Driving from Gothenburg to Stockholm (or vice versa), you pass by perhaps Sweden's prettiest lake -…read moreLake Vättern. It's a gorgeously blue lake rimmed by hills. Gyllene Uttern (Golden otter) is a lovely hotel and café along the eastern shore and a perfect rest spot with a scenic vista to enjoy a Swedish fika (Jause in Austrian, coffee break in English). The café here serves up various teas and coffees along with your favorite Swedish sweets (think Kanelbullar). Of course there are more substantial dishes as well and the Räksmörgås (shrimp sandwich) is excellent. On a sunny day enjoy your treats on the open air terrace overlooking Lake Vattern. If it is too cool, don't worry. There are large picture windows in the café looking towards the lake. A stop at Gyllene Uttern leaves you completely refreshed and sufficiently refueled to continue on to Stockholm!

A very decent road restaurant, coffee stop and funky looking hotel. The best feature, and what…read moremakes it stop-worthy, are the stunning views over the lake Vättern. There's a full blown ala crate lunch restaurant and a cafe. We both had the pulled pork sandwich (served grilled with cheese and veggies) which was a very good light lunch alternative when wanting to move on with your travels. Nothing amazing but a very decent road stop.

What an incredible place! Upon arrival, the host poured us some libations and invited us upstairs…read moreto relax and look around. This place should be a museum! The photos I provide with this review cannot do the property justice. The fact that you can walk around all the art and antiques with no one supervising your visit, is unbelievable! Our room was in the annex, so it was more modern and not filled with antiquities. The room was quite comfortable and did have a flat screen TV. It was also extremely quiet. We dined in the castle, but before we were seated we had the opportunity to meet a gentleman named Ralph. Ralph is 85 years old and was born at the property! We exchanged stories and shared drinks for a while before he showed us to the dining room, what a treat! Dinner? AMAZING! Best dinner we would experience at a lodging in our month in Scandinavia. We started with a fish tartare, toasted brioche, asparagus and greens called rocket. Next was beef, roasted perfectly, with a fantastic rich brown gravy, diced onions and veggies and a wedge of a potato rosti. Last was a sorbet, meringue and a fudge like pastry. We had the wine pairing which proved to have EXTREMELY GENEROUS pours, great selections and was the most reasonable we would see on our entire holiday! Tres magnifique! Breakfast was equally impressive. If you have the opportunity to stay at Vastana Slott, you will not be disappointed! Humbly submitted, Moi

From the owner: Västanå Slott byggdes 1590 och har drivits som Sveriges första slottshotell sedan 1948. Kom hit och…read morenjut av kulinariska rätter, gott vin och välbevarade slottsmiljöer. Västanå ligger cirka fem kilometer söder om Gränna och tre mil norr om Jönköping och är perfekt för en avslappnande weekend eller konferens med jobbet.

People were friendly - much nicer than the restaurant on the waterfront that serves pastas and…read moresalad where we did not feel welcome. Thank you, Filet I Granna for being cordial.

Can't say I know as much about coffee as the Swedes. I heard they drink 4.5 cups…read moreper person! I do like the coffee at Fiket though. It's a bit tart but good. The cookies were awesome. Glad I can't bake like this. I wouldn't be able to fit into the kitchen! It was rainy outside so the nice cozy warm interior was perfect.

Even though it was a bit rainy there was still a view.Great location by the lake. Our server…read moreJohanna was nice and helpful. Food smelled great and tasted good. We brought his parents here for dinner and they loved it. Dining our way around Sweden. Can't wait for the next meal.

Decent food. Had the vegetarian lasagne, not the best ever but not bad at all. Considering how hard…read moreit is to get good food off of the highways in Sweden, I'd still recommend a visit here. Pretty view and not too crowded during our visit.

The food came fast and was okay considering the price, though a bit cold. The service was great and…read moreplace was enough big to serve lots of customers at the same time. View to the lake was great! Good place for a short pitstop.

We ate at Amalia's twice the last couple of days when visiting Gränna. The daily menu is excellent…read morebasic fare at a decent price. We especially enjoyed the pork. Time to get it on the map.

The food was decent, but the owner made us feel very unwelcome. She wasn't helpful at all. We would…read morenot recommend that anyone visiting that area on an EF Tours trip patronize this business.

Nice pizza, though not the best I've ever tasted. If you're looking for the traditional Swedish…read more"Turkpizza" you will be a bit disappointed, though pizza is not the only thing they serve. Very reasonable prices considering the wonderful waterside location. They provide for dietry requirements with gluten-free pizza dough etc'. The interior decor is a bit of a weird mix between bohemian and modern but it works okay. Overall a good experience. Swedish/Svenska: Pizzan är något bättre än okej. Om du är sugen på traditionell Turkpizza lär du dock bli besviken men det finns andra alternativ än bara pizza. Väldigt rimliga priser med tanke på den vackra utsikten över Vättern. De har även alternativ för folk med allergier och/eller intoleranser som t.ex glutenfri pizzadeg, mm. Inredningen är en konstig blandning av bohem och modern men det fungerar. Hursomhelst var det en trevlig upplevelse.