In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The meatball places named by the most of the 75 publishers counted are Pelikan (12 sources), Meatballs for the People (11), Tennstopet (8) and Den Gyldene Freden (7). The plate costs SEK 256 to 315: SEK 275 at Pelikan, Kvarnen and Den Gyldene Freden, SEK 285 at Tennstopet, SEK 265 at Ulla Winbladh and SEK 315 at Prinsen. Meatballs for the People takes no cash. For the cheapest plate, go at lunch: Kvarnen’s weekday set lunch is SEK 155. Or book a tour: the Södermalm food walkad includes meatballs and is from SEK 971.
📊 The evidence behind this guide. Nothing here is ranked on one visit. This pass read 830 list pages from 2022 on, and counts the 121 pages from 60 English-language publishers and the 177 pages from 15 Swedish publishers: newspapers, magazines, guidebooks, broadcasters and travel writers. Stockholm-only guide sites without a named newsroom, tour operators, directories and the venues’ own sites are not counted. Counts are publishers, not pages, and the English and Swedish counts are shown apart. How the guides are made
What it is
Köttbullar, Swedish meatballs, come with mashed potato, cream sauce, lingonberries and pickled cucumber at every restaurant below. They are husmanskost, Swedish home cooking, and the kitchens that serve them have been in the same rooms for a century or more.
Köttbullar with lingonberries and mash. Photo: Steffen Wurzel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The places named by the most sources
The count is the number of publishers that name the place on a list of Stockholm meatball or Swedish home-cooking restaurants, with the split between English and Swedish publishers. A place named by fewer than 3 is left out.
| Place | Sources | English | Swedish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pelikan | 12 | 8 | 4 |
| Meatballs for the People | 11 | 9 | 2 |
| Tennstopet | 8 | 4 | 4 |
| Den Gyldene Freden | 7 | 3 | 4 |
| Wärdshuset Ulla Winbladh | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| Grand Hôtel Verandan | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Stadshuskällaren | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Kvarnen | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Restaurang Prinsen | 3 | 1 | 2 |
The English lists lean towards Meatballs for the People, which nine English publishers name and two Swedish ones. Tranan is named for meatballs by 5 publishers (2 English, 3 Swedish). Operakällaren is named by 8, and closes at the end of December 2026: see where to eat in Stockholm. Among the Stockholmers commenting on r/stockholm, Pelikan is named most, by 24 commenters in 7 threads, then Kvarnen (13), Tranan (12) and Tennstopet (11).
The restaurants
Pelikan
Blekingegatan 40, Södermalm · every day 11:30 to 01:00 · meatballs SEK 275 · Cited by 12 sources (8 English, 4 Swedish) · pelikan.se
A beer hall in the building since 1904. The kitchen makes its meatballs by hand several times a week, in batches of at least 150 kilos. The weekday set lunch is served from 11:30 to 13:30. Book a table.
Meatballs for the People
Nytorgsgatan 30, Södermalm · Mon to Thu 11:00 to 22:30, Fri and Sat 11:00 to 00:00, Sun 11:00 to 22:30 · cashless · Cited by 11 sources (9 English, 2 Swedish) · meatball.se
Six meatballs are SEK 256, eight SEK 286 and ten SEK 296, in beef, pork, chicken, veal, deer, roe deer, reindeer, moose or lamb, with some meats an extra SEK 12 to 46. The restaurant takes no cash, and the table gets one bill.
Tennstopet
Dalagatan 50, Vasastan · Mon and Tue 11:30 to 23:00, Wed and Thu 11:30 to 00:00, Fri 11:30 to 01:00, Sat 12:00 to 01:00, Sun 12:00 to 23:00 · meatballs SEK 285 · Cited by 8 sources (4 English, 4 Swedish) · tennstopet.se
SEK 285 is the price on the evening menu. The weekday lunch is SEK 185, served from 11:30 to 14:30, and the catch of the week is SEK 255. It takes drop-ins as space allows, and no strollers or dogs.
Den Gyldene Freden
Österlånggatan 51, Gamla Stan · Mon to Thu 12:00 to 23:00, Fri and Sat 12:00 to 01:00 · meatballs SEK 275 · Cited by 7 sources (3 English, 4 Swedish) · gyldenefreden.se
A restaurant since 1722. The Stormen dining room takes drop-ins, while the vault rooms book up to 8.
Den Gyldene Freden in Gamla Stan. Photo: Holger.Ellgaard, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Wärdshuset Ulla Winbladh
Rosendalsvägen 8, Djurgården · Mon 11:30 to 22:00, Tue to Fri 11:30 to 23:00, Sat 12:00 to 23:00, Sun and holidays 12:00 to 22:30 · meatballs SEK 265 · Michelin Selected · Cited by 5 sources (1 English, 4 Swedish) · ullawinbladh.se
An inn that dates its building to 1897, on Djurgården, with the meatballs under Husmanskost on the à la carte menu. The kitchen closes an hour before the restaurant.
Wärdshuset Ulla Winbladh on Djurgården. Photo: Holger.Ellgaard, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Kvarnen
Tjärhovsgatan 4, Södermalm, a block from Medborgarplatsen · Mon and Tue 11:00 to 23:00, Wed and Thu 11:00 to 00:00, Fri 11:00 to 03:00, Sat 11:30 to 03:00, Sun 11:30 to 23:00 · meatballs SEK 275 · Cited by 3 sources (1 English, 2 Swedish) · kvarnen.com
On Tjärhovsgatan since 1908. The weekday set lunch is SEK 155, from Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 15:00, with salad, bread, butter, coffee or tea and a small cake.
Restaurang Prinsen
Mäster Samuelsgatan 4, Norrmalm · Mon 11:30 to 22:30, Tue to Fri 11:30 to 23:30, Sat 12:00 to 23:30, Sun 13:00 to 22:30 · meatballs SEK 315 · Cited by 3 sources (1 English, 2 Swedish) · restaurangprinsen.se
Open since 1897. Biff Rydberg, diced beef with potato and onion, and wallenbergare, a veal patty, are the other two classics it names. The herring platter is SEK 265.
Tranan
Karlbergsvägen 14, Vasastan · restaurant Mon to Thu 11:30 to 22:00, Fri 11:30 to 23:00, Sat 12:00 to 23:00, Sun 12:00 to 22:00 · bar daily 17:00 to 01:00 · Cited by 5 sources for meatballs (2 English, 3 Swedish) · tranan.se
On the same address since 1929, and open seven days a week. The restaurant calls its meatballs a classic that most Stockholmers have eaten at some point. Online bookings seat you for 1.5 hours at a weekday lunch and 2 hours at dinner, and strollers are left outside, with the insert brought in.
What else to order
| Order | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sillbricka | A platter of pickled herring with crispbread, Västerbotten cheese and potatoes, SEK 265 | Prinsen |
| Pickled herring | Four kinds with Västerbotten cheese, kryddost and boiled potatoes, SEK 245 | Kvarnen |
| Dagens lunch | The weekday set lunch, SEK 155 at Kvarnen and SEK 185 at Tennstopet | Kvarnen, Tennstopet |
| Julbord | The Christmas buffet, from 19 November to 23 December | Kvarnen, Tennstopet, Ulla Winbladh |
Stockholm Christmas markets 2026 has the julbord seasons and prices.
Learn to make it
GetYourGuide has no meatball class and no cooking class in Stockholm. Its baking classes teach the cinnamon bun: see Stockholm food tours.
Plan the rest
Where to eat in Stockholm covers every kind of restaurant, fika in Stockholm names the bakeries and Stockholm’s food halls cover Östermalms Saluhall and Hötorgshallen. 3 days in Stockholm puts the lunches on the days they fit, and what to book before you go to Stockholm lists the closed days.
Common questions
What comes with Swedish meatballs?
Mashed potato, cream sauce, lingonberries and pickled cucumber. Every restaurant on this page serves them that way, and Ulla Winbladh's menu lists exactly those four.
How much are meatballs in Stockholm?
SEK 256 to 315 at the places the lists name. Pelikan, Kvarnen and Den Gyldene Freden charge SEK 275, Tennstopet SEK 285 on its evening menu, Wärdshuset Ulla Winbladh SEK 265, Prinsen SEK 315, and Meatballs for the People SEK 256 for six.
Where do Stockholmers eat meatballs?
Commenters on r/stockholm name Pelikan most, 24 of them across 7 threads, then Kvarnen (13), Tranan (12) and Tennstopet (11).
Is there a cheaper way to eat meatballs?
At lunch. Kvarnen's dagens lunch, the weekday set lunch, is SEK 155 from Monday to Friday, 11:00 to 15:00, and includes salad, bread, butter, coffee or tea and a small cake. Tennstopet's is SEK 185.
Does Meatballs for the People take cash?
No. It is a cashless restaurant, and the whole table gets one bill.
Do I need to book for meatballs in Stockholm?
Pelikan asks you to book a table. Tennstopet and Den Gyldene Freden take drop-ins as space allows, and Tranan takes online bookings for lunch and dinner.
