Östermalm Stockholm – All our local tips

The bar Babs is sort of hidden away – behind the lobby of cultural movie theatre Zita. Zita doesn’t show the average Hollywood blockbusters but more alternative films that appeal to smaller audiences, like documentaries. And even if you can go to Babs without seeing a movie first, the type of customers is similar.

Babs is quite grown up and relaxed. It’s a place to come and chat with friends or with colleges after work. The music is there, but not important since this is a place for conversation, not party. They do serve food but the atmosphere is more of that in a bar.

The thing that best mirrors the alternative of the movie theatre is the bathroom – you have to take a look! 70’s wall paper, odd pictures on the walls and an old radio playing elevator music.

It’s location is on the street that divides the areas of Östermalm and Norrmalm but since most people walk up here coming from Stureplan on Spotted by locals it belongs to Östermalm.

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Babs Kök & Bar | Bars, Restaurants (Fancier bar food) | Main meal from SEK 194
Birger Jarlsgatan 37 | Östermalm | +468236101
Mon – Tue 17:00 – 00:00, Wed – Sat 17:00 – 01:00, Sun 16:00 – 22:00

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), 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 near by.

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

This part of fancy Östermalm is sort of quiet in the evenings. There are not many people roaming the streets and not heaps of places to choose from. But people in the know still find their way to the bar/restaurant Elverket.

It’s a relaxed place to have a beer after work – since it’s the closest, decent bar to the public service radio and tv stations it’s become a bit of a media hang out. Later on weekend nights it can get quite busy with people who like Södermalm but just find themselves in this area instead.

And of course there are also theatre goers in the crowd. The Elverket stage usually has alternative performances and they are very popular. When I went to see the amazing Romeo and Juliet with acrobatic Circus Cirkör part of the ensemble the tickets had to be booked months ahead. You can find out what’s on, on the Dramaten website, but most info is in Swedish.

The bar and restaurant area is spacy and there are lots of places to sit, both on cosy cushions and on tall bar stools. Also nice that they have an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs at work.

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Elverket | Bars, Theaters | Brooklyn Lager beer SEK 55.00
Linnégatan 69 | Östermalm | +4686612562
Bar: Tue – Thu 11:00 – 23:00, Fri – Sat 11:00 – 01:00
Restaurant Fri – Sat 11:00 – 01:00, Sun 11:00 – 15:00 & 17:00 – 21:00

Going to concerts isn’t usually cheap in Stockholm! In fact, most of the times one must even decide well in advance! Well, that was until I found the Royal College of Music in Stockholm a couple of years ago.

The students from this college are among the best music students in the country. They have been practicing for many years and holding a concert is nothing new for them. In short, they are good! Concerts are held frequently and even last year examination concerts are opened for public.

I typically enjoy going to the small jazzy ones on Tuesdays in lilla salen, but check out also for the folk and classical music concerts. I always have a great time there… and it’s free!

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Musikhögskolan | Music | Free
Valhallavägen 105 | Östermalm | +468161800
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Sweden is very famous for their fashion designers with brands such as Filippa K, Acne, Cheap Monday (see the Weekday – Cheap Monday article) and H&M achieving international status. I believe that this results from the fact that most Swedes give a long thought about what they wear, thus creating a widespread knowledge and interest in their image. And as an haircut is also part of every-one’s image, it’s no surprise that Swedish hairdressers are also popular. In fact there are around 500 hair salons just inside the small Stockholm Municipality.

And even though there are many good ones, Noir is the spot I pick when it’s time to cut the hair. This is a fairly new place in Stockholm with plenty of extraordinarily talented, fun and young people working there making this salon an unpretentious and relaxed place. Also, if you are eager to go out for some drinks or even more serious partying just ask your hairdresser about the hot events for the coming days as they are very updated on Stockholm’s nightlife.

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Noir | Relaxing | Haircut SEK 690.00
Regeringsgatan 80 | Östermalm | +468238090
Tue – Wed 09:00 – 18:00, Thu 09:00 – 19:00, Fri 09:00 – 18:00, Sat 09:00 – 17:00

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 has clients on their thirties from the creative backgrounds such as art, fashion or design. 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 laid-back atmosphere and the interesting and easy to talk people.

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Riche | Bars | 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

I came here fore the first time when I was sixteen and Saturnus was a hangout for teenagers. They had those massive cinnamon rolls that were served in trendy cafés in the mid nineties. I thought it was amazing back then. And while the interior and clientele has changed since then Saturnus has retained the nice atmosphere and the cinnamon rolls.

Apart from that you can get French style salads, hot sandwiches like croque monsieur and soup. The massive cakes bring the US to mind, as does the striped wallpapers and kitschy gold framed menu board. So rather than being a French café, Saturnus of 2010 feels more like North America doing French than anything else.

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Saturnus | Coffee & tea, Snacks
Eriksbergsgatan 6 | Östermalm | +466117700
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 19:00

Sturehof is probably the kind of bar you will find in a Stockholm guidebook. But there is a risk that you won’t get any further than to the first bar if you are not familiar with the place. I know I would probably get stuck there. Luckily I was accompanied by a regular at my first visit here and she took me past the first bar, through the restaurant to the middle bar.

In my opinion this middle bar is more pleasant than the first bar. There is something about the green ballerina skirts they cover the lamps in the ceiling with that appeals to me. The crowd in this bar is also slightly younger than in the first bar. Even if Sturehof is located at Stureplan, the posh area in the city, you don’t get that snotty feeling other bars in this area can give you.

Coming here hungry shouldn’t be a problem since you find the restaurant between the divorce bar and the middle bar. The food is a good mix of Swedish and French dishes. Not cheap-cheap, but they do have a few dishes that won’t leave a too big hole in your pocket. If you want the bar feeling you can still order food at the bar too.

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Sturehof | Bars, Restaurants (Swedish-French) | Glass of wine SEK 85.00
Sturegallerian 42, Stureplan 2 | Östermalm | +46084405730
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 02:00, Sat 12:00 – 02:00, Sun 13:00 – 02:00