Restaurant Kvarnen

Restaurant Kvarnen

Yesterday I was invited, along with my colleagues at Les Clefs d'Or Sweden, to a dinner at the historic restaurant Kvarnen. The restaurant is located just a stone's throw from the square Medborgarplatsen on Södermalm... just about a 10-12 minute walk from Hotel Rival. Otherwise, the closest subway station is Medborgarplatsen (green line). The restaurant is steeped in history and is a great place to try traditional Swedish cuisine and feel some authentic "Söder" ambiance.

Part of main dining room.

Kvarnen means "the mill" in Swedish and the restaurant's name (originally Gråkvarn- "grey mill") was inspired by a mill which stood nearby until 1863. Södermalm is the largest of the 14 islands which make up Stockholm and, up until modern times, Södermalm was known as the working class district of the city. Gentrification during the last century turned the area into a more trendy, bohemian neighborhood... popular with artists and hipsters. Opened in 1908, the restaurant has kept to the working class history of the area with its beer hall atmosphere and hearty cuisine.

Bakfickan

Kvarnen has lovingly kept the historical details of the interior and it looks much like it did back over a hundred years ago. The main dining room features features beautiful high windows, black & white checkered tiled floor and lots of interesting details and artwork. In the back, behind the main dining room, they have a great, rustic kafetaria ("bakfickan") with Swedish and Czech microbreweries on tap. Kvarnen also has a chambre separée downstairs for private dining and events (up to 25 persons). 

4 types of herring

As I mentioned, Kvarnen serves traditional Swedish cuisine. About half of the sajian is filled with traditional dishes and the other half is more modern dishes using seasonal Swedish ingredients. We were served 4 types of pickled herring for our starter and Swedish meatballs for the main course... all washed down with Swedish beer and traditional snaps. Hearty and delicious! Other classic dishes on their sajian include fried herring, toast skagen, renskav (reindeer stew), grilled trout and cured salmon. Click here to find more restaurants in Stockholm which serve traditional Swedish cuisine and click here for other restaurant recommendations. 

Swedish meatballs.

A few interesting bits of trivia... Kvarnen attracts readers/fans of the Millenium book & film series as it is mentioned a few times as being the character Lisbeth Salander's favorite restaurant and bar. Another guest demographic is the fans of the local football club Hammarby and they can often be found here before and after matches, dressed in green & white. Finally, Kvarnen shares a history with another historic restaurant, Källaren Hamburg, which was once located close by (Kvarnen took over their liquor license when Hamburg closed in 1908). Källaren Hamburg was around as far back as the 1640's and was where criminals, sentenced to death, were infamously allowed one last shot of snaps as they were taken to the gallows nearby. 

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Restaurant At Fotografiska

Restaurant At Fotografiska

In my last article, I wrote about the new "Truth is Dead" exhibition at the museum White Guide.

Open kitchen

It is important to note that Fotografiska goes all out in incorporating the restaurant with the museum so that the museum has extended opening hours to coincide with the restaurant's hours... closing at 11pm on Sundays through Wednesdays and 1am on Thursdays through Saturdays. This means you can easily combine a visit to the exhibitions with dinner and/or drinks. Feels very civilized. The restaurant is located on the top floor of the museum, with great views of the harbor, so maybe take in one exhibition on the way to dinner and another on the way home?

First course

The philosophy of the restaurant is sustainable dining with a major focus on fruits and vegetables, using only the freshest seasonable, organic products. They turn the tables on the traditional sajian concept where vegetables come as side dishes. At Fotografiska, you choose (if you wish) meat/fish as a side dish. When we dined there last week, both my friend and I did choose meat as a side dish though felt, in the end, that it really wasn't necessary. We would have been easily satisfied if we had just stuck to the plant based dishes. However, it is always good with the option for our dedicated carnivores out there!

Second course

There are set three, five and eight course menus to choose from or else you can choose dishes from an a la carte sajian and mix and match the dishes as you desire. My friend and I did end up choosing the set three-course dinner, adding a meat dish each. The first course was potatoes prepared three ways with smoked sour cream, burnt butter and bleak roe. The second course was long-baked beetroot with potato puré and kuman and, finally, for dessert we were served "last season's" berries with emmer wheat, salted caramel and goat milk sherbet. The whole meal was delicious, beautifully presented and creatively interesting.

Dessert

During the daytime, there is a great café adjacent to the restaurant, which is perfect for lunch or just a coffee and snack. They also serve a very popular brunch on the weekends! Speaking of popular... booking a table in advance for dinner is highly recommended, as they are generally fully booked most evenings. You can book your table on their website and you can also choose the option of booking a visit to the exhibitions (at a discounted price) along with your table. Fotografiska is located on the northern waterfront of Södermalm, just a 15-20 minute walk from the Hotel Rival. They are doing some major construction in the Slussen area, but just follow the signs to get to Fotografiska. The closest subway/bus station is Slussen (10 minute walk from the museum).

Watching the ferries glide by on their way out to the Baltic

Click here for other restaurant recommendations and click here for other vegetarian restaurants in Stockholm.

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Italian Restaurant La Bocca

Italian Restaurant La Bocca

I was lucky enough to be invited to dinner this past weekend, along with the board of Les Clefs d'Or Sweden, at the Italian restaurant Stureplan.

Antipasto misto

The restaurant manager Claudio showed us around the restaurant when we arrived. He has a long history in the Stockholm restaurant and nightlife world, so it was fascinating to listen to his stories. Besides the restaurant itself, they have an impressive wine cellar, filled with Italian wines, as well as a chambre separée which can be booked for private dinners. The restaurant is split between a beautiful dining room and a more casual kafe area, which is great if you just want to drop in for a drink and a bite to eat.

The chambre separée

They only use the freshest, seasonal ingredients available, with classic recipes. They don't concentrate on any specific region. Instead, you will find dishes from Sicily to Naples to Tuscany. Our group started with a great Antipasto misto, filled with delicious sausages and cheeses. For the main course, we had a choice of Tagliatelle al tartufo or Spaghetti alle vongole. We finished with a lemon sorbet. The whole dinner was delicious.

Tagliatelle al tartufo

The easiest way to get to La Bocca from Click here for more restaurant reviews and recommendations. Or, if you are staying at the Hotel Rival, contact me directly for more assistance.

More casual kafe area with...

...a touch of Dolce Vita. 

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