Head south from Gamla Stan in Stockholm and you’ll pass the metro station Slussen. In front of the station is a large square that will be filled with the usual fruit stands and flower stands; somewhere towards the back will be this van, with its large fish sign emblazoned with ‘Nystekt Strömming’.

Nystekt Strömming

The name of the van translates to ‘Freshly Fried Herring’ and yup, that’s all they do here. There are options to have your fried herring in a burger bun, or on some brown bread as an open faced sandwich, or as a ‘meal’, which is the option I chose. This was my small fried herring plate that came with mashed potatoes, pickled cucumber, sliced onions, coleslaw, and a piece of knäckebröd. I think this was about 60 kr (SEK). There are a few tables on which to park yourself though if the weather is nice, there’s plenty of ledges on which to sit around the area.

Small Herring Plate

I do believe fried herring is now my favourite herring preparation – I love the flavour of the oily fish when cooked like this! The fish was fresh and tender and not at all fishy and the salads help cut through any richness you may find. I wish I’d had more opportunity to try the rest of the menu; the burger looked great as did the open sandwich. Or if you don’t find yourself in the area, you can find fried herring at some traditional Swedish restaurants too (more on that later).

It’s not for late night eats (I believe it closes at 6pm on most days) but an order from there makes for a perfect snack or light lunch.

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