The set menu changes daily at this small restaurant helmed by 2014 Årets Kock Chef of the Year winner Filip Fastén and his partner Joel Åhlin. The plates and glasses are expertly filled with items the staff has shot, foraged, brewed, planted, raised, fermented, or handpicked. Everything is light and delicious. For small plates to share, in an even more relaxed setting, visit the restaurant’s sister venue, Bar Agrikultur, in Södermalm. [$$$]

Babette is a low-profile neighborhood restaurant that serves one of the best pizzas in town and a constantly changing list of addictive smaller dishes with just the right pinch of creativity. Come thirsty and explore the top-notch wine list. [$$]

There’s no tasting menu at Lilla Ego. Instead, the dishes are scrawled by hand on the white walls. Options could include pork tartare, matjes herring, raw scallops, algae-pickled ling, or fallow deer with Jerusalem artichokes. Since the two well-merited chefs, Tom Sjöstedt and Daniel Räms, opened this place, it’s been one of the city’s toughest reservations. The bare and rugged interior is almost too casual, making the space feel like someone’s living room. [$$$]

Internationally known chefs Adam Dahlberg and Albin Wessman transformed this space into something more modern and relaxed than a fine dining venue. The menu starts with a selection of elaborate snacks chosen by the chefs, followed by four dishes that change daily. The signature hand-cut beef tartare evolves with the season. It might be served with roasted almonds and white miso, or it might come as a lamb tartare. The cooking here is based firmly in Sweden’s gastronomic heritage, but you can also sense influences from French and other European kitchens. [$$$$]

Leave your coat with the distinguished old man at the door and enter this piece of restaurant history. Having served hungry and thirsty customers for more than a century (though initially at a different location), Tennstopet is still going very strong. Order the SOS (herring, cheese, butter) and add cured salmon with dill-creamed potatoes, potato pancakes with vendace roe, and steamed cod with poached egg to complete your meal. Chase with lager and aquavit. Want to go on partying? This part of Dalagatan and the area around Odenplan has much more to offer. [$$]

The name Hantverket, which translates to “the craft,” hints at the kitchen’s dedication to the creation of classic Swedish comfort dishes, occasionally with international influences. Executive chef Stefan Ekengren, who is also a well-known blogger, cookbook author, and columnist, serves hasselback potatoes with bleak roe, sour cream, and spring onion; tuttul flatbread with slow-cooked pork and homemade butter; isterband (smoked pork and lamb sausage) with mashed Jerusalem artichoke and lamb brisket; and glace au four (baked Alaska) with salt licorice parfait and lemon cake. You can also enjoy the same menu at the eight-seat communal table in the bar section, along with tailored cocktails. [$$$]

Opened in 2015, Portal is already an institution. Chef Klas Lindberg has an impressive resume that includes being named Swedish Chef of the Year by Årets Kock in 2012 and a lengthy stint at restaurant L’Astrance in Paris. At Portal, he provides Stockholmers with popular lunches and dinners beneath huge windows. Consult the blackboard for various cuts of dry-aged beef, which are served with house fries and bearnaise butter. Or go for locally sourced vegetables, seafood, and daily rotating game meats. Chase it all down with artisan Swedish beer or a bottle from the well-curated cellar. Since 2018, guests have been able to pop next door to busy Bar Portal, which serves delicious small plates with a longer list of wines by the glass. Snag a seat at the communal table in the back. [$$$]

This wine bar with a rather spartan interior comes from celebrity chef Niklas Ekstedt, whose popular restaurants Ekstedt and Hillenberg are located right down the street. Tyge & Sessil focuses on minimal-intervention wines poured by knowledgeable staff members, and while it’s the ideal destination for some pre- or post-dinner refreshment, a tight menu of small plates means this can also be the evening’s one-stop shop. [$$]

Subtitled “a Swedish version of an Italian brasserie,” Taverna Brillo takes up some 18,000 square feet on a corner close to the busy shopping and restaurant district of Stureplan. The space is divided into several sections, each with a different atmosphere. There is a busy dining room, a bistro and coffee house, a pizzeria with a huge wood-fired oven, an ice cream bar, a cocktail bar, and an indoor lunch garden. The menu is distinctly Italian with Swedish influences, with dishes like ragu of Swedish dorper lamb, mushroom risotto with Västerbotten cheese, pizza with vendace roe and Swedish präst cheese, and graffe (Italian donuts) with salted caramel ice cream and melted milk chocolate. [$$$]

Sturehof is a Stockholm seafood dining institution. Its commitment to cutting out middlemen and selling fresh produce directly through the adjacent Stockholm Food Market have contributed further to its enduring legacy. Order dalarömacka with buckling (hot-smoked, kipper-like herring), whitefish roe, and raw egg yolk on dark rye bread. [$$]

For more than 30 years, this small restaurant has been a home away from home for celebrities, wannabes, and regulars. Service is effusively friendly, and the vibe beneath the chandeliers is always relaxed. No-fuss Swedish comfort dishes boast the occasional French or Spanish tweak, like råraka (hash browns with red onion, sour cream, and vendace roe), a chevre chaud salad with Dijon dressing, and the Gino, a signature dessert of strawberries, kiwi, and banana covered by grated white chocolate and served with vanilla ice cream. [$$$]

Guests are whisked via elevator to the penthouse dining room of chef Björn Frantzén’s three-Michelin-starred namesake restaurant, set in a large space that boasts a fireplace, Champagne cart, cigar terrace, and sweeping views. An open kitchen with a wood-fire grill and horseshoe-shaped bar dominate the main dining area. The menu features Frantzén’s signature blend of exclusive, sometimes local, sometimes more distantly sourced ingredients, and haute dishes featuring a range of Nordic, Asian, and French flavors. Expect Frantzén’s own selection of farmed sturgeon caviar from Bordeaux, generous servings of Périgord truffles, bespoke French quail, fresh Norwegian seafood, and smart wine pairings. [$$$$]

Chefs and restaurant owners Jacob Holmström and Anton Bjuhr may have worked at L’Astrance and Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, respectively, but their cooking is firmly rooted in the Swedish soil. They spend most Mondays (when the restaurant is closed) getting their boots dirty at the biodynamic vegetable garden at Rosendal in the outskirts of Stockholm, where they source many of the vegetables for Gastrologik. The tasting menu is quite long, ever-changing, and seasonal. Expect beautifully plated dishes with both classic and unexpected combinations of tastes and textures. [$$$$]

The posh dining room at upmarket department store Nordiska Kompaniet opened its doors in 1915. When acclaimed chef Björn Frantzén took over a couple of years ago, he completely replaced the menu and carefully restored the stunning interior. Enjoy baked Arctic char, steamed Norwegian skrei cod, or hand-peeled shrimp from the Swedish west coast while power-lunching with inner-city professionals. Conclude by ordering something sweet from the dessert trolley, like a Scandinavian pudding, along with a stiff avec (after-dinner drink). Then head out on a shopping rampage through the Swedish fashion brands section. [$$$]

A group of talented chefs and sommeliers unleashed restaurant Agnes on a slumbering backstreet in Kungsholmen. An open kitchen, a 10-seat chef’s table, and a long row of bar seats for diners contribute to the unusually intense and loud atmosphere. The menu is full of inspiring small and large dishes, many with Spanish influences. Pick suckling pig, enough for two or three people, with truffle aioli and pommes provençale, and pair it with something big and fruity from the exceptionally long list of magnum bottles. [$$$]

Stockholm’s large new city-center development at Brunkebergstorg includes two hotels as well two restaurants, Tak and UNN. Their culinary leader, Frida Ronge, previously worked with Sayan Isaksson at the Michelin-starred Esperanto and ran her own restaurant, VRå, at the Clarion Hotel Post in Gothenburg. Tak features Scandinavian flavors mixed with more than a few Japanese touches and a jaw-dropping view of Stockholm rooftops. Its even-more-exclusive sister restaurant, UNN, is Frida Ronge’s eight-seat shrine to teppanyaki. [$$$]

From the ornate 1895 interior and traditional trolleys delivering aperitifs and cheeses, you might think Operakällaren is stuck in the past. But take a closer look and you’ll recognize modern updates in the dining room like giant, free-standing, angled mirrors. Traditional French and Swedish dishes, such as fried pigeon with green pepper sauce or seared foie gras with almond cream, are bolstered by seasonal Nordic ingredients and leading gastronomic technique. At Operakällaren, you can travel back in time with flambé and silver-plated trolleys without sacrificing modern tastes. [$$$$]

Scattered among the counter seats, rustic sofas, and Windsor chairs at Matbaren is a dynamic mix of diners that includes international travelers, power-lunchers, savvy Instagrammers, and other locals, all hooked on the restaurant’s particular brand of Nordic comfort cuisine. Chef-owner Mathias Dahlgren, winner of the of the Bocuse d’Or in 1997, is behind the menu, which fuses Swedish culinary tradition with peak local produce. The funky interior by British designer Ilse Crawford and jaw-dropping views of the bay and the Royal Castle only add to the charm. [$$$$]

Skillful gardening, biodynamic philosophy, and a mere 10-minute remove from downtown make the vegetables from this urban farm a dream choice for the best chefs in town. Stroll around the beautiful plantations and the apple and pear orchards, pay a visit to the stone-oven bakery, and do lunch in the large, light greenhouse cafe. [$]

At the eight seats of the chef’s counter, Flickan allows guests to get up close to the expert cooks at work. Each of the 15 to 20 courses focuses on a specific, carefully chosen ingredient, like forest mushrooms, duck, reindeer, truffle, scallop, trout, squid, or pineapple, skillfully prepared in front of the guests. Flickan is also part of several interconnected restaurants and bars in the same building — the meat-focused Djuret, wine bar the Burgundy, cocktail bar Tweed, summertime outdoor asado garden Svinet, and Italian trattoria La Ragazza — and diners can reserve a hedonistic “walking dinner,” eating and drinking across all of the venues in one night. [$$$]

This is one of the world’s oldest restaurants, operating at the same Old Town address since 1722. Quite recently, chef Filip Fastén from restaurant Agrikultur took over the ownership, which is reflected in the menu, still featuring classic dishes, but with increased focus on high-quality ingredients and smart presentations. For centuries, “Freden” has been the meeting place for famous authors, singers, and songwriters, and the original interior remains remarkably intact. Come for the atmosphere and traditional Swedish classics like pickled herring with Västerbotten cheese, cabbage and meat pie with caramelized whey, or the all-time-favorite dessert, hot rosehip soup with almond cake and ice cream. [$$$]

Few restaurants can beat Oaxen Slip’s enchanting view of the 17th-century shipyard and inlet of the Stockholm harbor. Sample the daily collection of pickled herring, the soft-baked egg, the daily whole grilled fish, and any of the sausages. Order a glass of homemade lemonade and contemplate the sunset. Or go for the full two-Michelin-starred experience at Oaxen Krog. Both Krog and Slip are run by two of Sweden’s most innovative restaurateurs, Magnus Ek and Agneta Green. [$$$]

Woodstockholm began as a furniture store on the corner of one of the city’s most inviting green squares. In 2015, the company expanded with a restaurant and wine bar, creating a light, wood-detailed space that acts as a showroom for their products. Find a seat at the bar or one of the communal tables, then peruse the menu, which changes every month or two. New themes keep things fresh, but the food is always based on local, organic, and seasonal produce from small-scale producers. The current menu features dishes inspired by the Mexican kitchen, while past themes have included sauces, movies, the ’70s, cheese, and “the North.” The results are always impressive, especially accompanied by sommelier Gustav Hyllienmark’s impressive list of wines, which range from classic French and Spanish vineyards to more obscure, non-intervention producers. [$$$]

Crowned Best Museum Restaurant of the Year in 2017 by Leading Culture Destinations Awards, Fotografiska has a stunning view of the Stockholm harbor and a large open kitchen led by acclaimed chef Paul Svensson. The vegetable-centric dishes focus on sustainability (100 grams of meat or fish can be added as a supplement) and are constantly evolving. Think beluga lentils as caviar and meaty beetroot slow-poached in lamb stock. [$$]
Note: The author of this map consulted on a beverage list for a pop-up in which chef Paul Svensson was involved.  

Competing with other Nordic countries for the top spot of the world’s most coffee-addicted nation, Sweden offers an immense number of coffee houses. Stockholm is no exception. This bohemian cafe features sustainably grown and traded coffee roasted at a proprietary roastery the same week as the shipment arrives. Reigning Swedish roasting champion and managing director Joanna Alm knows her stuff. You will have a hard time finding more flavorful and floral drip coffee — or a more amiable place to chat or open up your laptop. [$]

Since French-born baker Sébastien Boudet established himself in the city, he’s been a thorn in the side of any food professional trying to cut corners on quality. He often calls out other bakers and chefs for using subpar ingredients, and he doesn’t hesitate to do so in public. But he has also inspired just as many locals with his uncompromising mission to support artisanal farmers, mills, and organic producers. His croissants, sourdough breads, baguettes, eclairs, and macarons have set new standards. At Sébastien på Söder, Boudet has partnered with chef Isak Oldenburg, who formerly ran restaurants in Nice for over a decade. Indulge in one of the best lunches in Södermalm before purchasing your daily bread to take home. [$$]

This corner restaurant in the busy nightlife neighborhood of Södermalm is run by the same people behind Babette in Vasastan. Café Nizza is larger, with a spacious outdoor dining area in summer, but with the same relaxed yet knowledgeable service and casual crowd. Diners flock for the regular four-to-five-course prix fixe menu as well as the a la carte menu, which features an innovative blend of Italian and local influences, like new potatoes with nettles and truffle, pasta fermentata, and strawberry semifreddo with elderberry meringue. [$$$]

The depth of wine knowledge between co-owners Jonas Sandberg and Beatrice Becher is reason enough to pay a visit to this small wine bar. They help guide diners through Folii’s constantly changing list of handpicked labels from across the globe, while chef Sebastian Bjernalt (formerly of Fäviken Magasinet, Aska in New York, and Spritmuseum in Stockholm) is behind the bar’s popular menu of wine-friendly small plates. The trio also run sister restaurant Voisine next door, which features classic, rustic comfort food from French and Swedish traditions. [$$]