Food & drink
Three Michelin stars, forty new restaurants in twelve months, and a street food market built from shipping containers. Gothenburg is the most exciting food city in Scandinavia and it isn’t particularly close.
Gothenburg has been quietly building one of the best restaurant scenes in northern Europe for thirty years. The result is a city with three Michelin-starred restaurants, a deep bench of serious mid-range cooking, and a new-openings pipeline that produced over forty restaurants, cafes and bars in 2025 alone. The prices are not Stockholm prices. The quality is better than Stockholm.
Koka
The original. Koka received its Michelin star in 2015 and has held it with the kind of quiet confidence that makes ambitious restaurants elsewhere nervous. The setting is extraordinary — a 19th-century glass ceiling fringed by a burgundy canopy, light wood panelling, bespoke furnishings. The tasting menu is modern West Swedish: plant-forward, seasonal, built around local farmers and fishermen. Classical combinations modernised by clever technique — langoustine bisque with Brussels sprouts and marigold; venison and beetroot with a blackcurrant jus. Run by Björn Persson, who also owns Björns Bar and Familjen. Book weeks ahead.
restaurangkoka.se · Viktoriagatan 12
Bhoga
Set in a heritage building on the north harbour, Bhoga is the most accessible of Gothenburg’s Michelin restaurants — a five-course tasting menu at around 1,250 SEK per person that delivers exceptional quality without the formality of a traditional fine-dining environment. The kitchen works closely with local producers; the menu changes with the season. Champagne on arrival is included as standard. One of the best-value Michelin-starred dinners in Scandinavia.
bhoga.se · Norra Hamngatan 10
Hoze
Six seats. One chef. No alcohol. The meal starts at 6pm sharp. José Cerdá prepares his daily omakase menu at the oak counter in front of you; his father greets guests at the door. The restaurant is in a brick house in the Majorna district, discreet enough to walk past without noticing. Kelp-infused jelly with trout roe; leek with miso, hazelnut butter and sherry sauce; local mackerel and herring aged and served on Koshihikari rice with real wasabi. No dietary restrictions involving soy can be accommodated. Book by email only — and book well ahead.
Stigbergsliden 17, Majorna · facebook.com/HozeRestaurant · Book by email
Sjömagasinet
In an 18th-century waterfront warehouse that once belonged to the Swedish East India Company — a building that has been feeding people in various forms since 1775. Today it is one of the most serious seafood restaurants in Sweden: a menu of 400-plus wine producers, classic Swedish fish cookery, and a setting that justifies the taxi ride to Majorna. Previously run by Leif Mannström, whose culinary philosophy continues in the kitchen.
sjomagasinet.se · Klippans Kulturreservat, Majorna
Vassen Street Food Market
The most ambitious new food destination in the Nordics opens in May 2026 — an urban park built from repurposed shipping containers in the Vassen area, bringing together global street food, vintage shops, and workshops in a format that Gothenburg’s food scene has been building towards for a decade. The sustainable city dish Gothenburg Royale was crowned as the city’s official meal in 2025; Vassen is where it will be most loudly celebrated.
Mansion by Mannström
Sebastian Mannström — fifth-generation chef and son of the legendary Leif — opened Mansion in June 2025 on Lorensbergsgatan. The philosophy is Swedish home cooking taken seriously: traditional food memories meeting new taste journeys, with a motto of “delicious, fun, and a little bit of rock’n’roll.” The most anticipated restaurant opening of the year in a city that had a great deal of competition for the title.
mansionrestaurant.se · Lorensbergsgatan 6 · t: +46 31 16 73 00
French-Swedish neighbourhood bistro from Björn Persson (Koka, Björns Bar, Familjen). Watch restaurangkoka.se for updates.
Sweden’s highest restaurant in Sweden’s tallest building. Modern gastronomy with panoramic city and harbour views.
Modern Italian-inspired neighbourhood bistro from the Adamo team. Lunch, evening menu, Sunday dinner. Seasonal focus.
8.6-metre bar counter, cocktail tastings, Nordic sharing plates. hernogin.com
Asian street food from the Jinx Food Truck team. Bold flavours, steamed buns, shared plates. jinxempire.com
Bread and pastries baked on site. Deli counter. Continental feel. Sister venue in former florist Törnrosa: wine, charcuterie, cheese.
Gothenburg’s drinking culture has moved decisively towards natural wine and craft beer. The wine bar scene around Vasastan — particularly around Viktoriagatan, where Koka also sits — is dense with knowledgeable, unpretentious options. The Hernö Gin Bar that opened in December 2025 is the most serious gin destination in Sweden outside Stockholm. Systembolaget (the state alcohol retail monopoly) is the only place to buy wine to take home — but the selection is better than most comparable shops in the UK, and the prices are lower than restaurant markup.