Karlsons - Hamburg

Very cute Scandinavian coffee shop, restaurant and novelty store : When you first enter, it is decorated with of course the sweet wooden red horses that I own a... read more Very cute Scandinavian coffee shop, restaurant and novelty store : When you first enter, it is decorated with of course the sweet wooden red horses that I own at home which I bought in Stockholm. The colors are also very Scandinavian to me, with pastels, lights and brights. To the right is a boutique that sells Scandy candies, treats and miscellaneous gifts or decorations. Once can stop in for a Fika which means coffee in Swedish or even have a nice meal. They usually have Köttbullar, but since most dishes are made fresh in the back in a limited quantity, you have to check with the waitress to see what is on the menu that day. When I came in here, I ended up ordering some Tagliatelle with mushrooms and a truffle sauce which was very filling! I had wanted to of course try a more Swedish dish or even the classic Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs but to my dismay, they were fresh out of meatballs that day. Hamburg is actually heavily influenced by Scandinavian culture being so far north and in their history, the Danes and Swedes settled in areas around here such as Altona for example, particularly because the Hanseatic League had some battles over shipping merchant ships and even a history with Pirates.....and Vikings! I had to learn about this history when I did an Elbe/Altona tour : Come here for breakfast, lunch or dinner they have cute names for their breakfast menu with Scandinavian themes like: the Oslo, the Stockholm, the Kopenhagen, and even you can order the Aarus. They also have wifi here!

We've been there for the third time. Cute place for breakfast and coffee. Average friendly service. Unfortunatelly rather slow if its crowded which happens pret... read more We've been there for the third time. Cute place for breakfast and coffee. Average friendly service. Unfortunatelly rather slow if its crowded which happens pretty much every weekend. The food is good and not too pricey. The decoration really catches the swedish atmosphere. We'll probably come back!

Karlsons is a lovely Swedish themed Café. We hired this venue for an event and were so impressed by the excellent and friendly service, the pleasant atmosphere... read more Karlsons is a lovely Swedish themed Café. We hired this venue for an event and were so impressed by the excellent and friendly service, the pleasant atmosphere of the café and the high quality of the interior (furnishings, decorations). The restrooms are very clean and wonderfully designed. I would definitely recommend Café Karlsons to anyone for events, partys, concerts etc. From the other reviews, it seems at weekends service can be a bit slow. I've yet to test this and a lot of those reviews are older, maybe this has been improved.

It's as casual and simple as you would expect from a Scandinavian place. Came here for lunch, you order at the counter and they serve at the table. Had the meat... read more It's as casual and simple as you would expect from a Scandinavian place. Came here for lunch, you order at the counter and they serve at the table. Had the meatballs, a Swedish staple. It's .. ok, probably the quality they would serve at the Volvo cafeteria or so, but nothing to write home to Sweden about.

The food is very disappointing but the service is great!! This place is decorated really well and as soon as you walk in you feel like you're over at someone's... read more The food is very disappointing but the service is great!! This place is decorated really well and as soon as you walk in you feel like you're over at someone's home. They have cute couches, coffee tables and dining room tables everywhere. There even is a cabinet with children's books. So overall it looks perfect! The staff was really friendly but where it all went wrong was the food. I ordered the couscous salad and what I got is a massive plate with one small scoop of couscous which was in ball shape and two leaves on top of the couscous. I was expecting a salad, since they advertised it and two leaves of lettuce do not make a salad. The couscous was SO small it was barely enough to feed a small child. The couscous tasted a little bit crunchy and they definitely overdid it with the oil, it was leaking in oil. Food deserves one star but the fact the restaurant looked cute I bumped it up to two stars.