Review: Alegria Tapas Bar Stockholm
Despite being located in the heart of one of the most affluent residential areas in Stockholm, Alegria Tapas Bar feels cozy, genuine and surprisingly affordable. Your main problem here will be choosing between all the items on the menu. The options are countless, and the overall quality is impressive!
I can highly recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for fuzz-free, tapas-style Spanish food and plenty of great choices. It is the perfect place for an evening with friends. You will lose track of time, and once you give yourself a moment to reflect, you will realize that you’re genuinely enjoying yourself, thanks to the great food and atmosphere. Hopefully, the company isn’t too bad either.
Ordering from the menu
To me,the worst part about Tapas restaurants are trying to decide what to eat. Having a tapas style dinner requires a bit of planning. You have to know the amount of dishes that will be appropriate (although you’ve never actually tried or seen the size of the dishes before), and you need to remember your choices for the waiter.
Pro tip!
A pro tip from me is to always take a photo of the menu and circle the items you want. This makes it a lot easier to manage the amount of dishes, ensure variety (so you don’t end up ordering three versions of shrimp). On top of that, you’re helping your waiter by being clear about what you want, and ordering goes a lot faster.
A few of my favorite dishes
Deciding what to eat somehow gets even more difficult when you have a Tapas menu in front of you. You want to try everything. I feel you on this one, which is why I’m going to share a few of my favourite items on the menu:
Gambas al ajillo – Who doesn’t love giant shrimps covered in garlic and olive oil? 
Patatas bravas – Potatoes with spicy tomato sauce and aioli. I love anything that involves potato and a sauce, this is no exception.
Crema Catalan – it looks stunning and is simply amazing. 
Datiles railenos – Almond packed dates wrapped in bacon, served with caramelized onion. Such a sweet yet salty experience!
Venue and service
The restaurant is inviting and the ordering experience is uncomplicated (at least if you know what you want). The waiters provide service promptly and are able to answer all of your food questions.
The food arrives quickly, and you can definitely order dishes as you go. You will never have to wait too long for the food. Given the wide selection of dishes, I am impressed by how smoothly it all works. I’ve been to Tapas-style restaurants with a lot fewer items on the menu and a lot more waiting time.
However , when speaking of waiting time. If I were to say one semi-negative thing about this restaurant, it would have to be about the restrooms. There are two restrooms available, they are quite unremarkable and there is always a line. It is, however easy to look away from the less than perfect restroom logistics when your experience is otherwise really great.
Final thoughts
After two pleasurable visits, Alegria has worked its way towards becoming one of my favorite restaurants in Stockholm. They offer a wide selection of drinks, food and desserts and manage to keep the overall quality high. The venue is a bit dark and moody, but also cozy. I have become a returning customer to this little gem, and I would consider it one of my favorite restaurants for Tapas in Stockholm.
What are your favorite tapas restaurants in your city? Let me know in the comments!
