Marie Laveau is both a restaurant, a bar and a club. Even though the restaurant is highly praised by the critics, it is because of the bar and the club that I usually go there.

Some time ago, the club stopped running during the weekdays as the neighbors complained about the noise. During working days there are always people here, but nothing compared with the crowded Fridays and Saturdays.

At the bar, where excellent drinks are made, the place is full of young alternative people with the typical laid-back and hip Södermalm style. The music played also has the same alternative vibe both at the bar as well as at the club in the basement.

The club typically has younger people but a similar atmosphere . It is dark, feels like a sauna in an urban environment, but it is well worth to go!

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Marie Laveau | Bars | Entrance weekend SEK 100
Hornsgatan 66 | Södermalm | +4686688500
Mon – Tue 17:00 – 01:00, Wed – Sat 17:00 – 03:00

East is a japanese restaurant/bar in the heart of Östermalm. Although this spot feels a bit like another I like going to in Stureplan (Riche – check out the Riche article), it as some important differences.

The first has to do with time. Lilla Baren at Riche has an earlier time span than East, complementing each other rather well if one wants to go to both places in the same night. But East used to be almost my second home for another very important reason: it has an extraordinarily large mix of people for a place lying in the heart of Stureplan. It results in a bar in which one can just start talking with the person nearby.

There is also some dancing going on, but everyone tends to gather outside even under the winter time as the heaters are turned on.

I’d recommend to go to East on Friday and Saturday, but this is one of the few places in town where there is actually something going on every day of the week.

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East | Bars | Beer SEK 62.00
Stureplan 13 | Östermalm | +4686114959
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 03:00, Sat – Sun 17:00 – 03:00

Stureplan is meant to be very posh, and Riche is supposed to be in the middle of it but this spot still manages to stand out of the pack. It has a restaurant, a bar next to it and Lilla baren. The first two are usually inhabited by business people that drop by Riche for dinner and/or an after work drink.

Lilla baren typically hosts the alternative crowd. In fact, there are quite frequently art exhibitions that take place at Lilla Baren. The DJ’s usually play alternative music accompanied by visual effects or even the image of a movie.

The space on itself gives the feeling of being inside a Parisian bistro with lots of mirrors and white romantic details and at the bar one can get superb drinks and very interesting food. The best days to go to this spot are probably between Tuesday and Thursday as it usually gets way too crowded on Fridays and Saturdays.

Overall Riche is a sophisticated place that I love going to because of the combination of interesting and easy to talk people.

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Riche | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Beer SEK 62.00
Birger Jarlsgatan 4 | Östermalm | +46854503560
Mon 11:30 – 00:00, Tue – Fri 11:30 – 02:00, Sat 12:00 – 02:00

An authentic, affordable and delicious Mexican restaurant hidden away on a small street in downtown Stockholm makes La Neta the best taco restaurant in Stockholm period. Its a unique local favorite where everything thats served on the brightly colored plates are freshly made by the Mexican chefs: the soft taco fillings, guacamole and even the tortilla breads, which are made by the machines specially brought in from Mexico!

After a tiresome day of shopping on the main high street of Stockholm, La Neta is my number one restaurant that comes to mind when I wanna tug into some fast and tasty comfort food and destress. It’s my favorite place to introduce to friends and family because no one suspects to find such a refreshing Mexican restaurant right in the city center and to top it off its cheap and has great Mexican beers that can only be found here.

Its often always full of locals, international students and occasionally tourists, but seating has never been a problem for me. The restaurant feels really lively and fun, you can even get shots of tequila with your tacos! La Neta is located below street level and you sit close to the other guests on the picnic-like tables and get your grub on. Friendly, fun and delicious!

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La Neta | Bars, Restaurants (Mexican) | Taco Grande SEK 45
Barnhusgatan 2 | City/Norrmalm | +4684115880
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 21:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 21:00

Ramblas is by far the best tapas restaurant here in Stockholm. I come here at least twice every month and they are pleasantly consistent with the taste of food and their prices. The prices for tapas are relatively cheap compared to other tapas restaurants in Stockholm and trust me on the food. It’s delicious. Some dishes worth trying are the gamba’s in garlic, the fried potatoes with mojo rojo and the paella. From my many visits there, I haven’t seen a lot of customers order it, I’m guessing it’s to do with the fact that Swedes in general are not so keen on deviating from the conventional and it’s a shame because its so good!

The restaurant is very small, with a little bar at the front of the kitchen where the waitresses run around to keep up with the constant flow of customers, food and drinks to be served. That being said, when dining at Ramblas during the evenings and especially on the weekend, you gotta have patience. Ramblas is actually very well known with the locals and it’s constantly full of diners, its not uncommon to see two to three parties waiting at the front door for their table because they weren’t smart enough to book ahead!

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Ramblas | Bars, Restaurants (Tapas) | Per tapas SEK 53
Långholmsgatan 3 | Södermalm | +4686692536
15:00 – till late daily

To be honest, what really draws me back to Köttbaren is the atmosphere and the interior of the restaurant rather than the food. Don’t get me wrong, the food here IS good, otherwise I would not return regardless of how nice the place is. It feels very cozy at Köttbaren. I think it’s the heavy dark brown wooden tables, the candles reflecting off the copper pots hanging on the walls and the open kitchen where the chefs prepare and plates the diners meals. A bottle of wine, a few good friends and a hearty dinner. That’s everything about Köttbaren in a nutshell.

Köttbaren is Swedish for Meat Bar. So if you’re vegetarian, you might as well stop reading now and head on over to our review of Hermans Vegetarian Buffet. As you can gather from the name, at Köttbaren it’s meat, meat, and more meat. Choose from a daily special, steak, burger, steak tartare and my personal favorite Pelle Janzon, which is more of an appetizer to share in my opinion but a definite must-try! Its basically thinly sliced marbled oxfilet, egg yolk and fish roe all on top of a slice of toast garnished with lemon juice.

Quite popular with the locals on the weekend and they don’t take reservations so try and get there around 19:00 to avoid a long waiting. Although, their bartenders do make awesome cocktails so it wouldn’t be a total waste a time…

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Köttbaren | Bars, Shopping | Main course +/- SEK 150
Tegnergatan 32 | City/Norrmalm | +46850524426
Mon – Fri 11:15 – 23:00, Sat 12:00 – 23:00

Still my favorite bar in Stockholm. Still very much a ‘mullet’ as it’s business in the front and party in the back. You get to Obaren by making your way through the very swanky, the very fancy and the very upscale Sturehof restaurant. Pass by the oysters, the stilton, the bubbly and the lobsters, walk straight to the back and what do you find? If you’re there on a Thursday night (22:00) onwards you will be greeted by some old school hiphop! Yes, while Stockholm’s elite are slurpin’ down oysters at the front, you be slurpin’ on your beer in the back. Life is good!

Obaren is all about music, soul, funk, hip hop etc.. rappin’ it different nights of the week. If that’s not your thing, make sure you check out their website and perhaps you may be lucky enough to catch a live local act play at their venue.

Definitely a hole in the wall kinda place. A fun, cool, hip bar tucked away in secret in the back of a posh restaurant. What more could you want?

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Obaren | Bars, Music
Stureplan 2 | Östermalm | +4684405730
Sat – Thu 19:00 – 02:00, Fri 17:00 – 02:00

A good place to go for well prepared steak is Djuret, the tiny annexe next to the pricier and Michelin-star rewarded Restaurnant Frantzén/Lindberg.

During summer the open-door section, under the name Svinet (the Swine) opens. Here you can enjoy charcoal grilled pork.

At Djuret you will get one kind of meat at a time. It could e.g. be pork, beef, or some kind of game. Each part of the animal is used which means that the menu always consists of a different meat cut. The ambiance is rustic, cozy and welcoming. This is definitely one of my favorite restaurants in Stockholm.

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Djuret | Bars, Restaurants | Main course +/- SEK 250
Lilla Nygatan 5 | Gamla Stan
Mon – Sat 17:00 – 00:00

If your Stockholm weekend is already scheduled but you still can’t get rid of that feeling that you have not experienced it all. Well I have a option for you. As the entire city is built on 13 islands that are all connected with bridges there is one island with restaurants, cafes and shopping. To get there you’ll have to take a boat and in summertime the boats departs every hour. The boat trip takes no longer then 30 minutes and once you’re on the island named Fjäderholmarna you can hang around, sunbathe and watch the busy harbor and all the boat traffic in the surrounding waters. On the island there are also many different arts and handcraft shops if you’re into that.

If your time is short, just go there and calm down after a warm and crowded day in the city. When I’m there, I almost compulsively follow the same routine. I step off the boat, buy a toast with our traditional pickled herring and a beer. After finishing that I take a walk across the island to the other side. Here the wind is more fresh and I find myself in a secluded place where I just hang for a while, watching the sea, all the boats and activity. As its starts to become late in the afternoon it’s perfect to take the next boat back to mainland. After that you can head home, take a shower and then you are totally ready to hit the town again!

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Fjäderholmarna | Art & culture, Bars, Relaxing, Snacks
Fjäderholmarna | Östermalm
April 28 2012

This is my favourite café. Perfectly situated next to small shops and nice parks in the south of Stockholm. I introduce everyone I know to this pearl.

The interior is very welcoming and inspiring with wallpaper tricking your eye, making you think the place is packed with shelves of books; a very creative and fun atmosphere. It is a very popular spot and sometimes very packed. Oh, don’t go here if you’re allergic to dogs, there’s usually at least one hanging around.

The tiles covering the floor are very beautiful and contribute to the creativity as well. Red cushions and chandeliers meets Middle Eastern patterns and colours! I love the imaginary bookshelves and the corner with that light green armchair that is placed there just for you.

But what I love the most is the laid-back service and cosy, homely feeling. The people working here are really sweet, their sandwiches delicious (especially the mozzarella toast) and their caffe lattes a piece of art.

If you only have time for one café during your stay in Stockholm – this is your café! I’m sure you’ll love it.

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Gildas rum | Bars, Coffee & tea, Snacks | Caffe latte SEK 32.00
Skånegatan 79 | Södermalm
Mon – Thu 08:00 – 23:00, Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 20:00, Sun 09:00 – 21:00