Eating out - Café Tant Gredelin, Enköping

In the not-so-small town of Enköping, some miles northwest of Stockholm, you'll find the adorable little Café Tant Gredelin - which translates Auntie Violet, the literary sister of Auntie Brown/Tant Brun being the name of the cute café in Sigtuna. Both names deriving from the lovely children's book series by Elsa Beskow, about Auntie Brown, Auntie Green, Auntie Violet and Uncle Blue. Sigtuna being the hometown of the real life models for the characters, Beskows own uncle and aunties who remained unmarried and lived in Sigtuna.

In the case of Café Tant Gredelin, if you happen to be in the vicinity of Enköping this is simply a must stop for a lovely, cosy, yummy experience in an oldfashioned environment. When opening the door you're met by tempting whiffs of bread and buns, the prices are decent and the staff friendly. Great care in details as far as interior decoration goes without being overdone.

The only obvious negative aspect about the place for us vegetarians is that the sandwich options are very limited, the cheese sandwich not that good (at least that's my taste buds' opinion) and due to the Swedish *rather* ridiculously restrictive regulations concerning food handling they're not allowed to make other sandwiches in the café...

But if you're only looking for tea - vast selection served at the table in your own teapot - or coffee or hot chocolate with a nice piece of cake enjoyed in a delightful surrounding you've definitely come to the right place!

Situated at Sandgatan 29, they're open Mon-Sat (at special occasions also on Sundays) and apparently also serve afternoon tea buffet every Thursday 14-17 (2pm-5pm), that sounds indeed lovely. As much as I enjoy my tea/coffee outdoors in the summer I really do think this place is best visited during the colder and darker time of the Scandinavian year, indoors, since there are old sofas, wicker chairs, candlelight, warmth and cosiness that just can't be reciprocated in an outdoor area, even if the inner courtyard does look nice too. The place seems to be very popular amongst the locals hence can be rather crowded, so be prepare to wait a while for a table or, if you're feeling adventurous, possibly share.

Now, let the pictures do the final talking -