The best Christmas smorgasbords (julbord) in Stockholm 2023
- 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.
Östergårds

The excellent food at Östergårds is elegantly served in a buffet form, complemented by ready-made small dishes in glass cups. All food is prepared from scratch using carefully selected ingredients, usually Swedish, using traditional cooking methods such as smoking, rimming, and pickling. Diligently and with the highest quality all the way. And the concept of a super Christmasy environment, delicious food, and first-class service from the friendly staff is a success. Guests from all over Stockholm, hungry for a Christmas feast, come to the beautiful and historic mansion in Danderyd for an extraordinary experience.
If you’re having a Christmas party with the office, your company can also book Östergårds’ barn. It has room for 30–70 people, and you have the whole premises to yourself. After dinner, the bar is open, and there’s a good music system so you can dance away to your favorite songs.
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 26 and December 18, 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.
Rökeriet Fjäderholmarna

Another excellent Christmas buffet with a beautiful sea view is Rökeriet Fjäderholmarna, where you can enjoy an archipelago Christmas atmosphere at its best. You can get to this cozy restaurant, located on Stockholm’s closest archipelago island, in just 25 minutes by boat from Stockholm city.
Here, they offer a classic Christmas buffet focusing on the raw ingredients, the craft, and flavors from their own smokehouse that works full-time this season. The buffet includes hot and cold dishes, combining traditional flavors with many vegetarian and vegan Christmas dishes. The icing on the cake is the dessert room filled with tasty treats. Here you can feast on everything from Småland cheesecake and French chocolate cake to butterscotch and fudge. When it comes to drinks, there are well-composed drink packages and also snaps.
Rökeriet Fjäderholmarna offers Christmas buffets for both small and large groups – from two to 150 people – and both individuals and companies. There are three sittings per day, and you eat either in the main dining room or in the restaurant’s charming Chambre separée Röken. So, jump on the boat to Fjärderholmarna if you want to enjoy one of Stockholm’s best Christmas smorgasbords.
Tre Valv

If you want to enjoy a Christmas buffet 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!
Grand Hôtel

The Christmas decorations have the same exceptional standard as the food and drink. The venue is filled with beautiful Christmas trees, cut flowers, stars, candles, Christmas bulbs, and other decorations that almost make the Christmas atmosphere boil over. The Grand Hôtel is, to say the least, an institution in the Swedish capital’s Christmas celebrations.
Norrmalm/City
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 24 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.
Mårten Trotzig
The premises have room for as many as 220 guests – perfect for companies and large groups. Also, the restaurant offers separate rooms (Chambre Séparée) for both small and large groups, including the Royal Dining Room for up to 50 people. At Mårten Trotzig, in short, you get a wonderful Christmas experience with food, environment, atmosphere, and service – the perfect way to celebrate Christmas with your loved ones.
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van der Nootska Palatset
You either enjoy the dinner in the French Dining Room, the magnificent library, or the gold shimmering ballroom Swedenborgssalen. Pretty fancy, in other words, and the van der Nootska Palatset is suitable for both couples and large parties of 130 people.
Gamla Riksarkivet
At the magnificent Gamla Riksarkivet (the old National Archives) on Riddarholmen, nowadays a well-used event venue, you can have one of Stockholm’s best Christmas buffets, designed by the well-known chef Niklas Ekstedt with several fine dining restaurants on his resume. For almost ten years, he has offered a traditional Christmas smorgasbord where you can enjoy high-class Christmas food craftsmanship – both homemade delicacies, classic Christmas food, and Niklas’ personal favorites. There is a big risk that there’ll be many trips to the buffet once you see all the fantastic food… In the drinks department, there is, of course, steaming hot mulled wine that sets the mood and several top-notch drink packages.
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 11 and is served daily until Christmas Day. In addition, there is a lovely Christmas lunch.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Quality Caviar

The high-class menu is served both as lunch and dinner. You can enjoy five servings of food and drink at lunch and seven in the evening. During the sittings, Quality Caviar offers a string of exclusive taste experiences prepared from carefully selected products. The drinks have also been chosen with care. They match the delicacies perfectly and enhance the flavors even more. You start with a welcome drink in the form of their own home-brewed fermented apple cider with cinnamon and then continue with beer from microbreweries, good wines, fine vodka, and other delicious beverages with and without alcohol.
Choose to book the entire venue (Monday to Wednesday) and eat a private Christmas menu or make a reservation as a small group from Thursday to Saturday. Fantastic gastronomy, a friendly atmosphere, and lots of laughs are promised!
Swing by Golfbaren

Photo © Vivyan Madigan
At Swing by Golfbaren in Vasastan, you can enjoy one of Stockholm’s best Christmas dinners in 2022. 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 21 and December 23, 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 Kitchen & 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.
Nya Carnegiebryggeriet

One of Stockholm’s nicest beer breweries is located in Hammarby Sjöstad and is called Nya Carnegiebryggeriet. You’ll find them in the fantastic premises of the old lamp factory Luma, and nowadays, they’re one of the city’s most popular hubs for beer culture. Beer fans from near and far who want a genuine craft beer experience come here, and over the years, they’ve produced more than 150 different types of beer. So if you’re in the mood for a Christmas beer, this is the place.
But Nya Carnegiebryggeriet is not only about hops and malt; they also serve a lovely Christmas dinner. You can enjoy it in their cozy gastro pub, where they serve delicious sharing dishes that go perfectly with the brewery’s beer. For the ultimate experience, you and your party should also combine the Christmas dinner with a beer tasting and tour of the brewery, where a knowledgeable guide gives you a unique insight into the wonderful world of beer.
Hammarby Sjöstad
Elie’s
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.
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 2023. We wish you a very Merry Christmas!
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