Malmö: Bridge Over Swedish Water
Having popped over for a day from Copenhagen, I was looking forward to more time in Malmö, at the southern tip of Sweden. Our centrally located hotel allowed us to easily explore more of Sweden’s third city.
Our first stop was the Nordic Brewlab, housed in a large space with a roastery but no viable seating for people to be comfortable. Still, since we were there, we perched on a bench while waiting for our coffees, overhearing a coffee tasting session taking place with three people at the bar. It’s surprising how much people can talk about the taste of coffee. We bought some beans, which we only do when we have experienced both good coffee and service. Indeed, they included a small sample of the coffee I had since they no longer had any for sale.
Later, I had chai and a citrus biscuit at the rather poorly named but very friendly Qoffee. This is next to one of my favourite Scandinavian brands, Normal. An affordable shop where you can find whatever specific item you’re looking for and a few you never thought about.
For our first night in Malmö, we headed to the Möllevången neighbourhood and dined at the extremely popular Krua Thai, where I was served more food than I could manage. Another walk was needed before we visited a Mikkeller - a travel tradition. Sadly, all seating was outside, and by this time, it was far too cold to sit outside, and my late summer jacket wouldn’t keep me comfortable. I felt a little under the weather later, which also had a knock-on effect on the next day.
However, the beach was on our plan for the next day, which I was very much looking forward to. I had a lovely memory of visiting last time. It’s much quieter in winter, mind. Between long walks, we popped into the Bakery and then returned to the Espresso House that started it all, on that first trip, for lunch. I couldn’t sit in the same seats as it was far too warm in the late summer sunshine, but we still sat looking out to the coast and beyond to the sleek Øresund Bridge that connects Sweden to Denmark.
The following day, we enjoyed a splendid train journey to Ystad. It’s is a pretty coastal town with plenty to keep the eyes entertained, from ships and beaches to old buildings and a decent shopping street lined with small versions of High Street stores. It’s home to Wallander, the fictional Swedish detective - if that’s your thing.
We couldn’t find any decent indie coffee shops but enjoyed cinnamon buns and plenty of people watching at the spacious, comfortable, airy Espresso House looking out the the square.
From there, we headed to Lund, a university town with plenty of affordable eateries. We shared a spectacular, freshly cooked bowl at the Five Flower Noodlebar, which was arguably the best meal of the trip, a step up from the decent noodles we shared from China Box in the square in central Malmö. The afternoon coffee was at Love Coffee, where we squeezed onto a small table among dozens of students and animated professors.
Back in town, we had excellent bowls of Papi's Pasta at the Malmö foodhall. Pasta is a household staple, so I would never usually order it in a restaurant, but we were lucky to get it as some stalls had already run out of food and were closing.
We needed a good dinner as we planned a lengthy beach walk to catch the sunset on our final evening.
On our last morning, we extended our goodbyes by staying in town and enjoying two coffee stops. The first was in the garden of Lila Kaffeebar. I have fond memories of visiting here during a day trip a few years ago, but this time, it had queues at the door when we arrived in Malmö on Saturday. On a quieter, yet still lively Tuesday, it felt much calmer, especially in the garden. After another walk, we stopped for our final Swedish coffee at Solde Kaffeebar before settling on a bench in a busy park, trying to spot dogs.
Then it was time to catch the train over the bridge to Copenhagen before heading home on our flight. We leave another impeccably clean city with an excellent train network, because the best cities are the ones that just work.
August 2025
