Eating vegan in Stockholm was easy. I had my vegan cake, and I ate it too. There was one place in particular that actually had really good vegan cake-Hermans Cafe. While I spent ample time in Stockholm soaking up the Swedish sun and visiting the city’s world-renowned museums and art collections, all of my daily adventures seemed to take me back there, because it was just so fricking good!
Situated on a hill on the south side of Stockholm, the restaurant has a stunning view of the city and the sea, and an impressive vegetarian (if not entirely vegan) spread to boot.
On my first visit to Hermans, I brought my bff and host in Stockholm, Louise, who, although a native of this pretty city, had never heard of the place before. Leave it to a savvy vegan and her “happycow” know-how to discover a vegetarian paradise wherever she goes. Apparently I wasn’t the only one- there was already a line out the door when we arrived, which was surprising for lunchtime, but it was worth the wait.
Though we were mightily impressed by the tantalizing desserts, Louise and I were well aware of the risks involved at all you can eat venues, and showed uncharacteristic restraint by postponing our dessert decision until we had made a few laps around the buffet.
As for the buffet itself, all I had to do was see the assortment of freshly baked breads next to a bowl of vegan butter to know that I was done for. After stocking up on bread, we piled our plates with potato wedges and vegetable curry. After that, it was on to the salad bar, which had an impressive selection of fresh salads, pasta salads, and more!
After packing our plates, we headed out onto the terrace to enjoy our lunch and the view. After going back to the buffet a second time to make sure we hadn’t missed out on anything, we were sadly too full for dessert. We were not, however, too stuffed to peruse the selection of organic coffee and tea.; I opted for chocolate rooibos chai. Like most Swedish restaurants, Hermans included a bowl of complimentary dark chocolate to go along with the coffee. I love Sweden!
Louise had gone to visit her grandparents, so I found myself alone in Stockholm for a couple of days. After a morning well-spent at the Museum of Modern Art, I strolled across town for a second lunch at my new favorite place in the world.
I was not going to go dessert-less again this time, so I planned ahead and ordered dessert first- a slice of blueberry pie and a piece of carrot cake, complete with vegan frosting! I tempered the double dessert with an organic carrot juice and a plate full of fresh salad from the buffet. After finishing up with a cup of tea and a piece of chocolate, I was ready to walk back across town and take on the Viking Museum!
I spent the next day shopping in Sodermalm, Stockholm’s much more pristine answer to San Francisco’s mission district. Even though I was shopping up a storm, I skipped lunch because I had this funny feeling that I would end my day at, you guessed it, Hermans.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, they did! Hermans was even more impressive in the evening. The sun was setting over the water, there were twinkling party lights twined around the tables outside, and they supplemented the buffet with a vegan barbecue! As if that weren’t exciting enough, I discovered that there were hammocks tucked away in the garden, upon which overstuffed clientele could retire. The barbecue did not disappoint. They grilled up eggplant, peppers, mushrooms, tofu, pineapple, and even sweet potatoes!
It was my last time at Herman’s, so I decided to go all out. I made my way around the buffet and past the, rather cute I might add, barbecue guy not once, not twice, but three times. The highlights of the evening were the grilled tofu, and an Asian pasta salad with spicy, sweet peanut sauce. After plate number three, I decided to call it quits and made my way to a hammock to enjoy the Stockholm sunset.
No comments:
Post a Comment