and December 25, you can enjoy one of Stockholm’s best alternative Christmas dinners with Italian flavors in a pleasant environment guaranteed to get you in the Christmas spirit.
The exclusive Christmas menu, prepared with first-class ingredients and a strong love for Italian cuisine, is served daily, both lunch and dinner. It’s a three-course dinner that begins with a large selection of traditional Italian starters. These appetizers are followed by well-prepared main courses, and the meal finishes in the best way with one of Basta’s delicious desserts. As a perfect companion to the food, there’s a solid wine list with many fine wines plus a wide range of other good drinks (don’t miss their cocktails). Golden location in the middle of Stockholm city, delicious food, and a great atmosphere – a visit to Basta is a safe bet if you want to have a good time with family, friends, or colleagues while waiting for Christmas Eve.
Michelangelo
Attention, pasta lovers! The perfect Italian Christmas buffet can be found at the restaurant Michelangelo in Old Town. Instead of traditional chipolata sausages, meatballs, and herring salad, the table is filled with prosciutto di parma, salsiccia, lasagne, risotto, Neapolitan pizza, and much more from Italian cuisine.
This Italian restaurant is beautifully located in historically landmark premises from the 16th century, decorated in the classic Italian way. From the checkered tablecloths to the Italian music – everything is carefully selected to deliver the most genuine experience possible. If your party wishes to sit more secluded, it’s possible to book a private room in the basement vault. In short – if you want to celebrate the holidays in the Italian way, you should head toward Michelangelo. Buon appetito!
Mazati Kök & Bar
How about a visit to Lebanon’s amazing food culture at Christmas time? Then the Lebanese restaurant Mazati Kök & Bar in Solna has the Christmas dinner for you. Here you can leave the darkness and cold of December and dream of warmer latitudes with authentic Lebanese food that tastes as it does in the Middle East. You and your company enjoy this different Christmas dinner in a cozy rustic environment with brick walls and dark furniture.
Mazati Kök & Bar offers three different Christmas menus depending on your hunger. The menus include 12, 14, or 16 hot and cold Meza (small dishes) plus a grilled mix. Everything is prepared from fresh, high-quality ingredients. All the menus also include coffee, tea, a large fruit and dessert plate, and a glass of beer or wine. An excellent Lebanese Christmas dinner that is guaranteed to raise the holiday spirit.
Elie’s
A sumptuous table filled with flavorsome meze – the perfect choice for a Christmas party!
If you want to combine Lebanese food with a twist and a lovely Christmas spirit, you should go for Elie’s in Södermalm. Between late November and Christmas (Tuesday to Saturday), you can enjoy delicious Christmas meze inspired by the Middle East at this small, intimate neighborhood restaurant with a homely atmosphere and excellent service. Escape the winter darkness and have a cozy moment with good food and friendly company. You can also order takeaway.
The Christmas menu includes selected Lebanese delicacies (many vegan) such as tabbouli, fattouch, mosakaa, labne bel toum, rakakat, shish barak, and baklawa, to name just a few of the small dishes. Taste everything or pick your favorites – no matter what you choose, Elie’s will offer a first-class oriental Christmas food experience. With your food, you can enjoy Lebanese wine or some other good drink.
Fox in a Box
Combine the Christmas dinner with an escape room and some exciting board games at Fox in a Box.
The concept is called The Foxy Christmas and is offered between November 21 and December 22. You need to be at least six people, and the arrangement is one hour of escape room and then Christmas dinner in a private room. There, you’ll enjoy mulled wine, a festive meal with both Swedish and international dishes, cheese and crackers, desserts, and fruit. You can also add drink packages and a wrapped Christmas gift for each person. So bring your friends, family, or colleagues and book the most exciting Christmas dinner in Stockholm at Fox in a Box – an unforgettable experience.
Hard Rock Cafe
You dine in Hard Rock Cafe’s casual and music-inspired restaurant and their US-style Christmas menu is a food feast including burgers, fried shrimp, ribs with barbecue sauce, chicken wings, turkey, sausages, steamed vegetables, salads, and several types of potatoes (there are also many vegan options). And if you’re not full after that, there’s cheese, crackers, and tasty desserts like brownies, apple pie, cheesecake, and candy. Good food, a great vibe, and an American “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” feel. What more could you wish for?
Agapi
Agapi offers a Christmas buffet inspired by the flavors of Greece and other Mediterranean countries. The buffet has around 40 different dishes, including both vegetarian and vegan options. Tabbouleh, tzatziki, grilled lamb, gyros, spinach pasties, scampi, calamari, falafel, and chicken wings are just a few of the delights on offer. Of course, there are also desserts and matching drinks. So bring all your Mediterranean fans and have a wonderful evening in the beautiful dining rooms where the decor makes you dream of a vacation in Crete.
Have a fantastic julbord in Stockholm
There you have our guide to Stockholm’s best Christmas buffets. We hope you find something that suits you in the Swedish capital’s extensive selection of fantastic Christmas dinner options. There is something for everyone – whether you’re looking for the traditional arrangement with Christmas ham, meatballs, and everything else that belongs to Christmas or prefer an alternative version with less Christmasy flavors.
Bring your family, friends, or colleagues and enjoy a fantastic Christmas smorgasbord in Stockholm in 2024. We wish you a very Merry Christmas!
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