Smorgasbord

What it is

A smörgåsbord is a way of serving a meal rather than a single dish. The table holds a spread of small plates, most of them cold and some warm, and diners help themselves as often as they wish. Always on the table are bread, butter and cheese. In a restaurant the same word means a fixed-price buffet. Outside Sweden the English word has drifted: it can mean any buffet, or, more loosely, a wide choice of almost anything, as in a smörgåsbord of courses or books. In Sweden itself the word stays closer to the traditional dishes.

Origins and history

The custom grew out of the brännvinsbord, a small standing buffet of bread, butter, cheese, herring and spirits that wealthier households in Sweden and Finland put out before dinner in the 1500s. By the middle of the 1600s the food had moved from a side table to the main one, and both warm and cold dishes appeared. Hotels and later railway stations served it to travellers while they waited. At the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, restaurants stopped treating it as an opener and began serving it as the main meal. The form most people know today settled in the 19th century.

How it is kept

At a seated smörgåsbord, diners usually go up in a set order rather than all at once. The first plate holds cold fish: pickled herring in several styles, salmon, perhaps eel. A second plate of other cold dishes follows, then a third with warm food. Dessert may or may not come at the end. Because people serve themselves, portions stay small and the meal stretches over a long table. The same pattern runs through the Christmas julbord, which is eaten in as many as five to seven courses depending on family and region.

The Christmas julbord

The julbord is the Swedish Christmas table, and the cooks take it seriously. It usually opens with three fish plates: pickled herring with sour cream and chives, then cold fish such as gravlax, then a warm fish dish, often lutfisk. Cold sliced meats come next, with Christmas ham as the centre. Then warm dishes, among them meatballs, small sausages and Janssons frestelse, a potato and sprats casserole. A cheese plate and a dessert plate close the meal. In the rice pudding an almond is hidden; whoever finds it is rewarded or said to have luck. Beer, snaps and the soft drink julmust are poured.

Around the world

The idea of a cold table is shared across northern Europe, and each language has its own name for it. Norwegians say koldtbord, Danes det kolde bord, Icelanders hlaðborð. In German it is kaltes Buffet, in Dutch and Flemish koud buffet. Languages further east tend to call it the Swedish table: Rootsi laud in Estonian, švediškas stalas in Lithuanian, shvedsky stol in Russian and Ukrainian. Finland offers voileipäpöytä, a butter-bread table. In Japan the buffet is known as baikingu, from Viking. The 1939 New York World's Fair, where a Swedish pavilion restaurant served one, brought the word into American English.

How Smorgasbord is kept

Diners serve themselves from a long table of small dishes, going up in a customary order: cold fish first, then other cold dishes, then warm food, with dessert optional. Herring, salmon and eel open the meal; bread, butter and cheese sit alongside throughout. A restaurant version charges a set price for as much as a guest wants. At Christmas the same table becomes the julbord, eaten in five to seven courses, and most Swedish and Norwegian workplaces hold one between November and January.

When and where

A smörgåsbord can be eaten at any time of year, most often at lunch or at a celebration. The julbord belongs to Christmas: restaurants serve it from early December until just before Christmas Eve, and some households keep it going until Epiphany. Workplaces in Sweden and Norway hold their julbord between November and January.

It comes from Sweden and is strongest there, with a place in Swedish homes, restaurants and workplaces. Versions of the cold table are also kept in Norway and Finland, and names for it exist in Denmark, Iceland, Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and further east. The 1939 New York World's Fair carried the word to the United States.

What Smorgasbord means

To those who keep it, a smörgåsbord is abundance shared out rather than plated in a kitchen. Guests choose for themselves, so the table makes room for different tastes and appetites, and a host can feed a crowd without standing over the stove. The julbord carries more weight: it gathers family and colleagues at Christmas, and the almond hidden in the rice pudding turns good luck into something a guest can find on a spoon.

On the table

Flavours: Cinnamon Mustard

Days Smorgasbord is marked

Questions people ask about Smorgasbord

See also

GlöggA spiced, warm winter wine served across Nordic countries around ChristmasJulebordA Scandinavian Christmas banquet of traditional dishes, festive drinks and celebrationHyggeA Danish word for unhurried time at home with others, kept with candles and cookingName dayA calendar tradition where people celebrate the feast day of the saint after whom they are named.

Good reading and sources

• Encyclopaedia BritannicaArticle

• Smorgasbord on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.