Church of Sweden

The Cafe You’ve Never Heard of Is Tucked Below a Swedish Church in Midtown | Eater NY

"Planted just off Fifth Avenue at 48th Street in Midtown, the Church of Sweden has a humble attached Swedish cafe tucked in a windowless basement that I almost missed—there’s sparse signage and no front desk, though the all-consuming smell of cardamom and cinnamon leads you downstairs. I’d heard about it on TikTok, and pushing through a dim, narrow hallway lined with Swedish books and down shallow steps, I found a charming fika with a little over 20 seats at communal tables dressed in red gingham and Christmas lights, plus shelves of hard-to-find Swedish gummies (cassis and licorice), coffee beans, Marimekko-esque aprons, ornaments, figurines and basket-weaving sculptures for sale. Elderly workers in mod floral aprons pull warm pastries from the oven to display at a walk-up counter run by someone who said they’re a church musician; pastries are $4 and made fresh daily, including a saffron bun with a snail-like twist, mellow spice, not-too-sweet coating and golden, pull-apart innards that reminded me of egg challah. There are simple open-faced sandwiches—shrimp-and-egg salad, warm meatballs with beet salad, and smoked salmon—priced at $10 but notably very wet from liberal mayo, so I’d skip them; the cafe also serves strong Swedish-branded coffee, lingonberry juice, hot cocoa, teas, and bottled Swedish beers and sodas. It’s not the best Swedish food in New York (the pastries aren’t as remarkable as at La Cabra), but it’s a line-free, quiet, work-friendly respite with free WiFi when Midtown is overcrowded; the basement setup is temporary and will return upstairs this spring after renovations. The cafe is order-at-the-counter and accepts credit cards, cash, and Apple Pay; it’s open Wednesday through Sunday, 12 to 6 p.m." - Emma Orlow