The City Hall, or Stadshuset as it is more commonly known, is one of Stockholm’s most beloved buildings. The same can’t be said for its restaurant which, despite its prime location and the glamour added by the annual Nobel dinner held in the same building, has been living a quiet life in the cellar of this beautiful building. This past winter, however, Stadshuskällaren has gotten a proper facelift. The new owners are sisters and restaurateurs Maria Stridh and Kerstin Johansson, who together have commissioned Stockholm’s busiest restaurant designer Jonas Bohlin to redesign the interior. With that task accomplished, chef Andreas Hedlund, whose resumé includes a Chef of the Year title and stints at Oaxen Skärgårdskrog and Pontus, among others, was asked to develop a culinary concept.
It all sounds very promising and to a certain extent, it is that too. There’s something thrilling about entering Stadshuskällaren through the thick red brick walls of the City Hall and climbing down the stairs to the vaulted cellar, leaving the noises of the street behind. Bohlin has updated, rather than completely remodelled, the space. Much of the original interior is still intact, including the custom-made wooden benches and panels in the bar section, and the roof paintings and the round ventilation windows with their iron ornaments. In places, there are contemporary additions, such as Bohlin’s ceiling lamp Kvist and huge, beautiful rugs designed by Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg. It’s an impressive and pleasant environment to be in. The bar, in particular, is the perfect, tranquil spot to rest your feet, browse a newspaper and have an afternoon beer or a glass of wine solo or with a friend.
The menu is, as one would expect, very Swedish. For starters, we order a nettle soup (135 kronor) and the SOS – herring, cheese and butter (120 kronor). Both are nice but nothing out of the ordinary. The SOS comes with three different seasonings – mustard, sea buckthorn and the classic pickle – and all is served with the classic accompaniments. The soup is tasty but served lukewarm.
We are, however, happy to find some local produce on the beverage list, such as beers from the microbrewery Södra Maltfabriken and Signe Tillisch apple juice from Villands Vånga in Skåne.
For the main courses, we go for another true classic, Wallenbergare (195 kronor) and a grilled veal chop (285 kronor). The Wallenbergare is soft and juicy and the accompanying potato purée is delicious, but there is something a bit too sugary about the rest. The veal is juicy but a bit on the heavy side, given that it’s served with roast potatoes and root vegetables.
Our desserts, the milk chocolate mousse and the vanilla bavaroise (both 115 kronor) are both impeccably presented, but even here, the taste doesn’t quite reach the same highs. Everything here is pretty, professional, ambitious and safe.
Somehow, the dinner never really takes off. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the dining room is only half-full, and many of the guests seem to be business delegations or tourists. Stadshuset and its cellar are indeed something to show to visitors, and the Swedish menu makes the restaurant perfect for that purpose. But one would hope that the experience was a bit more exotic for us Stockholmers, too.
