Vete-Katten

Vete-Katten is one of Stockholm's best-known konditori, the traditional Swedish café-bakeries where people meet for coffee and cake. It was founded in 1928 by Ester Nordhammar as a pastry shop and bakery that also made its own chocolate, on the corner of Kungsgatan 55 in Norrmalm. Agneta and Östen Brolin ran the business from 1979 until 2012, when it was sold to a group of buyers that included the master pastry chef Johan Sandelin, who had worked there since 1997. The company now has around ten branches across central Stockholm, but the Kungsgatan café remains the original and the one most visitors seek out.

The counter is the reason to come. Vete-Katten's classic princess cake, made with raspberry and vanilla cream, is the signature, and the café also makes seasonal versions, such as a pumpkin princess cake in autumn. Buns, pastries and cakes line the display cases, along with the Framboise cake made with white chocolate mousse and raspberry pannacotta. Sandwiches, soups and salads are served at lunchtime in the city-centre cafés, and coffee is brewed fresh, with espresso drinks and teas such as rooibos and chai.

Fika, the Swedish coffee break, is taken seriously here, and the café's warm atmosphere suits a slow pause in the middle of a day of shopping or sightseeing. A visit here offers a different experience from the modern speciality coffee bars elsewhere in the city. Seasonal specialities appear through the year, so it is worth asking what is new.

Vete-Katten suits families, couples, solo travellers and anyone who wants to try classic Swedish pastries in a long-established setting. The Kungsgatan café is open from 07:30 to 20:00 on weekdays and from 09:00 to 19:00 at weekends, which makes it useful for breakfast as well as afternoon coffee. It can be busy at weekends and in the late afternoon, so go mid-morning for a calmer visit. Cakes can also be taken away.

Kungsgatan 55 is a few minutes' walk from Hötorget metro station and from T-Centralen and Stockholm Central Station. The shopping streets of Drottninggatan and Kungsgatan are on the doorstep, and Hötorget's market square and concert hall are nearby. If you are travelling by train, Vete-Katten also has branches inside Stockholm Central Station.