Beach in Stockholm is so good

Strand is a traditional hotel with a prime location that is now owned by the Belgian chain Radisson. The house was built by Höganästegel in time for the 1912 Stockholm Olympics and soon became a meeting place for famous artists and actresses, more relaxed than the stuffy Grand Hotel on the other side of Blasieholmen.

Shortly before the pandemic, the house received a “complete makeover” from Wingårdh Architects. The large, cozy bar is now located with a panoramic window towards Nybrokajen – where the archipelago boats dock – and where you can also eat. Behind the bar is the dining room, housed in an atrium similar to the one at Nobis Hotel in Norrmalmstorg. The lighting is pleasant with umbrella-like lamps above the tables and mini spots floating in the “sky”.

The venue is beautifully decorated with tinted mirrored walls and comfortable rounded sofas. Above the mirror area is a huge mural depicting a variety of figures against a powder pink background. From a distance it is reminiscent of the fantastical fairy tale characters of the writer and illustrator Ludwig Bemelman, in particular his famous painting of the bar of the Carlyle Hotel in New York.

The decor creates a playful, imaginative atmosphere, but upon closer inspection, all the anthropomorphic animals look pretty much the same. When we learn that the painting is AI-generated, it completely loses its power of suggestion.

The fun and stylish drinks at the Strand Hotel for 195 SEK each casts a light of reconciliation over the house. Passionfruit Negroni with gin, spicy vermouth, a dash of Campari and passionfruit is a delicious marriage of sweet and bitter. Greenkeeper gloves with tequila, cucumber and gooseberry give the much-needed touch of summer.

However, when it comes to food, the Strand Hotel has a lot to offer and the cuisine is brutally inconsistent. A few simple starters that are hard to fail are enough. Flounder (215 SEK) is based on a succulent small potato terrine with cream and browned butter powder, while smoked tartare (190 SEK) is a portion of coarsely chopped meat with roasted bone marrow, smoked mayonnaise and almonds under a cloud of Parmesan. Musty and with nice, slightly different textures.

But then it becomes significant weaker and you’re wondering if false marketing is a sport in Strand’s kitchen?

In this case, the person who prepared lobster fried in butter (SEK 375) wins a piece of sweet brioche with a pinch of mayonnaise and finely chopped lobster meat. A more precise description would be Lobster rolls Maine-style, consisting of cold lobster meat and mayonnaise, although with more lobster and less mayonnaise than Strand. Butter Fried Lobster promises something different, namely the iconic New Hampshire sandwich with hearty pieces of hot lobster in melted butter.

Wagyutoast (SEK 220) consists of two pieces of patisserie-style double toast with the trendy Gammelknas cheese, onion cream and strips of fatty steak that are so small that we have to look for them under the pickled onions.

Not even the restaurant’s luxury burgers is something for meat lovers. Detoxify? Loose stomach? “Rossini Burger” (SEK 395) could be the answer to your needs. It is literally deep black – but certainly not burned, explains the waiter – but colored by activated carbon, which is used, among other things, to treat poisoning and to distill spirits.

You don’t have to be a professor of culinary chemistry to understand how dry the bread needs to be, because charcoal powder absorbs liquid.

Between the breads we find grated black truffle, spicy Brilliant Savarin, goose liver, bacon and fried minced meat – a bizarre, tasteless mixture that has nothing to do with the German original or the American fast food variant and, when prepared well, will make carnivores’ mouths water.

Grilled entrecôte (535 SEK) with French fries and liquid Café de Paris butter would have been a good alternative – if the dish hadn’t been served barely lukewarm.

While the lights twinkle So beautiful over the water of Nybroviken, we instead try our luck with a steamed mountain trout (SEK 365), a properly prepared and stunning piece of fish with beurre blanc, trout roe and pickled, quickly grilled pieces of cucumber. A simple standard dish that appears a little everywhere in the city, good but very generic.

A glass of Chablis (Sèguinot-Bordet, SEK 195) from the Old World-loving wine list is hardly memorable, but pairs well with the butteriness and acidity of the dish.

The only vegetarian dish on the menu is Butter Fried Gnocchi (320 SEK), which consists of baked pumpkin, boiled cabbage, browned gnocchi and over-fried mushrooms, all drenched in melted butter but served well with grated carrot on top.

Not even the desserts makes the taste buds sing. A chocolate caramel tart (165 SEK) drowns the caramel flavor in sweet blueberry jam, and the kitchen even manages to ruin such a brilliantly simple and delicious dessert Lemon peel (145 SEK). The British answer to Italian panna cotta is made without gelatin and can be prepared in just a few minutes: you boil the cream and sugar, stir in the squeezed lemon and put it in the fridge for a few hours.

At Strand, dessert is served with blackberries and biscuit croutons, but unfortunately the dish usually tastes like the fridge.

It’s a shame about such rare peas, because it’s so charming sitting on the beach, a perfect place if you want to feel a bit incognito and maybe go on a date without being seen.

Nobody expects a hotel restaurant to be at the forefront of gastronomy, but you can still demand that Strand Stockholm not embarrass Stockholm?

We are happy to offer foreign guests crispy and delicious Patanegra croquettes (105 SEK) and a glass of sparkling rosé from Etna (175 SEK) in the bar or some of the good drinks in the rooftop bar. We would rather have dinner somewhere else.

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