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

Every time I go to Grandpa I get a homey feeling that is a bit unusual when entering design clothing stores. This mainly arises from the cozy home-like retro decoration as well as the extremely friendly personnel which I have consistently encountered here over the years.

Grandpa is mainly a fashion store that has a very good mix of Swedish and other International brands like April 77, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Whyred, Uniforms for the dedicated among others. But besides the clothes one can also find furniture, decoration (such as porcelain tigers), gadgets, and movies.

There’s often a DJ playing music and on the last Thursday of each month the Södermalm’s store is opened until 9pm (SoFo Night) and wine is offered to their customers. In the Fridhemsplan’s store there is both a café as well as a bigger furniture section, including new and second-hand products.

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Grandpa | Shopping | Jeans SEK 1000
Södermannagatan 21 | Södermalm | +4686436080
Mon – Fri 11:30 – 18:30, Sat 11:30 – 17:00, Sun 12:00 – 16:00

Stockholm is packed with cafés that mostly have a modern design or just a cozy one. Rival tries to fill this gap by being a sophisticated and smart but yet homey place to hang out. Its Parisian-like decoration with mirrors and photos of famous and not-so-famous Swedes as well as its big windows turned to the trees of Mariatorget make this spot a great place for meeting a friend, work, study or just reading the daily newspaper.

Café Rival has his own bakery and during lunch time serves great crossover food ranging from soups and pastas to quinoa salads. While it is typically full during lunch time it is possible to find a table without any waiting, most of the time. It is also very popular among locals for an afternoon coffee as it has delicious pastry.

Besides the main local just at the entrance, there is also a smaller one a level above and in case you get to pass by here on a sunny day, just take a sit on the tables outside overlooking the calm Mariatorget park.

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Café Rival | Coffee & tea | Quinoa salad SEK 80.00
Mariatorget 3 | Södermalm | +4654578900
Mon – Fri 08:00 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 19:00, Sun 09:00 – 19:00

What I love about cooking is the experimental part. Trying out new methods, mixing common ingredients in unusual ways and most importantly finding out about new ingredients. It is with no surprise that this is a spot I love going to! Mostly because they dare, thus making this an inspirational place for my home cooking.

Matkultur is a multicultural restaurant where food and ingredients from opposite parts of the world are combined in order to create a new experience. Things that I never thought would make sense together result in simply extraordinary dishes. The menu is very short, but it is modified regularly and even with these (positive) changes I find the food to be consistently excellent.

This is a small place that aims to have a slow tempo but it is always full and one must book a table for the weekend, although I’d also recommend doing the same during the week. Just go there, Matkultur has some of the coolest food in town.

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Matkultur | Restaurants (Multicultural) | Main meal SEK 200
Erstagatan 21 | Södermalm | +4686420353
Mon – Sat 17:00 – 00:00

This place is like a sanctuary to me! I go there to buy great flour for baking bread (they have manitoba cream!), the best dark chocolates, presents for friends, fresh deli products and things you never thought about but that soon you can’t live without.

Even though I tend to use the term supermarket, my friends usually explain to me that Fine Food is actually a deli store. They are right. This deli store started in Hammarby Sjöstad by a couple of chefs that believe that the best food shouldn’t only be available to the best restaurants but also to individuals. It gained so many followers that come from all over town, that it has now expanded to another area of Hammarby Sjöstad as well as to Kungsholmen.

And if you are in the South of of Södermalm on a sunny day and feel like having a already made meal just take the free boat that runs continuously over to Sjöstaden and either take a sandwich or a warm meal and enjoy your lunch next to the water. But if it’s too cold for that just sit inside in the newly open Fine Kitchen that is now serving great food for fine prices.

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Fine Food | Shopping, Snacks | Lunch SEK 90.00
Hammarby allé 62 | Södermalm | +4686433420
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 20:00, Sat – Sun 09:00 – 18:00

If there are 2 things Swedes love doing, these are hanging out in the sun and drinking beer (OK, maybe they like other things too)! So, when the snow melts and the first sun rays feel lightly warm, you can see all the parks in Stockholm filling up. Vitabergsparken is clearly not an exception.

People come here from all over town to hang out in the sun, relax, have a picnic, make out, read a book, barbecue, listen (and share) music, see and be seen and drink wine or beer! Everything is doable at Vitan. The crowd is usually young and it’s also the natural habitat for the Stockholm hipster during the daylight.

I usually take the newspaper, a book or a friend and grab a beer in Folkungagatan or an ice cream at Nytorget just before hitting for the hill. In fact, if I am looking for something a bit calmer, I just stay at the less flashy Nytorget, typically frequented by families.

Unfortunately sun disappears faster than on the white hill (vita berg). Ah, I almost forgot saying that Vitabergsparken is located above the house level and turned south but then again, is there anyone going there for the sun only?

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Vitabergsparken | Relaxing | Free
Vitabergsparken | Södermalm
24 hours daily

I love Indian food. For me, this is the perfect comfort food, and even though I love cooking, I stopped making Indian food at home as it usually takes a big effort and one can enjoy great indian meals out for very affordable prices.

There are many good indian restaurants in Stockholm but Shanti is one of my favorites, along with Indian Garden. It is typically full even during the week and I’d recommend everyone who is going there on weekends either not to show up during dinner rush hour or to just book a table in advance.

Shanti has the typical indian dishes such as tandoori, tikka masala and palak paneer which are consistently excellent. Food is usually served on traditional indian metal dishes and during these global warming times it is important to notice that this spot mostly uses ecological products in its very warm atmosphere. Ah, and the naan bread is worth trying too, but don’t even waste your time trying to get it before your meal, as the chef has some Gordon Ramsays tendencies…

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Shanti | Restaurants (Indian) | Tikka Masala SEK 130.00
Katarina Bangata 58 | Södermalm | +4686426722
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 23:00, Sat – Sun 13:00 – 00:00

Some time ago, Shanti (see the Shanti article) was by far my favorite Indian restaurant in town. I had been in many of them, including Indian Garden. In fact I had been there several times and they always had good food. But Shanti too, plus a great location and atmosphere. So I had forgotten about Indian Garden…

That was until a friend of mine decided to gather a small group of friends for his 30 year old party on a Monday, just before people got their salaries. If you know Stockholm well enough, then you know that this is the perfect combination an empty restaurant. When I arrived, the place was packed. The tables where not only fully occupied, but there where people waiting for a table! I was mesmerized! Had Stockholmers changed or had the place changed?

Well, after passing through the crowd at the door and looking for my table I noticed that the place had a much better decoration. The music also helped making a rather cozy atmosphere. Then food came to remind me how much I love Indian food: perfect! We all stayed until the spot closed down, and that’s when I noticed that the people working there are extremely friendly and kind. Well, Shanti is much closer to where I live, but Indian Garden is well worth the extra 15 minutes ride. Just need to remember to book in advance.

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Indian Garden | Restaurants (Indian) | Chicken Tikka Masala SEK 115.00
Heleneborgsgatan 15 | Södermalm | +4686407430
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 23:00, Sat 12:00 – 23:00, Sun 13:00 – 22:00

Total package. Thats how I would describe Samba Sushi. Located on the busy shopping street of Götgatan in Slussen, it serves some of the tastiest made-before-your-eyes sushi in Stockholm.

Not only is the food great but its location is ideal. The street on which it’s located, is the shopping hub for the hipsters and indie fashionistas. Samba Sushi is located smack in the middle of that scene so you’ve basically got front row seats to the Stockholm’s never ending fashion show while stuffing your face with amazing sushi.

The restaurant itself is small and the decor, simple with bar-like seating all around (so make sure to beat the lunch crowd!). The prices are slightly higher than average but for what you get (location and great taste) it’s worth it. Try it out the next time you’re town. You can thank me later

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Samba Sushi | Restaurants (Japanese) | Main course from SEK 90
Götgatan 28 | Södermalm
Mon – Fri 11:00 – 20:00, Sat 12:00 – 17:00

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