A bar called Gemma — Restaurant in Stockholm

A small cozy bar in Östermalm / Stockholm I inteneed to visit for years. Went there with a Swedish colleague after dinner and was happy to have booked a seat at the bar, since the place was packed. Good selection of spritis on the backboard. The drinks menu is not too extensive (I'm sure the bartenders could prepare any classic or special request if asked), but the "Gemma" and the "Ni’ihau Babe" were both excellent, balanced in flavor and well prepared. My colleague had two mocktails which seem to have pleased him too.

Very nice and attentive staff, though (for me) a bit hard to understand as it was pretty noisy and the music was rather loud (we were near to the speakers though, so perhaps this would not be a problem in other areas).

All in all a great experience and I'm sure I'll visit the bar again next time I'll be in Stockholm.

BTW, I'm almost 60 and had no problems coming in, so no idea what some comments about age discrimination...

Super dog friendly (wanted to get this on top of my review).

Edit a year later!

Few locals actually rate places on Google so I thought I'd do an update.

Usually places get worse/snoby when they get recognition (should be higher on top 50, miles better than any other places in town higher on the list). Gemma is the opposite.

It's still best in Scandinavia!

If you're here on a Saturday come early and get their amazing bloody Mary. And both their espresso martini and Irish is a must if you're in town.

--- original review ---

Few (no other) places like it in Stockholm.

It's located in the part of Stockholm that's not really famous for cosy and familiar places.

But they've definitely turned a small piece of Stureplan to a place where you actually wanna hangout and have really good cocktails!

Also, very...

Small bar with a couple of backrooms for medium sized groups. Thumbs-up to the cocktails!

Original, excellent, delicious cocktails. For whisky lovers, the Neck and Näck was a delight - Naked Malt Whiskey, Moscato d'Asti, Bergamot, Agave and White Tea.

The snacks - the Burnt Comté & Marcona honey topped with almonds was small but incredibly tasty. The olives, mini chorizo were ok.

Seating in the bar is a squeeze. Here the music is loud but upbeat. There is added noise of chatter from people all-around but a good place to watch the bartender in action.

The rooms at the back of the bar are isolated. The setup feels like a conference meeting room but here you can choose to chill quietly or have your own group party and blast your own playlist with the mini...