Bistro Bestick City — Restaurant in Stockholm

What a delightful restaurant – Great food and friendly service

We had arrived in Stockholm late in the afternoon and were just “getting our bearings” as to the layout of the streets and the geography of the various islands. We saw that Bistro Bestick was near our hotel, took a look at their online menu, and decided to give it a try. As soon as we walked up the charming street to the bistro, we were immediately drawn to the clean, modern look of the dining room and open kitchen. Due to a stroke of good luck for us, two people had not shown up for their reservations, so we were seated immediately, even though we were “drop in” diners. By the way, don’t rely on luck – make reservations for this terrific restaurant.

After we placed our order with a friendly and professional server, he brought us warm bread and butter. For the starter, I had roe, crispy potato, dill, sour crème and variation of onions, which was amazing, with contrasting flavors and textures that all melded wonderfully together. My husband had scallops, pickled avocado, mayonnaise, radish, and roasted macadamia nuts, which he said was terrific.

For my main course, I had roasted lamb, spring primers, pickled beets, ramson (specifically, the bulbous root of a broad-leafed garlic), and aged feta cheese. The combination of flavors was quite tasty, and the variously colored beets added a splash of visual contrast to the dish, as well as a taste treat. Having never been to Sweden before, my husband was excited to try “real Swedish meatballs,” so he had the bistro’s hand-rolled veal meatballs, cream sauce, potato puree, lingonberries, and pickled cucumbers. I watched as he savored the first bite, so I had a taste, promptly notifying him that these would probably be among the best he would have all during our trip. The meatballs were flavorful, with just the right texture and consistency, and topped with a superb cream sauce.

For dessert, I had the raspberry sorbet, chocolate fudge, pickled fennel, olive oil, and granola, which was a splendid combination of colors, tastes, and textures. I was so enthralled with my dessert that I forgot to write down what my husband had!

Bistro Bestick is a delightful experience – from the clean lines of the décor to the welcoming staff to the amazing food. Make reservations for this wonderful restaurant when you’re...

We read the reviewes and we were pretty excited about the good food and service others had experienced, so decided to check out the place ourselves.

Our table was assigned to a trainee. For some odd reason she did not do anything on her own - the more experienced staff member was standing next to her at every step, telling her every move she needs to make and word by word what needs to be written down for the order. We get it, new staff needs training, but perhaps it would be reasonable to do some basic briefing beforehand? From a customer point if view, not good experience - felt like a practice dummy.

Soon, more people arrived and the trainer got busy with a larger table. Since we ordered several courses, extra silverwere was brought. I got 3 forks and 1 knife, my partner 3 knives and a fork. When the waitress noticed it, she left in a hurry without saying or doing anything. Later on, when a drink was poured out, the bottom of the glass went through the butter on the table - the waitress saw it, put the class on the table, paniced and left without a word.

Even if the service was good, when was the last time this place was cleaned? There's a saying - "If you want to know how clean a restaurant's kitchen is, go check the restroom." In this case you don't need to look further from the place you sit at the table.

The lamp shades are covered with a layer of dust - impossible not to notice, when having a drink and tilting your head backwards. There were pieces of food on the seat, when we arrived. The floor is dirty and there was dried caviar on the leg of the table. See the photos I posted. This was not dust and dirtiness from previous evening - chances are, this place has not received a cleaning for a while. Disgusting.

Two ladies, who sat down in the same part of the restaurant as we did, left in the middle of ordering the food. Literally, in the middle of the sentence. Sadly we noticed how dirty the place was only after ordering - must have been temporal insanity, but we stayed for the food.

The quality of the food itself was great. This could be a great restaurant, if they decided to clean up, keep it clean and properly train their staff BEFORE they start serving food.

Not recommending nor ever...

Tucked down a side street and away from any main road means you’d never stumble across this restaurant but there’s a reason why it was packed on the evening we visited and I’d recommend securing a booking if you want to try it out.

The staff were very welcoming from the moment we arrived. It’s not a large place, so the tables are close together and expect to feel a little cramped at times, but that adds to the atmosphere. Coat hangers are available near the door which helps save on space around the table area.

The menu isn’t massive but clearly helps ensure each of the present dishes are cooked wonderfully. As soon as we’d ordered some homemade rye bread was brought - opinion was divided on the taste but it was a nice touch and very well presented still. The starter of scallops was served surprisingly fast, almost too fast, but was super tasty with wonderful presentation and flavours. The homemade meatballs were equally as impressive - great portion size and super tasty with incredible flavours, particularly with the pickled cucumber side.

There’s a nice range of drinks available on the menu, with a large selection of the wines provided by the glass as well as bottle. The small choice of cocktails are served well, strong and flavoursome.

Overall the value is good for a central Stockholm restaurant given the quality of the food. There’s a wonderful atmosphere, great staff and the super tasty food; I’d happily return and...