The combinations of steaks and cocktails makes Svartengrens a must stop in Stockholm’s blossoming cocktail scene.
Situated in residential Vasastan, Svartengrens is filled with the scent of grilled ribeye and seasonal cocktails. While the bar is often filled with locals, an international crowd also makes its way up to the steakhouse just for the chance to try the house-aged meat and drinks.
The menu at the bar is the same as the dining room, so you’ll be able to pair drinks like the Lemon fudge (a local favorite) with any cut you want. The cocktail menu itself is on the short side, but changes regularly (except the Lemon fudge) and is focused on produce that is locally available.
Bar manager Ture Wadström tells us:
Please describe Svartengrens as if you’re explaining the experience of walking through the doors and ordering your first drink.
When you walk through the door at Svartengrens you will find an elegant but lively dining room to your right and a rather rowdy bar to your left.
The scent of grilled ribeye will hit you right in the face while you sit down and order a drink. The restaurant is a steakhouse with locally sourced meat, dry aged in our own basement. The cocktail menu is also based on local seasonal produce and flavours. In summer you will see everything from rhubarb highballs to green asparagus margaritas. In winter, pine tree collins and a celeriac martinez. Not that everything is based on classic cocktails, but you get the gist.
The bar is managed by a two man team, myself Ture Wadström and Marcus Erlandson.
How would you describe Svartengrens in a three-word text to a friend that you’re trying to convince to join you?
Meat, cocktails & love. Of course.
Other than Svartengrens, what else is happening in the neighborhood that you’re in?
In the neighborhood, Vasastan, we have a lot of small wine bars and restaurants. There are four great wine bars around the corner, Mirabelle, Babette, Vineriet and Savant. A tapas bar called Chipiron, a superb Japanese set menu restaurant named after Japan’s most used fish stock, Dashi, and Bord, a more upscale restaurant with michelin ambitions, to name a few.
Aside from Happy Hour, when is the best time to get to the bar?
The best time to come to Svartengrens bar is either before or after your dinner or come late and enjoy some late rowdiness.
Describe the average drinkers that you serve?
The average drinkers are locals living in the neighborhood wanting a good cocktail or for people coming from all around Sweden to eat a great steak and thirsty chefs and bartenders working in the area.
Please tell us more about your drinks menu.
Our menu is based around Swedish produce and flavour profiles. We change it regularly during the course of the seasons. It is a quite short menu but well balanced, there should always be something for everyone. Something sour, stiff, sweet, bitter and something light and refreshing. Right now our menu is focused on what was available in the end of summer and start of autumn. I´ll copy the menu down below so you´ll get a feeling for it.
Of course all of the infusions and syrups are made in house, also most of the vermouths and vinegars.
Hjortron / Cloudberry
Aquavit and light rum infused with cloudberries, Swedish punsch, honey, lime juice and angostura bitters
Havtorn / Sea buckthorn
Cachaça, aquavit, lemon juice, sea buckthorn syrup, egg white, Champagne
Äpple / Apple
Calvados, green Chartreuse, Sauternes, woodrough, bayleaf, fermented apples, soda water
Citronkola / Lemon fudge
Vodka, browned butter, vanilla, lemon juice, salty caramel, milk
Björnbär / Blackberry
Cognac, rye, madeira, nebbiolo vermouth, balsamico, chocolate bitters
Tomat / Tomato
Gin, bianco vermouth, manzanilla sherry, vinegar, estragon
Rönnbär / Rowan berry
Pine infused gin, orange rowan berry vermouth, Campari
Kantarell / Chantarelle
Bourbon infused with butter fried chantarelles, muscovado sugar, vanilla, orange bitters, salt
What’s your signature drink–or your favorite drink currently on the menu–and why should I order it?
Our signature cocktail is a milk punch we call “Lemon fudge”, it is the only drink that is always on the menu. It’s sweet but still fresh. The base is browned butter washed vodka with salty caramel, vanilla, lemon juice and milk. You should order this drink if you enjoy a good milk punch, if you’re new to craft cocktails or with your coffee after your dinner.
How much do drinks cost?
The cost of drinks is 155-165kr, which is around the average in Stockholm.
Is there anything to eat? If so – what’s your favorite dish on the menu?
You can eat the same menu in the bar as in the dining room. Steaks steaks steaks.
What are the distinguishing features of Svartengrens?
The distinguishing features of Svartengrens other than the cocktails and the steaks are mostly the staff. There is a lot of passion in this small restaurant. The bartenders, the service staff and the chefs, we care a lot. About the product we serve and our guests.
What’s that music we hear playing on the Svartengrens stereo?
The music you hear differs depending on the day you visit. Weekdays are mostly hip hop, Friday there is classic rock music playing, Saturday is Italo disco night and Sundays will probably be something else, Congolese rumba is a frequent choice of Sunday music.
Hours:
Wednesday – Thursday: 17.00–00.00
Friday – Saturday: 17.00–01.00
Sunday: 17.00–00.00
Reservations:
Book a table through Boka Bord.
Website:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/svartengrens/?hl=en
Address:
Tulegatan 24, 113 53 Stockholm, Sweden