Gateau Centralen — Specialty Store in Norrmalm, Stockholm

Gateau Centralen is one branch of the Gateau chain, set on Centralplan in Norrmalm where the station traffic passes through. You walk in and the pastry counter is the thing in front of you, with the buns laid out and a queue that forms and moves.

The buns to get are the vegan ones. The cardamom bun carries a heavy cardamom flavour, and it is the one to buy first; the pistachio bun sits next to it and holds its own as a second choice. Both are plant-based, which is rare enough at a station counter to be worth knowing before you commit to a platform coffee instead.

The plant-based buns are labelled växtbaserad rather than vegan or vegansk, a word that does not parse on sight, so ask at the counter and the staff will point you to the right tray. The same counter is where the service is warm — the people behind it are the reason to ask rather than guess.

If you are using the express counter, the number display has been off, which makes it hard to tell when your order is up.

Prices sit at station level: expect to pay for the convenience of the location as much as the pastry. A bun and a drink is the sensible spend here rather than a full loaf.