Where to find the best ice cream in Stockholm?

If there is one treat that unites everyone in Sweden, it’s ice cream!
With one of the highest per-capita consumption rates in Europe (estimated at 10 to 12 liters of ice cream per person per year), the country has long maintained a true ice cream culture, which often surprises foreign visitors just arriving in Stockholm, still chilled from the cold and struggling to imagine eating ice cream in the middle of winter.

This habit is deeply rooted from an early age: Swedish children consume a lot of ice cream, to the point that at birthday parties it very often steals the spotlight from the traditional birthday cake.

This relaxed relationship with ice cream makes it a true everyday product, far beyond the simple summer season. This consumption, deeply embedded in culture, has contributed to the development of a highly dynamic market. You only need to step into a supermarket to see how much space ice cream sections occupy all year round, reflecting a local demand that is both constant and impressive.

Long dominated by industrial brands and standardized recipes, the offer has however evolved significantly over the past decade. Driven by a growing demand for more authentic products, a new generation of artisan ice cream makers has emerged in Stockholm. Working with carefully selected ingredients, local milk, seasonal fruits and recipes inspired by Italian craftsmanship or Nordic traditions, these artisans have profoundly transformed the city’s culinary landscape…

StikkiNikki, Stockholm’s must-visit vegan ice cream pioneer

Founded in 2008 by Nikki Elkins, an American entrepreneur based in Sweden, StikkiNikki is one of the pioneers of artisan ice cream in Stockholm, created with the ambition of offering a more natural and creative alternative to industrial ice cream.

From the very beginning, the brand has stood out for a distinctly different approach: a large share of its production is vegan, recipes are developed with little to no excess sugar and flavours are designed to highlight the ingredient itself rather than standardized sweetness.

Today, StikkiNikki has become a true local institution, offering an impressive range of flavours that evolve with the seasons and creative inspiration. You’ll find both ice creams and sorbets, often made with organic and locally sourced ingredients. The combinations are sometimes classic but often bold, ranging from bourbon vanilla or intense dark chocolate to more original creations such as basil-lemon, raspberry-lavender, blueberry-elderflower, or cardamom-pear.

This creative freedom, combined with a light texture and low-sugar flavours, has largely contributed to making StikkiNikki a must-visit reference on Sweden’s ice cream scene.

The brand has several locations across the city, although some operate seasonally between June and September:
- Drottninggatan 90B (city centre / Norrmalm)
- Götgatan 46 (Södermalm / Medborgarplatsen)
- Karlbergsvägen 8 (Odenplan / Vasastan)
- Mariatorget 1C (Södermalm)

Magnus Johansson, pastry excellence applied to artisan ice cream

Magnus Johansson is a major figure in contemporary Swedish pastry, widely recognised for his outstanding career in haute gastronomy and for having created desserts for the Nobel Banquet on multiple occasions.

Trained as a master pastry chef and chocolatier, he has built his reputation on an exceptionally high level of technical precision, as well as a desire to make pastry and ice cream part of the everyday life. Behind this discipline also lies a personality deeply rooted in local life (curious and entrepreneurial) who sees his establishments as neighbourhood spaces first, rather than purely gastronomic showcases. When he settled in Hammarby Sjöstad, a rapidly developing waterfront district, he chose to open his first bakery there with his wife, Linda Johansson.

The café-bakery on Lugnets Allé opened in 2011, with the ambition of offering everyday craftsmanship focused on product quality: breads, viennoiseries and pastries made on-site with constant attention to raw ingredients. Building on this success, the project gradually expanded, eventually leading in 2021 to the opening of Magnus Johansson Glass & Konfektyr, an address entirely dedicated to artisan ice cream and confectionery, located nearby in the same neighbourhood.

In his frozen creations, Magnus Johansson maintains the same philosophy: clear, readable recipes, great technical precision and a strong focus on the pure taste of the ingredients. Among his signatures, pistachio ice cream holds a special place, made with pistachios from Bronte in Sicily, renowned for their exceptional aromatic intensity and outstanding quality.

This choice perfectly illustrates his approach: elevating an exceptional raw product without altering its essence. Behind this level of demand stands a chef who is both disciplined and approachable, committed to passing on artisanal know-how while allowing it to evolve with the times.

Shop located at Torkhusgatan 3, corner of Hammarby Allé in Hammarby Sjöstad.

SNÖ Gelateria, a journey between Italy and Stockholm at the heart of artisan gelato

SNÖ Gelateria is one of the essential references on Stockholm’s ice cream scene. Founded in 2015 by Kenneth Erlandsson and Cinzia Lemme, this family-run gelateria is rooted in the tradition of Italian gelato while relying on a highly demanding artisanal approach.

The story of the place begins with Kenneth’s passion. A trained chef, he experienced a turning point during a trip to Sardinia, where he discovered an ice cream that completely changed his perception of frozen desserts.

Back in Sweden, he trained at the prestigious Carpigiani Gelato University in Bologna, now a world reference for gelato, before developing his own concept in Stockholm.

At SNÖ, everything is made daily in small batches using natural ingredients, with no artificial flavours or excess sugar, resulting in ice creams with intense aromas and a particularly smooth, silky texture.

The house also stands out for its creativity, with flavours that change regularly and range from very straightforward combinations to more daring pairings such as brown butter and rosemary, vanilla with olive oil and sea salt, or highly pure seasonal fruit sorbets.

Shop located at Odengatan 92 in Vasastan.

Aryam Gelato, Södermalm’s hidden artisan gem

Aryam is a small artisanal gelateria located in the very heart of Södermalm, on Sankt Paulsgatan, just a few steps from Slussen and the entrance to Götgatsbacken. Founded by pastry chef Hosanna Amanuel, the shop quickly established itself as one of Stockholm’s most refined destinations for artisan ice cream, earning several awards and building a strong reputation among local food enthusiasts.

What sets Aryam apart is above all its highly artisanal approach: production is deliberately limited, with around 8 to 10 flavours offered per day, constantly changing according to the seasons and available ingredients. Everything is made on-site using fresh and often organic ingredients, with particular attention paid to texture and flavour intensity. The result is an ice cream that is very creamy, low in sugar, and often tastes “purer” on the palate than more traditional gelati.

You can find both simple and highly refined flavours, such as intense pistachio, dark chocolate and vanilla, as well as more local or original creations like rhubarb, baklava or very pure seasonal fruit sorbets. The shop itself is tiny, with no real seating area, which adds to its almost confidential feel : customers come to pick up their ice cream, often queuing briefly, before enjoying it on the lively streets of Södermalm.

Shop located at Sankt Paulsgatan 3, in Södermalm.

Socker Sucker, when haute pâtisserie reinvents ice cream in Stockholm

Socker Sucker is part of the new wave of ice cream projects in Stockholm, led by two major figures from the Swedish pastry scene: pastry chef Frida Bäcke and baker-pastry chef Bedros Kabranian.

Before dedicating themselves to this joint project, both evolved in highly demanding environments, ranging from fine dining restaurants and avant-garde bakeries to international competitions, where technical precision and the pursuit of perfect flavour are fundamental. It is this culture of detail and perfectly executed products that forms the starting point of their vision of ice cream: not as a simple summer dessert, but as a full-fledged medium of expression within contemporary pastry.

By opening Socker Sucker in 2022 on Drottninggatan, they introduced a highly pastry-driven approach to ice cream in Stockholm, where gelato and sorbets are crafted with the same rigor as an entremets or a high-end viennoiserie.

The textures are crafted with precision, the sweetness carefully controlled, and the flavours built around a clear idea: letting the product speak for itself without excess. Here, ice cream becomes a natural extension of their universe, with creations that prioritise aromatic intensity and clarity of taste while still maintaining a strong creative dimension. Socker Sucker thus perfectly illustrates the evolution of Stockholm’s ice cream scene, where chefs from haute pâtisserie are reinventing frozen desserts by bringing them ever closer to contemporary gastronomy.

Shop located at Drottninggatan 93, in Norrmalm.

Kennys Gelato, from Södermalm to Djurgården’s pop-ups

Kennys Gelato is now one of the essential references on Stockholm’s ice cream scene, with a presence far beyond that of a simple neighbourhood shop. In addition to its permanent locations in areas such as Södermalm and the city centre, Kennys is also widely present in strategic and high-traffic spots, including Djurgården along the waterfront promenade between museums, as well as at Kungsbroplan near Kungsholmen.

Founded by pastry chef Kenny Mattsson, who was crowned Swedish ice cream champion in 2022, the brand quickly expanded by opening multiple locations across the city. The company also operates through more flexible formats such as pop-ups and seasonal locations, allowing it to position itself within high-traffic visitor flows while maintaining daily artisanal production.

Every day, around a dozen gelato and sorbet flavours are freshly made on-site, combining classics (pistachio, chocolate, vanilla) with more signature creations that have become popular over time.

Points of sale located at Sergels Torg 20 or Sveavägen 17 in Norrmalm, Kungsbroplan 1 in Kungsholmen, and Djurgårdstrand 15 in Djurgården.

Gelato Scarfó: authentic Italian gelato in the heart of Bromma

Gelato Scarfó is a true immersion into the Italian gelato tradition in Stockholm. Founded in 2017 by a family originally from Italy, the shop is rooted in an artisanal heritage directly inspired by the gelaterias of Southern Europe, where ice cream is seen as a fresh, everyday product crafted with precision and simplicity.

Located in the Bromma district, a residential and green area in the west of Stockholm, quieter and more family-oriented than central neighbourhoods such as Södermalm or Norrmalm, the gelateria brings an authentic Mediterranean touch to a more local and neighbourhood-focused setting.

Gelato Scarfó’s approach remains very faithful to traditional Italian standards: high-quality ingredients, a dense and creamy texture and recipes that prioritise balance rather than excessive sweetness.

Flavours change regularly with the seasons, but remain within a perfectly mastered classic framework, featuring essentials such as pistachio, hazelnut, stracciatella, as well as particularly pure and expressive fruit sorbets. This precision in execution makes it possible to preserve a true Italian identity while also meeting the expectations of a Swedish clientele accustomed to low-sugar, highly readable flavours.

Shop located at Ålstensgatan 12, in Bromma.

Glass på Hörnet (the “corner ice cream”), an ice cream enjoyed facing the boats of the Stockholm archipelago

Glass på Hörnet is the iconic address of the Vaxholm harbour, where the summer life of the Stockholm archipelago is in full swing. Located directly on Hamngatan, just a few metres from the quays where boats and ferries dock, this ice cream shop has become an essential stop for both visitors and locals exploring the archipelago. Here, the experience matters as much as the ice cream itself: people come to grab a cone before sitting by the water, surrounded by sailboats, lively terraces and the constant flow of boats connecting the islands.

The selection remains deliberately simple and effective, faithful to the spirit of Swedish seaside ice cream parlours: classic flavours such as vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, or pistachio, alongside fruity sorbets that fit perfectly into the bright atmosphere of long summer days. Portions are generous, service is fast, and the whole experience reflects a distinctly Swedish tradition of ice cream as a spontaneous, almost ritual pleasure as soon as the sun returns.

Glass på Hörnet thus perfectly embodies Vaxholm: a picture-postcard destination where ice cream becomes an excuse to enjoy the harbour, the fresh air, and the Stockholm archipelago at its most vibrant and summery. 

The shop is located at the arrival and departure harbour for Vaxholm’s boats.