Dining Out

I can eat hot peppers Mom!

Dining out in Orebro has been quite the experience, and some what difficult.  What foods come to mind when you think of Swedish foods? Swedish fish candies don't count ;) Swedish meatballs perhaps? Anything else? No, not really. That's probably because in Sweden they aren't very well known for their food.  They have quite a bit of an international influence on their cuisine. If you walk around town you will find a lot of little cafes and restaurants.  There will be an Asian restaurant, next to a Turkish Kebab shop that also sells pizza, next to McDonald's which will be next a Pub! The options are endless here, but the hard thing is knowing where the good food is.

So with all the options, how could it possibly be difficult? For starters, we don't understand the menu most of the time, so knowing for certain what you are getting is close to impossible. Then, once you choose a place, how do you know they serve good food? Peek inside, if there are locals or it's just busy in general that is a good sign. Dining out is so expensive, you don't want to make a costly mistake. I use Tripadvisor.com as often as possible, but the number of restaurants listed there are limited! And what some reviews view as "good" is just sad.

What many do not know is that the Swedish are largely responsible for bringing buffets to restaurants near you! No, this doesn't mean there are a ton of Furr's Cafeterias and Golden Corral type restaurants, but rather you'll find a buffet at nearly every restaurant. Here they are called Smorgasbord. For breakfast you will find a variety of "sandwich" type meats, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, boiled eggs, a variety of breads and jams (lingonberry is a favorite here) and yogurt.  They also always serve coffee, tea and juices (pear is my new found love). Breakfast doesn't seem to be very important here, cause it sure didn't fill us up. However, lunch is a whole other story.

A typical breakfast

At nearly every restaurant or cafe you will find a daily buffet.  This is only served for lunch Monday- Friday. They will have up to three main entree options, salad, a local version of coleslaw, a variety of marinated vegetables (yummy) and many times potatoes au  gratin and bread. Lunch gives you your greatest value when dining out because it is often a special price and all you can eat. It comes with tea, water or coffee.

Dinner is ordered off a menu of course, no buffet and no special pricing. It is EXPENSIVE. You can expect to pay $15-30 per entree. We have yet to find a great dinner place so it's been quite a let down leaving the restaurants $60 poorer and not satisfied.

Buffet food from an "American" pizza place. Nachos and salad!

Around town you will find your typical hot dog stands, which I am told are pretty good. They are cheap so we may just try one. I wouldn't be surprised to find a veggie dog either cause vegetarians and vegans are on the rise here in Sweden. Woo hoo!

So what are the main differences in dining out? First, the customer service.  They take awhile to service you and once they take your order you won't see them again until they bring your food and then again once you flag them down for your check. There is no such thing as refills here, that is a huge bummer. They don't get tipped here, so they aren't working to please you. I miss the service in the US. I'd gladly pay 20% to get better service. Second, the cost!  It is outrageous. As I stated before, we have to be prepared to pay $50-60 on a meal. You pay for soda and only get one small glass, you want a refill? Pay full price! You also pay for water and once again no free refill. Third, portions are smaller and options seem to be healthier...at least there is one thing I like.

Chowing down at IKEA

Fast-food is expensive too. The cheapest meal we had was at IKEA, and it was actually very good. They pride themselves on traditional Swedish food. Other than that, fast-food is $20-25 per visit. They have McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and Pizza Hut. At each of these places, they have vegetarian meals so I am quite happy.

You can always find a danish or donut to be paired with a cup of coffee or tea at anytime of day. They LOVE their sweets here!

Hot chocolate and Chai Latte- we don't like coffee!