Stockholm Stadshotell

World-renowned Chef Björn Frantzén provides a truly immersive experience that you won't forget in a hurry at his uber-stylish restaurant. Ring the bell to enter, before enjoying an aperitif in the top-floor lounge while the day's ingredients are explained, then head to the dining room with its beautiful counter seating to witness the exceptionally talented chefs at work as they craft creative, perfectly executed dishes. The service works like clockwork to enhance the experience.

After more than a decade at their former address, chef-owners Adam and Albin moved to a handsome 19th-century building beside the opera and opposite the Swedish parliament. The interior features a seductive dark-wood panelled lounge with a curated art collection and a light, spacious dining room boasting an impressive wine cellar. Both the ‘Seasonal’ and shorter ‘Selection’ menus feature highly accomplished dishes cooked over open flames, such as squid with Noir de Bigorre lardo, white icicle radish, coriander blossom and green cardamom jus or blue-shelled lobster with fig, turnip and saffron.

If you're celebrating, then you've come to the right place. Sweden's most opulent restaurant sits within the historic Royal Opera House, and the sumptuous, high-ceilinged room comes bedecked with glittering chandeliers, huge paintings and original carved and gilded oak panelling dating back to 1895. Conversely, the place is run by a young team and comes with cool music and modern international cooking that might include the likes of mallard with burnt apple and trevisano or langoustine with hazelnut, vanilla, white truffle and brown butter vinaigrette. The accompanying wine list is remarkable.

The magnificent, imposing Grand Hôtel is the home for this decadent restaurant, where rich flavours and impeccable Nordic seafood reign supreme. The tasting menu takes you through a roll-call of high-end fish and shellfish, whether it’s sweet langoustine, milky raw shrimp or Oscietra caviar, the ultimate premium ingredient. Each one is treated with great skill by the chefs, with Japanese influences like wasabi, yuzu and chawanmushi making an appearance. It all comes at a price, but the luxuriousness of the produce is undeniable.

Charming in its lack of pretension, this bohemian neighbourhood restaurant has a homely feel. It’s simply furnished and the pared-back cooking has an unfussiness to match. Dishes show technical skill and provide some well-judged flavours using great Swedish ingredients. In an expensive city, the set menu presents good value for cooking of this quality.

This lively wine bar is a perfect fit for the neighbourhood. Sit at closely set tables or on high stools either up at the bar counter or next to the window, surrounded by paintings and hunting trophies, including some impressive antlers and a huge wild boar’s head. Order your way through the menu of small plates, which highlight Swedish ingredients and flavours, and feature the likes of cheese balls with garlic honey or pork neck skewer with oyster sauce and chives. Three stainless steel tanks contain home-distilled gin – flavours change regularly, courtesy of various herbs, oils and fruits.

The net-curtained windows give little away, but once inside you’ll find an elegant room that’s a perfect match for this chic neighbourhood. The chefs work with calm efficiency in the open kitchen and service is attentive and perfectly paced. The detailed cooking has a classic French base but combines modern techniques and international flavours to create stunningly flavoured dishes such as ‘scallop, white truffle, white chocolate, carnaroli risotto’ or ‘roe deer, blood, black garlic, Tellicherry pepper’. Acidity also plays a key role, being employed in harmonious ways to really lighten the dis