Stockholm’s Steakhouses
Lola A. Åkerström profiles some of the best steakhouses in Stockholm.
Photo by author.
While we often recommend digging into seafood when in Stockholm because Sweden does this type of cuisine exceptionally well, alongside husmanskost (traditional Swedish dishes) like homemade meatballs in brown gravy and a potato-meat hash called pyttipanna, there are several places in town where you can get a decent cut of meat grilled to perfection.
Steakhouses are a growing trend in the city and many local restaurants are now serving high quality meat as well as specializing in steaks fresh off the grill.
This fact has been validated by an annual competition called Årets köttkrog (Meat restaurant of the year) which recognizes the best steakhouses across the country and is sponsored by the American wine brand Beringer, based in Napa Valley, California.
If you’re looking for some prime cuts, here are a couple restaurants worth checking out while in town.
Restaurang AG
Photo courtesy of Restaurang AG
Winning Årets köttkrog three years in a row, it’s safe to say Restaurang AG might be the best steakhouse in all of Sweden and definitely Stockholm. It serves porterhouse steaks, rib steaks, and other prime cuts of meat locally sourced from Fällmans Kött as well as seasonal items like wild game in the winter and fresh lamb in the spring. You’ll find large cuts of meat hanging in its impressive fridge display by the entrance.
Items off the menu include Porterhouse steak with hash browns and creamed spinach, club steak with potato gratin and sugar snaps, and entrecôte (ribeye) on the bone with Béarnaise sauce, tomato and salad with parmesan cheese.
Djuret
Photo courtesy of Djuret.
Translating into the “The Animal” in Swedish, Djuret is all about meat. Djuret’s unique rotating menu centers on one animal. Instead of serving various meats, Djuret crafts a delicious menu around a single animal such as wild boar, making the kitchen more ecological by avoiding unnecessary slaughtering and using all edible parts.
You’ll find items like wild fowl, deer, goose, moose, and horse on its meat schedule which it publishes on its website so you can plan you trip accordingly.
For example, a menu built around horse meat could include the top round from the horse served as tartare with vinegar onions and Arbequina oil, or the leg and the chuck steak from the horse served as lasagna with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, tomato confit and butter poached fresh garlic.
Svartengrens
Photo courtesy of Svartengrens.
“We like meat,” is Svartengren’s mantra. This restaurant works with locally raised beef, reared and butchered in a sustainable way direct from the Stockholm archipelago. They also source their vegetables in a similar sustainable fashion from farmers they know and trust.
Svartengren does everything from scratch which includes dry-ageing the beef, smoking their own bacon, lengthening the seasons by pickling, and basing their stocks with bones from the same farms they get their meat.
Sample items off their menu include chili and garlic Flap steak and ribeye sausage, dry aged sirloin, and pork collar. Their menu changes daily, depending on what is available that day which means some items stay on the menu for a long time, while others are only there for a day or two.
Vassa Eggen Steak House
Photo courtesy of Vassa Eggen.
Nebraska beef, Las Vegas strip steak, and flat iron steam served with Béarnaise, red wine sauce, and roasted garlic butter are just a few items you’ll find off the menu at this contemporary steakhouse in town.
You’ll immediately notice the art that adorns the place. Vassa Eggen’s art was created by Christian Saldert (born 1977) who studied at the Royal academy of art in Stockholm (Kungliga Konsthögskolan) and at Central Saint Martins in London. He works with oil paint and screen printing techniques but uses motifs found exclusively on the internet.
“From a philosophical point of view he explores the themes of life by remodeling existing images, symbolic values taken from the overexploited world of images that was created by the progressive 1900s,” shares the restaurant.
Vassa Eggen also has guest DJs spinning music from Wednesdays to Saturdays which you can enjoy while tucking into high quality meat.
Grill
Photo courtesy of Grill.
Clearly inspired by Moulin Rouge and French culture—note the heavily textiled interior, vibrant décor, and offbeat period-piece furniture—Grill serves up five grilling styles: brick oven, rotisserie, smoke, charcoal, and table grill.
An experience at Grill is 50% atmosphere and 50% all about the food. You and a friend can share its famous grill plate of lamb, tenderloin, pork loins, farm chicken, and spicy sausage (minimum two people), or try its set lunch buffet with meats, pastas, and salads.
Items off its menu include Hereford Angus sirloin, Black Angus flank stead, Spanish Longhorn striploin, and Swedish red cattle rid steak dry-aged for 28 days, all served with served with a garden salad, grilled vegetables, tomatoes, Béarnaise sauce, red wine sauce and your choice of French fries or wood-oven baked Bjäre potatoes.
Griffin’s Steakhouse
Photo courtesy of Griffin’s Steakhouse.
Located in a waterfront building on Klarabergsviadukten in Stockholm is where you’ll find Griffins’ Steakhouse with its lively and warm atmosphere. Think studded Asian-inspired hanging lamps with fringes and giant wall clocks alongside cozy chairs.
Items off its international and Swedish menu include Veal entrecote from Holland served with chili and onion, Flank steak from Nebraska served with corn and chili, and Swedish tenderloin served with dried tomatoes and haricots vertes.
Texas Longhorn
Photo courtesy of Texas Longhorn
A popular franchise with over 10 stores and delis in Stockholm alone, Texas Longhorn is known for its ribeye steaks and New York cut striploins and you’ll definitely be getting Texas-sized portions here.
Texas Longhorn was founded by Philip Gerard Huntzinger who was born in Omaha, Nebraska, USA’s beef capital but grew up in Texas which is known for its steaks. He would later move to Sweden in 1987. He would go on to open his first Longhorn in 1994 on St. Paulsgatan in Stockholm; a small intimate restaurant with great character and an at-home feeling.
Grill Ruby
Photo courtesy of Grill Ruby
A simple American-style restaurant located in Gamla stan, its simple yet flavorful menu serves up juicy charcoal-grilled lamb chops, pork chops, sirloins, and ribeye with sides such as rucola and spinach served with parmesan and herb oil, roasted red beets with walnuts and goat cheese cream, and sweet potato gratin.
Alongside good food, you’ll get a cozy atmosphere amidst the city’s classic cobblestoned old town.
Have you discovered any cool steakhouses in Stockholm? Please share them with us below.
