THE BEST PLACES IN LONDON TO FIKA
Eater LONDON 20 DECEMBER 2019
London may be sick of Scandinavian trends but there is one, fika, which doesn’t involve an entire lifestyle overhaul or the purchase of costly sheepskin rugs. Fika is a communal coffee break taken twice a day in Sweden — usually involving a cup of strong filter coffee and a cinnamon bun. It’s so sacred in Sweden that, famously, even the Volvo car plant breaks for it. The crucial aspects are that it should be communal, savoured, and it should occur away from your desk — so chugging back a Costa latte at the keyboard really doesn’t count. Fika can’t be hurried however, so only those establishments that allow lingering with a friend count. And as the number of Scandinavian-style cafes in London offering slices of princess cake and knotted cardamom buns has expanded enormously in the past years, here is a round up of the best.
1. Söderberg Soho
36 Berwick St, Soho
London W1F 8RR, UK
020 7287 2111
Soderberg, an established Swedish bakery and café in Edinburgh, arrived on London’s fika scene this year. Alongside the expected cinnamon buns, there are also longer cinnamon plaits for the hungry and kladdkaka — a sticky chocolate cake — as well as the palely beautiful mazarins, which are almond cakes with a white icing.
2. Curious Yellow Kafe
77 Pitfield St, Hoxton
London N1 6BT, UK
020 7251 6018
This might be the friendliest café in London, loved by locals, freelancers and tourists alike. The owner, Shoko Ghanbar, was raised in Stockholm and really understands the art of fika, with a whole blackboard full of different hot drinks. The gifflar, or mini cinnamon rolls, are a steal at 45p each or three for £1.
3. Scandinavian Kitchen
61 Great Titchfield St, Fitzrovia
London W1W 7PP, UK
020 7580 7161
This is mecca for any homesick Scandinavians: there are a good range of open sandwiches with fillings piled high — fika doesn’t need to be sweet — as well as sticky buns. There is plenty of space to spread out and enjoy fika but they also stock over 600 hard to find Scandinavian groceries.
4. Fabrique Bakery
Arch 385, Geffrye St
London E2 8HZ, UK
020 7033 0268
These burnished, knotted cinnamon and cardamom buns might be the most beautiful in London. At Christmas, cheeringly yellow saffron buns are also available. In the Hackney branch, watch them being baked in batches in large industrial ovens, should there be any doubt they are made on site.
5. Bageriet
24 Rose St, Charing Cross
London WC2E 9EA, UK
020 7240 0000
Bageriet is a small bakery and café packed to the rafters with sweet treats, and entering it is like winding up in a particularly well-stocked Wendy house in the Swedish woods. Specialities range from slices of princess cake — a light sponge — to ‘gentleman biscuits’ — vanilla biscuits with nib sugar and apricot jam.
6. Nordic Bakery
14A Golden Square, Soho
London W1F 9JG, UK
020 7734 7837
This small chain of cafes take fika seriously. Coffee is served in large mugs and the cinnamon rolls are enormous, in the Finnish style. There are also buns filled with blueberry or lingonberry jam on offer and the Swedish classic, Tosca cake — a soft sponge cake with a crispy almond caramel.
7. The Bread Station
373 Helmsley Pl
London E8 3SB, UK
020 7254 7388
The Bread Station is actually run by a Danish chef Christoffer Hruskova and Per Brun — the latter pioneered sourdough in Denmark. A Swedish source says that the bakery makes the best pastries for fika in London, so it’s all good to savour the deliciously light tebirkes, sweet poppy seed rolls.
8. Ole & Steen
Unit 8, 67-79 Charing Cross Rd
London WC2H 0NE, UK
020 3772 2920
This small chain of cafes is relaxed enough for lingering. The signature cake is the Christianshavner, a cake with a caramelized hazelnut base topped with strawberry mousse and fresh fruit. The real joy of Ole and Steen, however, is the cinnamon social, a long cinnamon pastry with cinnamon and vanilla that is intended “for sharing.”
9. ARKET Store and Café
Westfield Stratford City, Montfichet Rd
London E20 1EJ, UK
020 3057 7920
Arket is where Londoners normally head for brightly coloured knitwear and cheaper-than-Aesop handcream, but it also does some excellent pastries in its cafes, particularly sticky buns and seasonal additions to the menu. These cafes are also, somewhat surprisingly, noticeably tranquil spots in spite of their locations.
10. Hej Coffee
1 Bermondsey Square, Bermondsey
London SE1 3UN, UK
020 3579 4663
Hej takes coffee so seriously that there is a barista training school on the premises. If it’s warm enough, linger on the terrace which is prettily decorated with fresh flowers. Others speak highly of the “viking balls” — meatballs wrapped in bread — but this festive season, perhaps stick with the glazed cinnamon buns.
This article first appeared on Eater