Where to buy London’s best semla 2023!
LondonSwedes Semla review 2023
Semlor in London 2023
(Psst… double-check with the cafés when they serve semlor)
Check out our Semla testing reel on Instagram!
It is finally time again! Yes, of course, we are talking about Shrove Tuesday, or Fettisdagen, as you would say in Sweden. Every year, and always on a Tuesday, the Swedes have treated themself to some extra fat and sugar! Fettisdagen is traditionally the Swedish beginning of the 40-day-long Lent, where you would stuff yourself with a whole bunch of calories to survive what is ahead.
Although *lent is not something we do any more, Swedes still love to enjoy a semla this time of year, and why wouldn’t we? The pastry is perfect with its cut cardamon bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream. Which is why we are thrilled that semlan has made its way to London, because how would we survive this season otherwise?
*Lent is a period of 40 days during which Christians remember the events leading up to and including the death of Jesus Christ, whose life and teachings are the foundation of Christianity. The 40-day period is called Lent after an old English word meaning ‘lengthen’.
The official day of Shrove Tuesday this year is Tuesday 21st of Feb. Here is where to find semlor in London this year:
Bageriet. Photo: LondonSwedes YouTube Channel
WINNER 2023:
Bageriet
Location: Covent Garden
Website: https://www.bageriet.co.uk/
Upon Rose Street lies a cute little traditional Swedish Bakery called Bageriet. Whenever you crave some Swedish pastry, this place will never let you down – no matter if you want a cinnamon bun, a shrimp sandwich, or a classic Prinsesstårta. Their semla is one of LondonSwedes’ favourites, and baker Daniel makes the most delicious almond paste from scratch, which is one of the reasons why this Semla is our real winner. They are also the biggest semla out there!
Photo: Blåbär
Blåbär (vegan semla)
Location: Putney
Website: https://blabar.london/
Blåbär’s mission is to encourage people to ‘Live a Life More Nordic’. Blåbär is a Nordic-inspired café and design shop filled with designer items and Swedish fika and food. Being a Blåbär in Sweden means being a beginner, new at something. Sandra (Swedish) and Oli (English) met back in 2016 and decided to launch into this adventure together.. now with a baby Blåbär in the picture.
They are making the most delicious vegan semlor with oat cream and, WOW, this is a 10/10 even for the non-vegan.
Fabrique Bakery. Photo: Marjan Az
Fabrique Bakery
Locations: Covent Garden, Fitzrovia, Notting Hill, High Holborn and Shoreditch
Website: http://fabrique.co.uk/
Fabrique was started in Sweden by couple Lotta and David Zetterström and is a stone oven bakery. They offer a wide selection of bread, buns, and traditional Swedish cookies. Their pastry- and bread success took the little coffee shop to both New York and London – which we are very thankful for. You find them in five different locations around London, all of which offer semla for take-away.
Peanut butter & jelly semla amongst many others at ScandiKitchen. Photo: Scandikitchen
Scandinavian Kitchen
Location: Fitzrovia
Website: https://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/
Scandinavian Kitchen is the go-to shop to find all the Scandinavian goodies you can think of. They make the traditional semla, but on the weekends in January and February, they also offer unique flavours. How about peanut butter & jelly? Or one with blueberry, Nutella, or lemon curd? A few years back, they released the ”cinnamon bun semla”, which is two of our favourite Swedish buns in one. Dreamy!
Semlor from Love Fika by Elly
Love Fika
Location: Catering & delivery
Website: https://www.lovefika.co.uk/
Elly started her home bakery a few years back and offers catering and delivery for her Syltkakor (jam cookies), Chocolate balls, Cinnamon buns and other treats. Her semlor looks and tastes like heaven! Make sure to order to your office to show them what these buns are all about.
Curious Yellow Cafe semlor
Curious Yellow Kafe
Location: Hoxton
Website: https://www.instagram.com/curiousyellowkafe
A cosy Hoxton café famed for its scrumptious Swedish meatballs, great coffee & brunch. They serve a semla with a crusty cardamom bun, almond paste and thick cream, standard ingredients but still a bit different! Visit this little cute café if you are in east London 🙂
Semla or the Finnish Laskiaispulla? This delicious mix can be found at Dunns Bakery
Dunns Bakery
Location: Crouch End
Website: https://dunns-bakery.co.uk/
Dunns Bakery is another bakery that is popular amongst LondonSwedes! Sixth-generation baker Lewis is the boss handling the bakery after his parents! They have a special thing for decorating cakes, and all their delicacies are made on-site from their homemade recipes. Dunns opened its second branch back in 2020 in Muswell Hill, and the tradition lives on! Serving a “fusion-semla” a mix between the Swedish traditional semla and the Finnish “Lasikaipulla” which also includes jam, from mid-February.
Helma semlor
Helma London
Location: Dalston
Website: https://www.helmalondon.com/locations
Run by a Swede and a Georgian, Helma was baptised with inspiration from their kids, Alma and Henry. It is a vegetarian and plant-based café where the food and the pastries are made by season. They will serve semlor sometime in February. Please ask on their Instagram for more info.
Semla delivery to Totally Swedish. Photo: Jonathan Ferding
Totally Swedish
Locations: Marylebone & Barnes
Website: https://www.totallyswedish.com/
Totally Swedish started as a webshop for Swedish goodies, but later it expanded to not only one, but two, cute little shops. Here you can find semlor and hundreds of other Swedish treats. “Bageriet” is providing Totally Swedish with semlor this year. So, basically this means that they sell the winner semla 2023! Serving from 3rd of February 🙂
Photo: Karma bread Instagram
Karma Bread
Location: Hampstead Heath
Website: https://www.karmabread.co.uk/
Bread, sweets, sandwiches, and soup. Karma Bread have whatever you want for a cosy lunch or a classic Swedish fika, although it is not Swedish at all. The café is located in Hampstead Heath, so grab yourself a semla to go and walk in the parks or visit Highgate Cemetery. ”Slå två flugor i en smäll” as we say in Sweden. Starting from mid-February.
Semla by Söderbergs in Soho, London
Söderbergs
Location: Soho
Website: https://www.soderberg.uk/soderberg-soho
Söderberg is a Swedish café business with a bakery and seven branches in Edinburgh & London. Their first London café opened on Berwick Street in January 2019. They serve authentically Swedish food made to classic recipes with high-quality ingredients. They are soon opening a large bakery in East Dulwich! This year they will only serve semlor on Shrove Tuesday but worth a visit anyway.
Their evening menu includes platters, smörrebröd, savoury waffles and a Scandi twist on classic cocktails such as our signature Fika Martini (an Espresso Martini made with Lake Vättern vodka and homemade Johan & Nyström coffee liqueur), our Lingonberry Cosmo, Negröni & Söderberg Bellini.
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Photo: Gustaf Boman
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