Looking for yet another great Swedish restaurant to take an out of town guest to (or in my case two), well look no further because Blå Dörren Ölhall oct Matsal, more commonly known as Blå Dörren, is where you need to take them.
Blå Dörren (Sodermalmstorg, 6) is located in Slussen, right next to the Hilton Hotel in a building that dates back to the 16th century. I am a little bit embarrassed to write that after more than three years living in Stockholm I had never been to Blå Dörren. It is apparently a very popular restaurant serving traditional Swedish food and it is always booked in the evenings. We decided to make a reservation for Friday night and take our Italian house guests there for dinner hoping it would provide them with an authentic Swedish experience. Thank goodness that we did make reservations because the restaurant was packed when we arrived at 19.00
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Blå Dörren’s menu consists of traditional Swedish food and drinks. The rustic decor inside gives you the feeling that you have stepped back in time and are eating alongside vikings. The tables are made out of wood and covered with checkered tablecloths. In the evening, the lights are dimmed and candles are lit on both the tables and the walls.
The rustic decor inside gives you the feeling that you have stepped back in time and are eating alongside vikings.
As soon as you order you are served a delicious bread basket full of homemade bread and knäckebröd served alongside a very unique red beet whipped butter. One of the best things about this restaurant is their extensive Swedish beer collection. Besides the usual standard light beers you find at most restaurants and bars, you will also find lesser known Swedish beers including dark and wheat beers. The menu caters to meat and fish lovers but it is unfortunately not the best place to dine if you are a vegetarian like myself. There was only one vegetarian starter and the daily vegetarian plate, which I wasn’t crazy for.
I went ahead and ordered the chèvre served on a bed of greens with a balsamic reduction and pine nuts appetizer. Thankfully, the bread basket was large enough for me to have several pieces of bread and make it a full meal including the glass of bubbly I ordered. My friends split the sill plate, in which the sill was prepared in four different ways as well as Pytt i Panna and the Elk meatballs with potatoes and lingonberries for their main courses. My boyfriend went for his favorite, the flask file served with bacon and mushrooms and he ordered a large dark wheat beer from Gotland. For his appetizer he ordered the caviar on toast served next to a tasty salad. Of course we had to have dessert and wanted our friends to try something Swedish so we ordered and split the vanilla ice cream with cloudberry sauce and it was amazing! I would definitely order this dessert again! My friends loved their meal and said it was one of the best places they had eaten it at in Stockholm! I too enjoyed my salad and the atmosphere that Blå Dörren provided us for dinner including the wide selection of specialty Swedish beers! 
