Visby Restaurants

This cafe has all those things you want from a cafe. Various coffee and other hot beverages, sandwiches and cakes. What is particularly nice is that they offer not just the mega sized muffins of so many modern Swedish chains of today, but actually stick to good old-fashioned Swedish cakes from your childhood too. There are fruit pies, chocolate cake and raisin biscuits to name just a few things, all in an old warehouse just by the eastern city gate. In fact, if you go to the top floor and look through the windows facing the wall, you will most probably be met by a nesting pigeon (hence the name of the cafe) with chicks in summertime as these live deep inside little cavities in the wall, much to the delight of children.

Favorite Dish: Hot chocolate with whipped cream is a treat on a rainy day!

The local ice cream is like Italian but perhaps a bit thicker and the owners are proud to only use Gotland cream. Very nice whatever the consistency and it comes in several flavours and as set ice cream dishes with various attributes. What I particularly liked was the "Indecisive" which means one scoop of ice cream and a dollop of soft ice for those who cannot make up their minds...Their speciality is the very Gotlandish flavour of saffron and honey.

Favorite Dish: Cherry. But violet will also do.

The "Garden" as its name means, is placed in the hill where Hästgatan meets Smittens Backe leading down to the main square and therefore an excellent place for people watching. This can be done from one of the terraces in the restaurant. Should the weather be awful, you could stay inside which still feels green and open due to the terraces.

Food is ordered at the bar, at least for lunch, and we went when this meant the salad buffet, a couple of pasta dishes and a couple of meat dishes. Nothing extraordinary by any means but perfectly OK with the salad buffet with bread and summery fruit to go with it. The pasta is not what an Italophile would consider high standard as it is way to saucey but the meat dishes and salad bar are great value for money in this rather expensive city and staff are friendly.

In the Freemason's rose garden, right next to St Nicolai church ruin, you can visit an expensive but very cosy restaurant - at least on a sunny summers eve which is when it is open 17-01. The huge grill has a selection of meet such as chicken and pork, but the favourite, this being Gotland, is the grilled lamb, especially since this comes with a salad buffet. Children have smaller versions of salmon parcels and other things from the grill and as for drinks, they all come in clay jugs whatever you drink. The Bistra Haren's own beer with ginger is nice. It is all brought to you by cheerful staff dressed in a mix of historical clothes, not necessarily accurate but still fun (see my childrens' travelogue). If you are lucky, there is a choir singing in the ruins so you get that extra atmosphere.

Favorite Dish: Almost all of it.

Gotlands Bryggeri is a small brewery, originally supplying the local quarters from 1855 into the 1900s, which is now owned by Swedish "giant" Spendrups but which they have allowed to flourish in their own traditional way as they use it as a test brewery too. Therefore, the brewery has two own beers in the form of Wisby Pils, but also our favourite, the Klosteröl ("monastery ale") which is more original as it is unfiltered. These are both served in plenty of restaurants around the city, but the brewery itself is also open should you want to try it. If you want to tour the brewery, it is usually in the late afternoons, at least summertime when I passed by.

The Stora Torget or Market Square is a nice area to stop for lunch if you haven't done so somewhere else in Visby. There are several nices little pubs and cafes with outdoor seating here. Fresh salmon and other seafood is typical fare as is the well-known Swedish Smorgasbord which is usually a good value.

Since we purchased some candy from one of the sellers in the market square, we didn't eat here and we were headed back to the ship because it was near the end of the day. But I would have chosen any one of these for the ambience alone. Being as this area is frequented by tourists, it is probably more expensive than some of the more out of the way eateries. Supposedly, prices for meals have dropped, but taxes on alcohol are still quite steep.Still I think it is fun to try "native-brewed" beers. If you are tight on budget and atmosphere is not required, check out the "McDonald's Gotland" on the Ostervagatan just a little ways outside of the gate in the city wall.

Visby has quite a many cafeterias and restaurants for such a small town.
You definitely should try out the Rosas Café located just a few minutes walk from the harbour or from 'Stora Torget' (the Big/Main Market Place). The "terrace" in the backyard was a lovely surprise! Have some home made bread with ham or something. Finishing off with pancakes with some various add-ons. The perfect way for breakfast on a sunny sunday. :-)