Bars

If the 90’s was the decade of the DJ, the 00’s belong to the bartender. The Stockholm bartenders spend as much time updating the bar menu as discjockeys do on their record collections. But when it comes to alcohol, Swedes never were very sophisticated drinkers. This is a fact which makes alcohol subject to a strict government policy – a 17th century probation law says that alcohol is not to be served before lunch. Alcohol is expensive in this country, due to heavy taxes, and is only sold under tight regulations at governmentrun store chain Systembolaget or at restaurants with a special license.The drinking age is 18, but restaurant owners are free to set their own rules which is why some of the most popular bars in the inner city area practise a quite strict door policy. Nevertheless: nightlife has boomed during the 90’s, and the low tolerance from the past has been replaced with an attitude towards alcohol that is a lot more continental, free and tolerant. And among the tremendous number of bars that have mushroomed in Stockholm lately, we have listed the most modern, exciting and innovative ones.

HOTELLET
Linnégatan 18
tel: +46 8 442 89 00
www.hotellet.info
Young, suntanned style clones with well padded wallets – say the cynics, anyway. But Hotellet is more than just a nursery for the jeunesse dorée. The cellar is the best-looking space in the nightlife world, the bartenders mix superb cocktails and the level of drunken abandon is less intense than at neighboring clubs.

NADA
Åsögatan 140
tel. +46 8 644 70 20
Like hanging out at a good friend’s place, especially on nights when the bartender forgets to charge you. Here they put most of their effort into being friendly, an attitude it’s tough to find fault with. A jukebox takes up a lot of space in the bar, yet sound levels are moderate and the intimate atmosphere is intense.

OLSSONS VIDEO
Odengatan 41
tel: +46 8 673 38 00
www.storstad.se
Former shoe store Olssons skor, later the bar Olssons Skor, is now the members-only bar Olssons Video. Olssons is flirting with porno esthetics. The membership card (you can usually get in without one) looks like it’s for a porn video shop. At the rear of the darkly lit space is a stripper’s dance pole. Demihip Stockholmers have always had a thing for (sort of) forbidden fruit.

RICHE
Birger Jarlsgatan 4
tel: +46 8 545 03 560
www.riche.se
A reliable magnet attracting everybody who’s willing to pay a little more for their beer for the privilege of drinking it with fashion victims, media junkies and ad agency divas. Stockholm’s hippest DJs take turns in the booth. All feet on the dance floor in the wee hours. Riche is that flirtation with decadent luxury you never seem to be able to kick, even if sometimes you feel like you would be better off without it.

STUREHOF
Stureplan 2
+46 8 440 57 30
A catwalk, a fine restaurant and a playground for beautiful downtown grown-ups. Sturehof offers a choice of four bars: the windowless, rock-tinged O-bar deep in the hidden interior, the middle bar for trendies, the stand-up bar looking out on Stureplan for the more mature crowd, and outdoor seating in the summertime.

TRANAN
Karlbergsvägen 14
tel: +46 8 527 28 100
www.tranan.se
A modern classic serving well prepared Swedish country fare in an old chemists’ shop. The cellar is where the action is, in the bar that never seems to go out of style. DJs rub elbows with the media elite and the hoi-polloi. High-spirited yet easy going any day of the week.

 

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