Food Recommendations in Stockholm: Himlen Restaurant
For Valentine’s day this year, I was taken to one of the few restaurants in Stockholm with a view of the city from above. Himlen (The sky), is located in the Södermalm area of Stockholm and offers a Sky bar as well as a restaurant with sweeping views of the city. This is the perfect place if you’re crazy about a good view just like me, or if you’re just curious to see what Stockholm looks like from above. Either way, you can get something to eat or drink while taking in the views.
Planning your visit
Restaurants with a view of the city are rare to find in Stockholm. Skyscrapers are few and the ones that we have are usually not restaurants. Himlen is an exception, and this alone is a great reason to visit. Reservations are highly recommended for the restaurant, but the Sky bar is walk ins only. For special events such as Valentine’s day, you have to make your dinner reservations months ahead of time. Even if you do, you are not guaranteed to get a window table, but eagerness can go a long way here. Make sure to be there 30 minutes early, ask nicely about a window table, but be a bit persistent. Make sure that they know it’s really important to you.
The dining experience
As the restaurant was full for Valentine’s day during our visit, it was slightly crammed, but since we managed to get a window table, we didn’t mind too much. Our food was from the special Valentine’s day menu, which can be found here. Our server was a little bit on the strange side as he usually appeared out of nowhere, but he was very attentive and took good care of us.
The food consisted of a three course menu with a wine package. Food came out a little bit too quickly, and I had a hard time keeping up with all the wine. At the end of dinner, I had three half-full glasses of wine.
Portions were generous, and the food itself tasted good, but felt quite heavy. I definitely had a hard time finishing all of it. See below for a more detailed review of each dish:
The menu
Serrano ham with artichoke, olives and bottarga
Wine pairing: Las Almenas, Temperanillo, 2017, Spain
This one had a fresh taste, and you could tell that the Serrano ham was good. I didn’t want it to end.
Tournedeos with pork, onion, mushrooms and truffle jus
Wine pairing: Kaiken Ultra Malbec, 2017, Argentina
Also served with the smoothest potato pure you will ever find. This was comfort food at its finest. Although quite heavy, the taste was great. The steak was a little bit hard to cut, and it was definitely well done. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Simple yet yummy.
Pavlova with white chocolate mousse, peach and raspberriesWine pairing: Domäne(!)Wachau, Riesling Beerenauslese, 2017, Austria
The Pavlova had a light lemon taste, which made it feel quite fresh after the heavy main dish. The size of it was good as well, and I liked the addition of fresh raspberries to it. This dessert had spring vibes written all over it.
Overall experience
I had been wanting to visit this restaurant for a long time, and it turned out to be pretty good. I have been to the sky bar before but it is usually way to loud and crowded for it to be enjoyable. The restaurant is definitely a better option. Unfortunately, there was a lot of reflection in the windows during the evening, which made it quite hard to get decent photos. I was also disappointed that the restaurant was on one side of the building, making it impossible to get a 360 degree view of the city unless you go to the Sky Bar upstairs as well.
The food was, however good and we had a great time while visiting. I can definitely see myself going back in the daytime to try their regular menu and see the city during daytime.
