MOOSEHEAD BAR & RESTAURANT MALMÖ at Lilla Torg

We do enjoy gourmet and Michelin starred restaurants, but not everyday is meant for that kind of dining or experience. Sometimes you just want a good hangout, a living room in the city space. However, you want to know that what you order is going to be good, of high quality, the service attentive and the surroundings nice. Well, look no further. Moosehead, at Malmö’s vibrant Lilla Torg (literally translates to – the “little square”)  is a picture perfect restaurant-slash-bar. Moosehead operates on a refreshing gastro-brewery concept in addition to a great view overlooking LillaTorg. If you love nothing more than knocking back a quality pint, a chilled glass of champagne, spritz or a cocktail – and relish some savory mouth-watering Scandinavian or Asian delights, this is where it’s at.

Moosehead opened its doors 25 years ago – which they just celebrated the other week. As one of the firsts restaurants at the square , Moosehead is quickly solidifying itself as one of our frequent joints in Malmö. Lilla Torg is where many tourists end up and not all restaurants here are great – and not all of them attract a local and international crowd – Moosehead is and Moosehead does.

Moosehead has built a reputation of serving hearty local favourites as well as some unexpected creations we wouldn’t usually find at our typical heartland joints. Its most famous dish is the Elk burger (elk is “älg” in Swedish, “moose” in American english – hence the name Moosehead) served medium-rare with caramelised onions, pommes and various sauces – but you definitely need to have it with Moosehead’s own signature sauce. Aside from its star creation, other must-tries include the elk meatballs, thai food bathing in copious amounts of garlic and chilli; as well as their calamari.

Meatballs are as typically Swedish as it can possibly get – but making them from elk makes them even richer in taste. Obligatory to go with it, is Swedish cucumber sallad “pressgurka”, lingonberry jam and mashed potatoes. We would honestly say that this is as good as meatballs gets, so you’d be very well off ordering this.

When it comes to drinks, Moosehead is a fully stocked bar with a great wine list and a lot of Champagne in its cellar. Bartenders are well educated and knows their drinks and cocktails. As summer is upon us we go for a spritz to kick off our evening. Select Aperitivo is not very common in Scandinavia but it’s a much tastier choice than the Aperol spritz you get everywhere else.

Variety is the spice of life though, so opt for their signature beer with different craft brews ranging from light blond lager to a full-bodied stout. Beer is actually a very good choice for the meatballs above, especially Nils Oscar Lager which is available here but – do combine it with akvavit! Akvavit is the local/regional spirit of Scandinavia and a must to drink when you’re in the region. Moosehead teams up with the locally brewed Malmö Akvavit. As we’ve mentioned before akvavit is snaps but not all snaps is akvavit. Akvavit is based on dill and / or cumin and Malmö Akvavit is based on the latter. It has good taste of cumin and a bit of citrus and the after taste has a lot of anis and liquorice. It goes very well with many dishes here, so just keep ’em coming! And if you like it, get a bottle at Systembolaget in Malmö where it’s available to purchase.

Moosehead are renowned for specialising in Scandinavian as well as Thai cuisine, including an array of small bites served in exquisite way. Cheers to food that not only looks good, but is good for you too! As a starter or just a medium sized dish to have at any point we’d recommend Råraka. Råraka is a traditional Swedish dish, grated potatoes fried in a pan, served with bleak roe, the golden caviar of the north. It’s a must  try, you will not regret it! Moosehead serves it to perfection and this is exactly the kind of setting you want for it, summer, laissez faire, outdoors, good times, good crowd.

First opened in 1994 at LillaTorg malmo, Moosehead has long been a stalwart of Scandinavian as well as Thai cuisine in Malmo.

Helming the restaurant is Johan Walterstrom and Eva Lundkvist, who’ve spent the past 25 years running Moosehead and Drumbar at Lilla Torg. Drum bar is located on the opposite side of the square decked out in rustic touches made modern like weaved wooden panels, rattan chairs and large patio heaters that emit a warm glow over their dining space.

Johan and Eva  are of great importance in setting the mood and the ambiance of this place, making it familiar, friendly and making it into an extended living room. They would not be able to do that without their fabulous team of employees from all over the world though. Eva and Johan believe in diversity and recruit people for their personality and train them for skills. Everyone is equally important in a place like this and all staff here are super friendly and service minded but we’d like to point out particularly Alex  in short blonde hair (in the picture below) as well as Bashar in the cap for bringing that extra touch to the place.

The general idea is to connect people over a meal. However, it’s not only a place to break bread with your neighbour or visiting tourists, it’s also where Alex, the friendly and ever jolly manager, and her team whip up your soulful cocktails and drinks – almost as if you’re having a dinner party in someone’s home. A rare ambiance in Sweden, we feel almost like at a beach side restaurant on the french Rivera when coming to Moosehead in the summer. Just relax, chill and enjoy.