Malmo

This coastal Swedish gem is a place where chefs are taking delicious risks, seasonality is gospel, and Middle Eastern spices are abundant.

- James Clasper

 The menu at Lyran looks more like a luxury shopping list than a description of dishes. A few items — rhubarb, poppy seeds, coriander, black garlic — sound simple enough. But most are distinguished by their seemingly exotic origins. Capers from Pantelleria. Scanian beef. Chioggia beetroot. Mascarpone from La Treccia. Ramsons from Mushroom Mike. Only the smattering of Swedish words — the names of local farms that supply the restaurant — remind you that you’re in Malmö.

Still, Lyran’s eclectic menu is a sign of the times in Sweden’s third-largest city. After years of industrial decline, Malmö has emerged as a forward-thinking metropolis — one that champions sustainability and start-ups, and is attracting newcomers from far and wide. It’s also Sweden’s most diverse city. An influx of immigrants — many from Syria — means that almost 180 countries are represented.

Little wonder, then, that its food scene is exploding. From third-wave coffee to artisanal bakeries, bustling markets to cutting-edge cuisine, Malmö has everything you’d expect from a cosmopolitan city. Fancy a splurge? Head to one of its four Michelinstarred restaurants. Prefer street food? There are dozens of falafel shops, some started by Syrian refugees. Locals debate who makes the best. To resolve it, perhaps, Malmö is hosting the Falafel World Cup this summer.

Local chef Alexander Norén has worked in the city all his life and describes it as the “Brooklyn to Copenhagen’s Manhattan”. Besides the geographic parallel — the two cities are linked by an iconic bridge — his clear inference is that Malmö is edgier than the Danish capital, its cheaper rents inspiring a number of restaurants to take risks.