The story
Matbaren i parken sits in a little corner building inside Societetsparken, Borgholm's most pleasant stretch of green. The setting is unhurried and sociable: guests drink sparkling wine and beer, children share adult mains in half portions, and on the right table you get a view across the harbour sunset and the minigolf course next door. The style and joinery of the compact interior is the work of local craftsman Möbleri Mittbrodt's, giving the room a quiet, considered character.
The concept is a modern brasserie built around free-choice small and medium plates. You start where you like, order as many as you want, and the team pairs each dish with a wine or drink they genuinely believe in. The philosophy is straightforward: quality ingredients, good wine, and a relaxed atmosphere — nothing more, nothing less.
White Guide awarded Matbaren i parken its Fine level recognition in 2026, singling out head chef Peter Karp and his kitchen team for their "feeling" in the kitchen. The guide's reviewers were particularly struck by the butter-fried perch — served in whole fillets, entirely bone-free, with white wine and butter in the sauce — calling it a "full-score" dish. It was matched with a fresh, fruity Spanish Albariño that the reviewers found equally impressive. House-churned ice cream rounds out the menu on a similarly careful note.
The crowd is lively and local-feeling even in peak season. Walk-ins are always welcome at reserved drop-in spots, and the outdoor terrace comes into play whenever the weather allows. It is the kind of brasserie where a well-trained dog quietly receives scraps of grilled dry-aged beef under the table from a regular, and nobody minds at all.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Head chef Peter Karp and his kitchen team have such an intuitive flair that the place might as well be called Njutbar. Their menu features smaller shared plates alongside a couple of heartier mains. The butter-seared perch is an impressively executed, flawless dish, prepared and served as whole fillets free of even the tiniest bone, finished with a white wine and butter sauce. It brings a smile to your face, especially when paired with the crisp, fruity Spanish Albariño that accompanies it. Lively chatter fills the room among cheerful guests sipping champagne and beer, and from the right table you get a stunning view of both the harbor sunset and sun-kissed, good-looking folks playing mini-golf. A seasoned local from Jönköping gets sneakily slipped a piece of grilled dry-aged steak by a regular customer under the table. Children happily tuck into half-portions of adult mains, dipping their fries in perfectly whipped mayonnaise. And of course, there’s the delicious house-churned ice cream. The refined style and meticulous details of this quaint corner house near Societetsparken bear the signature of the city’s master woodworker: Möbleri Mittbrodt.
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