Image by Aaron L

Across from the godzilla (for Stockholm’s standards) department store, Åhlens there’s a great café/restaurant that serves up mean cinnamon buns and oreo cheesecakes. From the outside it seems like your typical tourist trap café/restaurant located in the middle of the city but what they offer inside is pretty quality stuff.

It’s a big place with café customers seated towards the front and the open kitchen and lunch/dinner crowd seated in the back. Bolero is a decent place to come for a fika after finishing your tour of Gamla Stan or having a light lunch before you take on the many H&M’s of Drottninggatan (my guide here).

In the evenings they serve tapas, which are delicious, tasty and quite big portioned. I know that kinda defeats the purpose of tapas but I ain’t complaining. All in all, Bolero Cafe gets a solid recommendation for those looking for a nice place to go for a coffee in the center of Stockholm city.

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Bolero Cafe | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Intern.)
Klarabergsgatan 25 | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 11:00, Sat 10:00 – 23:00, Sun 11:00 – 22:00

Image by Aaron L

House partay! That’s the kind of atmosphere you get at Judit och Bertil. Okay, I lied. It’s more of a ‘dinner-at-your-alcoholic- friend’s-place’ kinda feeling. Nonetheless, this two story restaurant and bar is the jewel of Hornstull, or as I call it – ma’ hood.

It’s located a minute from the subway station, right beside my dream apartment building and across the neighborhood gym. It’s definitely one of those places you go and you’re like, “I bet no other tourist in Stockholm has EVER been here…” and you’re sorta kinda right! Many of the people that frequent Judit oct Bertil are locals, more specifically those who live in Hornstull.

The main selling point for this place are two things: First and foremost, the ambiance; It’s laid back, cool and it oozes a sort of buzzing electricity that can only be comparable to being slightly tipsy. Secondly, it’s the unique and fresh take on cocktails that they have every week. Its recipes the bartenders come up with themselves and they are nothing short of amazing.

The bar downstairs is always crowded with people (especially on weekends) clinking their beer together and debriefing each other on the week’s events, while the couples upstairs enjoy their scrumptious saffron fish soups (a.k.a they serve Swedish food with a twist) whispering sweet nothings to their special lady/gentlemen/undecided. It’s the perfect background noise to a perfect relaxing night out in the best part of Stockholm’s söder district, Hornstull!

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Judit och Bertil | Restaurants (Swedish) | Main course SEK 150
Bergsundsstrand 38 | Södermalm | +4686693131
17:00 till late daily

Image by Aaron L

Juke boxes, neon signs and milk shakes will take you back to the retro 50′s era here at Marion’s Gastro Diner. It’s the perfect place to host your bi-annual Grease Lightning themed party or go bowling with a bunch of friends and realize that you don’t need alcohol or David Guetta to have a good time! They do serve cocktails and beers here though, if your bowling is really not your thing.

Marion’s is a large American styled diner that serves up your typical diner type food. Hamburgers and pickles, baby back ribs and that classic chocolate milkshake. After dinner you can choose to go bowling to work off those calories. They’ve got super cool lanes lit up by neon and ultraviolet lights on both bottom and second floor and they’re really great for big groups and a fun afterwork session.

In all seriousness, it really is a refreshing take on a night out with friends. It could serve as a great pre-party place as it’s located walking distance from Stureplan (clubbing central! untz untz) and the 50′s style decor makes for great photos to upload on Facebook and tag the members of your family so they stop asking you if you actually have real friends… Story of my life.

Regardless! Bowling is 250kr/hour for one lane before 16:00 and 400kr from 16:00 till 01:00. Strike out now!

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Marion’s Gastro Diner | Bars, Restaurants (American)
Kungsgatan 37 | City/Norrmalm | +46854611000
Mon – Wed 11:00 – 00:00, Thu 11:00 – 01:00, Fri 11:00 – 2:00, Sat 13:00 – 02:00, Sun 13:00 – 00:00

Image by Aaron L

Situated right around the corner of my apartment, Ramblas is a very small dimly lit tapas restaurant that serves up a delicious assortment of tapas for affordable prices. Its that winning combination that draws all the locals here to eat. It almost always full during every day throughout the week so be sure to make a reservation the day of or the day before!

Their tapas menu covers everything from gaspacho (cold tomato soup), dates rolled in bacon to my all time favorite gambas al ajillo. The tapas are served on flat brown bowls that quickly leave your table without space for your glass of sangria. Its a great place to go with friends or with that special someone to enjoy a jug of sangria, great food and a bustling cosy neighborhood restaurant.

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

Image by Aaron L

In each major area or hub of Stockholm city, you’ll be able to find different indoor ‘markets’ where you can go to buy high quality meats. fresh produce, dried herbs and etc. Perhaps the most famous of them and quite popular for the tourists and locals alike is Ostermalmshallen. However, in this post I’ll be talking about the lesser known, ever-busy Hotorgshallen located right in the city center.

Everytime my sister and I shop on Drottningatan we make it a point to stop here (like many of the other shoppers) to recharge and get our dose of vitamins and minerals with the huge variety of dried fruits, nuts and berries which are free to sample and try. We used to be quite shy but now its a fight with the other curious and hungry shoppers to get the last dried Incaberry.

Along with the meat and seafood vendors you can find different restaurants, fine chocolates as well as a Finnish food store all in Hotorgshallen. It’s definitely one of the most diverse halls in Stockholm city. What’s special about Hotorgshallen and all other ‘halls’ in Stockholm is that every vendor has very high standards for the freshness and quality of what they sell or serve, so you are sure to be getting the very best without having to pay a very high price!

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Hötorgshallen | Art & culture, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Restaurants (Fresh)
Hötorgshallen, 11157 | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Thu 10:00 – 18:00, Fri 10:00 – 18:30, Sat 10:00 – 16:00