If you are living in Stockholm for more than a few days and you have an apartment, you will want to eat most of your meals at home and go to really good restaurants for treats. Thus I will divide this section into two bits...one for good old home cooking and another for some of the restaurants I've tried here. Here I would like to thank Anders Weister for turning me on to some restaurants, as well as giving me all sorts of hints on things to do and see and how to generally deal with local issues. Without further comment, we continue.
OK, here's the scoop from my perspective. If you want good meat, forget it...no not really. But when in Stockholm, eat reindeer, or ren meat. It's great and definitely the best meat I had here. Also, eat fish. So, regardless of where you live, you will find one or more small groceries nearby. Be warned, they all close early by US standards and they only have a limited selection. We in the US have an advantage of having huge selections of fairly fresh vegetables. Stockholm, and Sweden, must import most vegetables. But you can still do well here and you will want to in order to save money. So, where can I recommend you go to shop for food? Well, funny you should ask. I recommend the market at Hörtorget (pronounced hur tory et). You take the green line north from T Centralen, the one that says Hässelby Strand. Get off at Hörtorget and exit the door that says Konserthuset and Hörtorget. Take a left and walk about half a block to the outdoor market. There you can look around for flowers, vegetables, nuts and the like. Then cross over to Hörtorget Hallen and enter the righthand side. Take the escalator down to the market where you can find delis, cheese, farsk fisk (fresh fish), herbs, coffee/tea, bread and a few exotic fast food restaurants. I recommend you get most ingrediants for meals here. I usually buy cheese, proscuitto (parmaskinka), bread, spices, veggies, fish and such here. Just looking is a hoot. It's still the only place I've seen björnkorv (bear sausage).
First a little intro is in order here. As mentioned before, eating out in Stockholm will cost you more than eating out in Austin, Dallas and Houston. But, it need not kill you. If you really love the spiciness of TexMex, Sezchuan or Thai food, you may find the spice levels here a bit bland. However, if you, like me, love salmon, you will love eating in Stockholm.
Martini - Norrmalmstorg 4 - 08-6798220 - take Sergelstorg exit from T-Centralen Tbana stop off the red or green lines. Go out towards the underground walkway bearing right past Kulturhuset basement. Bear left and come up onto Hamngatan and continue on until you come to a square on the left. This is Norrmalmstorg and Martini is on the far side. This restaurant, when the dining room is open in the winter, really excels. I had a salad and entre at Martini that had me salivating for weeks just thinking about it. Towards the summer they close the dining room and serve a lighter fare, and IMO, not as good.
Haga Restaurang - Hagagatan 18 - 08-319695 - take the green Tbana from T-Centralen north towards Hässelby Strand for three stops to Odenplan. When you get off the train, take the Odenplan exit and go out the door to your left. Continue down Karlbergsvägen a few steps, turn left onto Nortullsgatan, take the next right onto Surbtunnsgatan and the next left onto Hagagatan. The Haga Restaurang is on the right side of the street on the way to Medborgskolen, where I took Swedish lessons. It is a hole-in-the-wall, very small place and you will need reservations most evenings. The food is very nice Italian with good pizzas and good pastas as well as a good wine and dessert selection. This was my first favorite restaurant in Stockholm. They excel, I believe, by not trying to have too huge of a selection. It also serves as a deli and if you can have drinks on the sidewalk during summer, you will have found a great time indeed.
Pompeii Ristorante Pizzeria - Odengatan 85 - 08-306081 - an unpretentious little restaurant where one can always get a table and get a decent meal for a reasonable price by Stockholm standards. If you're in the area, this is a decent meal.
Tennstopet - Odengatan & Delagatan - 08-322518 - From the Odenplan exit of the Odenplan Tbana station, go west along Odengatan, past Västmanngatan and Tennstopet will be on your right. According to their ads, Tennstopet is "Sveriges äldsta Pub". I went there with my friend Anders for a good, typical Swedish meal...meaning it had sill (herring), potatis, lax, snaps and beer. It was really, really good and I'd definitely recommend a stop here.
Källeren Diana - Brunnsgränd 2 - 08-107310 - take the red or green Tbana line to Gamla Stan. Exit the Tbana and turn left on Munkbrogatan and then right on Kåkbrinken and through Stortorget. From Stortorget, take Köpmangatan through Köpmantorg to Brunnsgränd Källeren Diana appears on your left. Make reservations. This cellar restaurant occupies the cellar where the first potatoes imported to Sweden were stored in the 1700s. The food is Swedish highend stuff with fairly high prices. I'm particularly fond of the sill from the punt, or herring from the herring bar for starters. I also love the reindeer dish that's a specialty. Also, with the herring, you must drink some snaps, I like Skåne. For desert you can try anything, if you have any room.
Trattoria Romana - Mälertorget 15 - 08-7969009 - take the red or green Tbana line to Gamla Stan. Exit the Tbana and turn right on Munkbrogatan and you will see Trattoria Romana on your left. This restaurant has pretty good food and is a very fun place where the staff periodically goes up on stage and starts singing. When somebody has a birthday, it becomes even more fun. The wine list is also decent, but part of what you pay for here is the whole atmosphere package. I'd recommend it as a place to embarrass people with birthdays.....;^).
Lille Budapest - Götegatan 27 - 08-6421949 - take the Slussen Tbana exit onto Götegatan and turn right. Lille Budapest is on a corner on your left. This restaurant is listed in all the guidebooks as a place with good food for little money. I don't understand the appeal. I even gave it three chances and it just is not that great. As always, though, tastes in food vary. I'd recommend at least giving it a chance.
Lille Maria - Mariatorget 1C - 08-6431002 - take the Mariatorget stop on the red Tbana line south from T Centralen. Go out the Swedenborgsgatan exit and take a left. When you get to the big square, Mariatorget, Lille Maria will be on the right side. Eat the ren, or reindeer here. This is what I had been led to expect from Lille Budapest. Good food, decent prices.
Maharajah - Timmermansgatan 35 - 08-6445575 - take the Mariatorget stop on the red Tbana line south from T Centralen. Go out the Torkel Knutsensgaten exit and turn right onto Krukmakargaten and thence right onto Timmermansgaten.. Maharajah will be on your left about four blocks up. It's decent Indian food and you can even break a sweat if you like spicy food. The prices are not bad either.
Söders Bönder - Rosenlundsgatan 14 - 08-6693808 - take the Mariatorget stop on the red Tbana line south from T Centralen. Go out the Torkel Knutsensgaten exit and go one block further up Krukmakargaten to Rosenlundsgatan. Söders Bönder lies on the corner. I recommend the Drängens Kyckling and a Weihenstephaner beer. Ummmmmmm, mycket bra. This restaurant is my favorite that lies near my apartment. The prices are damn good for what you get by Stockholm standards.