What makes Strandhugget’s breakfast so popular?

“The best breakfast in the archipelago.”
“The best breakfast in Finland.”
“The best breakfast in the world.”
“The second-best breakfast in Finland after Hotel St. George.”

These are some of the comments our guests have left in our guestbook and in various reviews. Our breakfast and the location of our guesthouse are probably the two things we receive the most praise for.

When it comes to our location, guests particularly appreciate being close to the sea, the restaurant and other services, as well as the nearby ferry pier. On Sottunga, it is easy to get around without a car.

The breakfast was born before our first guests arrived

We started planning Strandhugget’s breakfast already in the autumn of 2022, about nine months before welcoming our first guests. From the very beginning, it was obvious to us that we wanted to use as many local ingredients as possible.

Here in Åland, we are lucky in that respect. We have our own dairy, our own slaughterhouse and a local producer of meat products, as well as many other local food producers.

When planning the breakfast, we also thought about our own travel experiences. We considered which things make a breakfast something you remember long after your trip.

1. Coffee, tea and service

We like people and we appreciate good service. For us, having coffee or tea served at the table also creates an opportunity to have a little chat with the staff.

So we decided that at Strandhugget, coffee and tea would also be served at the table.

2. Bread is the king of the breakfast table

In our opinion, there is no good breakfast without good, tasty bread.

At first, we offered several different types of bread, but one quickly became the clear favourite: a bread roll based on Sikke Sumari’s recipe, which we bake fresh every morning from freshly prepared dough.

The bread has become so popular that many returning guests ask about it first thing when they arrive.

“You must never take this bread away.”

We have decided to follow that instruction.

3. Porridge and Sottunga apple jam

Tea loves porridge, and for us, a really good porridge is one of the measures of a good breakfast.

Our porridge is made from non-steamed oat flakes from Överängskvarn. The secret is soaking the oats overnight in the refrigerator.

We serve the porridge with homemade apple jam or jam made by our neighbours. The flavour is slightly different from the jams you find in supermarkets – in a good way.

Depending on the season, we also top the porridge with berries from the local forests: wild strawberries, blueberries and wild raspberries. Sören enjoys picking berries, so naturally we have to give him the opportunity to do so.

4. Eggs exactly the way you like them

The only hot food at our breakfast, apart from coffee and tea, is a fried egg.

We have slightly different preferences when it comes to eggs. Tea likes hers more well done, while Henry prefers a runny yolk. So we decided to let our guests choose.

Your egg is fried to order, exactly the way you like it.

This is something our guests have really appreciated.

5. Åland apple juice

Good-quality juice is, in our opinion, an important part of breakfast. We simply cannot stand poor-quality juice at the breakfast table.

Here in Åland, we believe the best choice is local, freshly pressed apple juice. At Strandhugget, we serve Karl Ehrs apple juice.

We especially love the fact that every container of juice is slightly different – the colour and flavour vary – but it is always delicious.

6. One good cheese and one good ham

We have always wondered why hotel breakfasts need such a huge selection of different cold cuts and cheeses. Isn’t one really good cheese enough?

At Strandhugget, we serve Ålands Special Ost. Every morning, we slice the cheese ourselves from a large cheese block.

In our opinion, it is the world’s best breakfast cheese. At least we haven’t found anything better – and even if we did, we might not change it.

For ham, we serve Dahlmans Basturökt ham. We buy the ham from the local shop in Sottunga in large pieces, and the staff slice it thinly for us.

Pre-sliced ham would of course be easier, but we think this ham tastes better when it is sliced fresh.

Welcome to breakfast in Sottunga

Strandhugget’s breakfast was not born from one big idea, but from many small things that we ourselves enjoy.

Local ingredients, fresh bread, overnight-soaked porridge, berries picked from the local forests, delicious apple juice and eggs prepared exactly the way our guests like them.

Welcome to Sottunga to enjoy the archipelago, the nature – and, of course, our breakfast.