My passion for food is quite evident I suppose, as I always find myself feasting, wine tasting and generally in situations where you can’t refuse the bite. I always run out of storage space on my phone, where there are plenty of unpublished photos, food included. Every day I swear by the fact that the next day will be different, I will be done with my pig out sessions as I like to call them, but then situations come up, like this one! My friend and fellow travel blogger Marissa of Travel Greece, Travel Europe had a surprise in store, after the Rooftop hiking in Stockholm, we were joining Food Tours Stockholm for a deliciously packed afternoon. Can you find a better way to explore a city, than by happily munching away?
We missed a small part of the tour and joined the rest of the group in a restaurant called Kamarina, to our surprise it was a Greek restaurant in Södermalm and did feel like being right at home. Stockholm’s food culture is quite diverse as our guide Erik Lennartsson explained, there are new restaurants opening up daily as the Swedes favour a new approach to dining which is a combination of quality ingredients with a relaxed, yet hip environment.
Kamarina is one of the first Greek restaurants that opened in Stockholm and is run by Spiros and Yvonne Matsaidonis. We sampled a few traditional Greek dishes such as the Greek salad, Moussaka, green beans (fasolakia) and the famous dips (tzatziki, melitzanosalata, tirokavteri and taramosalata). Erik tested everyones knowledge of the Greek dishes, Marissa and I promised not to cheat and giveaway the answers. We also tried the retsina wine which is a distinct Greek wine, flavoured with pine resin.
The next stop of our walking food tour was to try Authentic Indian cuisine at Shanti, a restaurant run by two brothers, Naim and Nahid. Translating from Indian the word means peace. Here in a cozy setting we were treated to real Indian food.
Erik and the rest of the group outside of Shanti Indian Restaurant
What was particularly interesting was the presentation of the dish as our food came on a four small courses plate which has been designed to accommodate the Swedish food culture. As Erik mentioned, Swedes don’t like sharing their food thus they get a small portion of each dish on their own plate. We tried their famous chilli chicken which is cooked in a tandoori oven at 600°F, served with Indian Raita — a sweet yogurt sauce.
The special four small courses plate designed to accommodate the Swedish food culture
Our foodie experience wasn’t over yet, it was only the beginning as we headed towards our next destination, the Urban Deli. Erik spoke about the popularity of the urban culture and how Södermalm is a popular hang out place for the hipster dads. We passed through a playground which was full of these hipster dads happily hanging out and playing with their toddlers. These dads love cool hang-out places where the atmosphere laid-back and modern.
Hipster dads of Stockholm
Urban Deli is a popular neighbourhood brasserie inspired by New York’s bustling food culture. Here you will find a restaurant, bar, delicatessen and bakery all under one roof. Here you will find anything from delicious cheeses, seafood, cold-cuts, vegetables, you name it. We got to taste the treats right from the counter!
Swedish specialty, caviar in tubes
Delicious cream cheese
Prosciutto bites
The oyster platter looked very appealing, although we didn’t try it, we asked to photograph it. We did however sample their famous smoked shrimps, which you must definitely try if you are a fan of seafood.
Oysters anyone?
Our food journey doesn’t stop here as we leave the brasserie and follow Erik a few steps down the street to a rotisserie that serves everything from suckling pig to chickens and ducks on a grill. At Nytorget 6 we were sat at a table and served a glass of beer and a Bellini first.
The restaurant has an open kitchen, serving classic cuisine which is blended with exquisite samples of the modern Nordic culinary tradition. The roast fowl with the touch of sauces, cranberries included was exquisite.
It was time to savour the sweet side of Stockholm as we happily strolled to the Chokladfabriken, Erik led us in to the backside of the kitchen — a heaven for the chocolate lovers. We learned about the process of chocolate praline making. The chocolate master, Martin Isaksson uses ingredients such as an award-winning chocolate called Maracaibo Clasificado 65%, as well as traditional Swedish flavors: cloudberry, lingonberry and rosehip. Martin Isaksson served in the Swedish National Culinary team for four years and his pastry skills have been tried by many influential people, including Sweden’s Royal Family.
Award-winning chocolate called Maracaibo Clasificado 65%
Have you ever had chocolate praline topped with salt? We did and it had a caramel filling too! Quite an interesting flavor!
Our walking food tour ended at the restaurant located on the top floor of Fotografiska museum. The signature menu created by the celebrity chef Paul Svensson is anything but ordinary.
Here we had what the Swedes call fika — which is basically a coffee break with pastries. After all the delicious food that we had throughout our tour, freshly brewed coffee was welcoming.
With our passionate guide, Erik
Do you have a passion for food? Then this Culinary Södermalm tour with Food Tours Stockholm is exactly for you. Have you been on any culinary tours in Stockholm?
Tour information:
Duration: Approximately 3½-4 hours
Price: 795 Sek approximately 84 Euro. All food is included, some alcohol sampling.
To book your tour click here.
*We were guests of the Food Tours Stockholm, however all opinions expressed are my own.*
