Image by Tiki Room

You feel a whole mixture of excitement, curiosity and the slight need for a wee as you walk down the iron staircase of the average run-of-the-mill restaurant (that serves portions too small on plates too large) and enter the bar with bamboo covered walls, Tiki heads and bartenders in Hawaiian shirts. “Aloha!” you say, catching your balance after tripping on the last step.

The Tiki Room is located in the basement of Mellow, a slightly upscale restaurant located in St. Eriksplan. The bar serves up drinks inspired by Polynesian culture and are served in a Shrunken Skull. If you’re in the party mood you can order HAWAI’IAN LANAI (LAVA BOWL) which is made for 2-3 people to share. It’s served in a large bowl with Tiki heads surrounding it and a volcano in the middle with a flaming shot of sambuca. A must try!

The bar has the Polynesian theme running through everything. Retro tv, 50′s rock, red leather chairs and diner-esqeue sitting booths to through you back in time. The cocktails are great and the bartenders super friendly and can make you anything you want even if its not on the menu. Just tell them what sorta flavors you’re jonesin’ and consider it done.

Definitely one of my most unique find here in Stockholm city.

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The Tiki Room | Bars, Music
Birkagatan 10 | Vasastan | +468331555
Mon – Sat 16:00 – 01:00

Image by Aaron L

Attention hungry tourist. Have you ever wanted to have 3 types of cheesecakes, a big fluffy marang, tiramisu, a large chicken salad and 17 types of tea all at the same time? Yes?! Me too! Add me on Facebook.

Cafe 60 in downtown Stockholm can offer all that and much, much more. It’s located on the corner of Sveavägen and past Stockholm’s iconic blue concert hall. I just have to stress this once more…imagine your average café, now take that café, force feed it horse vitamins and inject it with steroids and voila! You get Cafe 60.

A household name in many ways with the locals, Cafe 60 has definitely carved a place for itself in the heavily saturated fika industry of Stockholm. It has a huge variety of teas (up to 30 or more), an even larger selection of cakes, pastries and other things of that nature as well as king kong salads and an ample amount of seating both down and upstairs.

Besides being spoilt for choice, what makes Cafe 60 special is that it is one of very few cafes in Stockholm that are open past 00:00. So now let me ask that question again: Have you ever wanted to have 3 types of cheesecakes, a large fluffy marang, tiramisu, a large chicken salad and 17 types of tea all at the same time at 2 o’clock in the morning? If so, you know what to do.

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Cafe 60 | Coffee & tea
Sveavagen 60 | City/Norrmalm
Mon – Thu 07:00 – 00:00, Sat 09:00 – 02:00, Sun 10:00 – 00:00

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

Fish and chips eat your heart out! Sweden’s version of the classic English favorite checks all the tasty boxes and comes up on top. Why is it better? First of all its Swedish, second, it’s healthier (it’s got some cucumbers…) and finally, it’s not covered in oily batter that’ll make you break out.

It is called nystekt strömming (freshly fried herring) and the best one you can find is a stall right outside on the square at Slussen subway station (Södermalmstorg). You can’t miss it. It’s been raved about by numerous publications and it’s equally popular with the locals as with the tourists. During the summers its not unusual to see a queue from the little kiosk window to…somewhere far from that little kiosk window. Anyway, humans are programmed to think that if there’s a queue, whatever it is, it’s gonna be good.

What you’ll be enjoying is the fried herring, some mashed potatoes of course and a special relish made of cucumber, radish and red onions. You’ll be able to choose a few variations: as a burger, a dish or in the old school way which is on a piece of knäckebrod a.k.a “Is that cardboard?” a.k.a brown Swedish hard bread.

It’s the perfect street snack before exploring Gamla Stan, the Royal Palace and/or the Stockholm’s City Museum which is right next to the stall. If you’re interested in more street food Stockholm has to offer, check out my article about Tunnbrödsrulle.

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Nystekt Strömming | Snacks | Main dish SEK 50
Södermalmstorg | Södermalm
Mon – Fri 10:00 – 19:00, Sat – Sun 12:00 – 17:00

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