Stockholm’s dining scene feels more confident than it has in years. The city has gradually moved away from the stricter side of New Nordic minimalism – the restrained plating, foraging culture, and Scandinavian austerity once defined by places like Gastrologik, Oaxen Krog, Volt, and Agrikultur – towards something warmer and more relaxed. The technical precision and ingredient focus remain, but today they’re paired with louder flavours and dining rooms people genuinely want to spend time in.
What makes Stockholm especially interesting right now is how naturally different styles coexist. Natural wine bars sit comfortably alongside polished fine dining destinations, while neo-bistros and ambitious neighbourhood restaurants continue to shape the city’s energy. Many chefs with Michelin-starred backgrounds have stepped away from rigid tasting-menu culture and opened places centred more around atmosphere, generosity, and a looser, more convivial style of dining. The result is a scene that feels less performative than it once did – and more fun to eat in.
– Oliver Jansson, a Stockholm-based food and travel writer whose work explores restaurants, wine, and culinary culture across the Nordics and beyond.
To help navigate Stockholm's evolving food scene, Oliver Jansson shares the places he returns to most often, from morning coffee and pastries to memorable dinners and cocktails.
Breakfast / Bakeries / Café
Lillebrors Bageri
Lillebrors has become part of my weekend rhythm. The sourdough is among the best in the city, the pastries deeply rooted in craftsmanship rather than trends, and the whole place carries that unmistakable smell of browned butter and fresh bread early in the morning. I especially love stopping by just as Stockholm is waking up and the trays are still warm from the oven.
Pascal
Pascal is my go-to coffee spot in town. The coffee is consistently great - helped by the fact that they roast it themselves in their own micro roastery - and the sandwiches and pastries are just as reliable: simple things, done properly.
Krümel
Krümel treats cookies with a level of seriousness I find deeply charming. Each one lands in that ideal middle ground - crisp around the edges, soft and almost molten at the centre - while the flavours stay playful without becoming gimmicky. Their Crème Brûlée cookie has become my personal weakness there.
Lunch
Bord
Bord just gets it right, every single time. There’s a rare sense of ease to the whole experience - fire-led cooking, thoughtful wines, warm service - all delivered with pure confidence. A place that makes you want to slow down, order an excellent bottle, and stay a little longer than planned. Note that Bord serves lunch only on Saturdays.
Black Milk Gastro
What I like about Black Milk Gastro is how unpretentious it feels despite the technical level in the kitchen. Lunch shifts the mood entirely: the formal omakase framework loosens up into a lively à la carte built around Southern European flavours, sharp seasoning, and genuinely fun cooking.
Ett Hem
Ett Hem is one of the few places in Stockholm that truly lives up to its name. Despite the polished interiors and luxurious atmosphere, everything feels deeply relaxed - thoughtful seasonal cooking, exceptional ingredients, and warm hospitality. It’s one of the places where a long lunch genuinely feels restorative.
Dinner
Miyakodori
Miyakodori is where I usually end up when the craving for Japanese food becomes impossible to ignore. The room captures that upbeat, glowing izakaya energy remarkably well - skewers smoking over the grill, cold beer flowing, blackboard specials worth paying attention to. Yakitori may be the backbone, but it’s the smaller dishes and overall atmosphere that keep pulling me back.
Bacchanale
Named after the Roman god of wine and celebration, Bacchanale carries exactly that spirit - lively, generous, and deeply charming. The cooking is boldly rustic, riffing on French bistro fare without taking itself too seriously, and the natural wine list is as easy to fall into as the room itself.
Sushi Sho
Sushi Sho still operates in a league of its own within the city’s sushi scene. The omakase is rooted in Tokyo-born Edomae tradition - precise seasoning, subtle temperature shifts, carefully calibrated rice - but the room never falls into that stiff reverence that can drain the joy out of great sushi. Good music, relaxed conversation, thoughtful sake pairings - it’s serious craftsmanship delivered with genuine ease.
Eksted
There’s still nothing quite like walking into Ekstedt. The entire experience revolves around fire, smoke, embers, and burnt butter, yet the cooking never feels heavy - just deeply Nordic, elegant, and primal. I love how the scent of charred wood hangs in the room all evening, like a campfire reimagined through the lens of fine dining.
Drinks
Le Hibou
Perched at the top of the Bank Hotel, Le Hibou feels less like a Stockholm cocktail bar and more like a softly lit salon somewhere in Paris. The drinks lean classic but arrive with modern refinements, all executed with real fingertip sensitivity. It’s the kind of place made for late evenings, and conversations that linger longer than intended.
Gondolen
Few places capture Stockholm quite like Gondolen at sunset. Sitting at the bar with their now famous Martini - freezing cold, perfectly cut, and aggressively crisp - while the evening light settles over the city is one of my favourite rituals in town.
Grus Grus
Grus Grus has become one of the places I recommend often. The wine list is curious rather than predictable - low-intervention producers, cult bottles, and enough offbeat regions to keep things interesting. But honestly, it’s the food that keeps pulling me back: bold, deeply flavoured cooking with creativity behind it.
