Our Story
Before the trend. There was Surf Shack.
Authentic North American smash burgers since 2012.
Back in 2012, hardly anyone in Sweden had even heard of a smash burger.
That autumn, Surf Shack opened in Malmö as one of Sweden's very first restaurants dedicated to authentic North American smash burgers. Years before the style became popular throughout Sweden and Scandinavia, we were serving patties, smashed onto a blazing-hot griddle to create the crispy, caramelized edges that have become the hallmark of a true smash burger.
More than a decade later, we're still making every burger the same way we did on day one.
It all started with a simple problem.
When a woman from North America moved to Sweden, she couldn't find the burgers she had grown up with.
Everywhere she looked, burgers were thick pub-style patties or traditional fast-food burgers. The crispy-edged smash burgers she knew from home simply didn't exist here.
She shared her idea with her Swedish husband, and together they believed Sweden deserved to experience authentic North American smash burgers. As husband and wife, they decided to build the restaurant they couldn't find.
It wasn't the beginning of a restaurant chain. It was simply a husband and wife bringing a taste of home to Sweden. More than a decade later, it still is a family business.
Before long, people were lining up outside our little restaurant.
Those lines reminded us that great food doesn't need trends. It just needs people willing to try something new.
Before Surf Shack
Our journey actually began in a tiny beach hut in Höllviken.
What started as a small café serving coffee, ice cream, and simple food soon became the foundation for something much bigger. It was there that the dream of bringing authentic North American smash burgers to Sweden first came to life.
When nobody knew what a smash burger was
Back in 2012, almost nobody in Sweden had heard of a smash burger.
Some people thought we were simply "squashing" the meat.
Journalists even visited and joked about our cooking technique because it looked so different from the thick burgers everyone was used to.
Instead of giving up, we decided to educate people. We created a small blog. Which later became our first website, and shared old American newspaper articles explaining the history behind smash burgers and why pressing fresh beef onto a blazing-hot griddle creates such incredible flavour.
Today that sounds completely normal.
Back then, it was something entirely new.
Then everything changed
While some people laughed at the idea, our customers believed in it.
They told their friends.
Word spread.
Before long, people were lining up outside our little restaurant.
More than a decade later, smash burgers have become one of Sweden's most popular burger styles. Today they're everywhere. Back in 2012, they were virtually unknown here.
Still family. Still Surf Shack.
Although we've grown over the years, one thing has never changed.
Surf Shack has always been, and still is, a family-run business.
Every decision we make is guided by the same values we started with: quality, hospitality, hard work, and burgers made fresh to order using fresh beef on a blazing-hot griddle.
We're incredibly proud that after all these years, we're still doing things our way.
