Grillska Huset Bakery — Specialty Store in Gamla Stan, Stockholm

Grillska Huset Bakery is a small pastry shop on the corner of Stortorget, attached to its own restaurant, in the heart of Gamla Stan. The room is compact and charming, with decorated beams above and a display of cakes and tarts that fills more of the space than you might expect for the size of the place.

The kanelbullar are the thing to buy first: chewy, full of flavour and large enough to justify the stop on their own. The prinsesstårta arrives under a shell of green marzipan and turns out less sweet than it looks, layered with whipped cream, custard and soft sponge. If you would rather skip the spiced signatures, the chocolate bread is big with an unusual texture, and the cardamom cake holds up next to a filter coffee or hot chocolate.

Seating is part of the appeal. Three tables sit outside on the square in front of the Nobel Museum, where you can settle with a pastry and a drink and watch the square fill and empty. Inside, the few tables feel like a grandmother's house, and the whole corner is photogenic enough that you will want to linger rather than take your bun away.

Prices are reasonable for what you get, which matters on a square this central. Come early in the day for the calmest counter; the bakery closes at 6 PM, and the last stretch before then moves quickly. There is no espresso machine, so plan on filter coffee or tea with your pastry.

This is a bakery for a sit-down fika rather than a full shop, and it rewards treating it that way: one pastry, one hot drink, a table outside, and the square doing the rest.