PM & Vänner

Where Småland Meets the Plate

Växjö is not a city that typically appears on Swedish fine dining itineraries. Stockholm claims the flagship addresses; Malmö and Gothenburg hold their own Michelin-weighted arguments. Yet the Småland interior, a region defined by dense forest, clear lakes, and a tradition of making much from little, has produced at least one address that competes credibly with Sweden's urban dining tier. PM & Vänner, on Västergatan in Växjö's centre, holds a Michelin star and a wine list of 6,200 selections across 20,350 bottles — numbers that would be notable in any European capital, let alone a mid-sized Swedish city.

The New Nordic philosophy, in its most considered form, is not about austerity or provocation. It is about using a specific geography as both constraint and creative engine: what grows here, what is preserved here, how the season defines the menu. At PM & Vänner, that geography is Småland — a province that historically exported glassware and emigrants, and now, increasingly, produces the kind of ingredient-led cooking that earns sustained critical attention. The French influence acknowledged in the hotel's own framing is not decorative. It operates as structural logic: classic technique applied to northern raw material, a combination that has defined some of Sweden's most coherent fine dining for decades.

A Property Built Around More Than One Meal

The gastronomy hotel format is a Scandinavian speciality, and PM & Vänner is among its more complete expressions. The address operates across several distinct registers: a gourmet restaurant where Chef Anders Lauring's kitchen delivers the Michelin-starred work; an ambitious bistro pitched at a more accessible frequency; a bakery; and TAK, a rooftop bar with cocktails and city views above the rooflines of central Växjö. These are not interchangeable options. Each occupies a different position in the day's rhythm , the bakery and bistro absorbing the lunch trade from Monday through Saturday, the gourmet restaurant commanding the evening, TAK extending the night on Wednesdays through Saturdays until midnight or 1am.

For visitors building a stay around the food and wine program, the multi-format structure is genuinely useful. It removes the need to leave the property for casual meals without diluting the headline restaurant experience. Comparable properties in Sweden , including those with similar rural or small-city positions , often struggle to sustain more than one format credibly. Here, each level appears to function on its own terms rather than as a lesser satellite of the main kitchen.

The Wine Argument

If PM & Vänner's Michelin star situates it within the regional Nordic fine dining conversation, the wine program places it in a different, more specialised peer set. Star Wine List has ranked it every year since 2019 , appearing multiple times in their annual leading rankings in 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and again in 2025, where it holds eight separate list positions. La Liste, which aggregates global restaurant data, scored it 87 points in 2025 and 85 points in 2026. These are not soft recognitions. La Liste's methodology draws on hundreds of international sources, and consistent placement across years signals depth rather than a single strong season.

The list's stated strengths cover Burgundy, Rhône, Bordeaux, Italy, California, Piedmont, Tuscany, Germany, Austria, Champagne, Spain, and Alsace , a range that indicates a collector's program rather than a conventional restaurant list. At 6,200 selections and over 20,000 bottles in inventory, the cellar operates at a scale more commonly associated with dedicated wine destinations than with hotel restaurants in provincial Sweden. Wine Director Per Anders Jörgensen oversees the program, supported by a sommelier team that includes Rubén Sanz Ramiro and Arvid Lundstrom. For guests whose primary interest is wine rather than food, or who treat both as equally weighted, PM & Vänner presents a case that is difficult to match anywhere in southern Sweden.

Wine pricing sits at the $$$ tier, meaning the list carries substantial depth in the 100+ euro bottle range, but it is built around the list's general markup rather than an outlier margin model. That matters in a country where restaurant wine pricing frequently runs well above European norms.

The Regional Context

Southern Sweden's Michelin-starred tier is geographically spread and stylistically diverse. In Malmö, Vollmers operates within the New Nordic framework with two stars; in Simrishamn on the Österlen coast, VYN represents the creative Nordic edge in a fishing-village setting. Daniel Berlin in Tomelilla and ÄNG in Tvååker follow similar logic: serious kitchens in small or mid-sized Swedish towns, drawing on local supply chains and earning international attention. Knystaforsen in Rydöbruk and Hotell Borgholm on Öland extend the pattern further into the rural interior and island southwest.

PM & Vänner belongs to this broader dispersal of Swedish fine dining away from the major urban centres, but its wine program gives it a distinct argument. Where Frantzén in Stockholm or 28+ in Gothenburg operate within dense urban fine dining ecosystems with multiple high-end alternatives nearby, PM & Vänner sits as the primary serious address in its city , and compensates by building the kind of depth in wine that makes a dedicated journey worthwhile. Signum in Mölnlycke and Fyr in Halmstad represent the same general shift toward serious kitchens in secondary Swedish cities; for the full regional picture, see our full Växjö restaurants guide.

Internationally, the Nordic-French alignment that defines PM & Vänner's cooking places it in conversation with addresses like LYST in Vejle and even, at a conceptual level, with the kind of technical classicism represented by Le Bernardin in New York City , the point being that French-trained rigour applied to a specific regional ingredient story is a durable model across very different geographies. JH Matbar in Ystad offers another southern Swedish data point in the same broader conversation.

Planning Your Visit

The restaurant opens for lunch from Monday through Saturday and adds Sunday dinner from 17:00. Late hours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday , midnight and 1am respectively , mean the property functions as a full evening destination rather than one that closes while the night is still young. For guests using PM & Vänner as a base for exploring southern Sweden's wider food and wine scene, the hotel structure removes the logistical friction of late returns from a gourmet dinner. Find further context in our full Växjö hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide for the wider city.

The address is Västergatan 10, 352 31 Växjö. At the €€€€ price point, with multi-course tasting formats standard at this Michelin tier, dinner for two with wine from the premium end of the list will comfortably exceed 300 euros. That is consistent with comparable Swedish starred addresses and, given the wine cellar's depth and the absence of direct competition in the immediate area, represents a reasonable benchmark rather than a premium above peer pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the overall feel of PM & Vänner?

PM & Vänner reads as a serious provincial address that has built a case for destination dining rather than relying on its city's captive market. The Michelin star and sustained Star Wine List recognition since 2019 position it above the regional average; the multi-format structure , gourmet restaurant, bistro, bakery, rooftop bar , gives it range without diluting its headline credentials. For Växjö, it functions as the primary fine dining address; against southern Sweden's broader starred tier, it competes on wine depth more than any other single variable.

What is the signature dish at PM & Vänner?

No specific signature dishes are listed in the available record. The kitchen's direction, under Chef Anders Lauring, sits within Nordic-Creative cuisine with a stated Småland-French axis , meaning the menu is likely seasonal and subject to change. The Michelin star, held through 2024 and 2025, and La Liste placements in both years indicate consistent cooking quality rather than a fixed repertoire. For current menu details, contacting the restaurant directly or checking their website is the most reliable approach.

Is PM & Vänner suitable for children?

The €€€€ pricing and Michelin-starred tasting format of the gourmet restaurant suggest it is calibrated for adult dining occasions. However, the property's bistro and bakery formats operate at a different pitch and may be more appropriate for families. Växjö is not a city with a dense alternative fine dining infrastructure, which means the multi-format structure is particularly relevant for mixed-group travel where not everyone is committed to the full tasting experience.