Den Gyldene Freden

Description:

• "Golden Peace" is said to be Stockholm's oldest tavern. The restaurant opened in 1722 in a structure built the year before. The Swedish Academy owns the building, and members frequent the place on Thursday nights. You may never have heard of them, but towering cultural figures in Sweden, including the singer-poet Carl Michael Bellman and the singer-composer Evert Taube, have dined here over the years. The cozy dining rooms are named for Swedish historical figures who were patrons. Today it's popular with artists, lawyers, and writers. You'll get good traditional Swedish cooking, especially fresh Baltic fish and local game, along with more modern dishes like sautéed duck breast with pickled pumpkin (a first for us), baked char with wasabi flavoring, and beef carpaccio on goat-cheese toast with a citrus salsa. Want something different for dessert? How about warm rose-hip soup with vanilla ice cream? Of course, if you order that, you'd be denying yourself the "symphony" of lingonberries or the longtime favorite: Stockholm's best dark chocolate cake, served with fresh raspberries and coffee ice cream.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010