Lisa Elmqvist — Restaurant in Stockholm

We stumbled across Lisa Elmqvist while looking around Östermalmshallen, the food market in Tarmola Square. This is probably the best restaurant I've eaten at in all of the Scandinavian countries during my short trip this summer. The fish is incredibly fresh and the dishes are simply made.

To start off the meal, we had the Kitchen's choice of 3 starters (180 SEK) which happened to include Skagen, Cured Salmon, and Pickled Herring. The Skagen consisted of a small mound of sweet Atlantic shrimp dressed in a light mustard-mayonnaise which was topped with a spoon of trout roe and garnished with a sprig of dill. The flavours were simple yet delicious and I can see why so many people rave about the Toast Skagen here. The Salmon was thickly cut and topped with dill. The herring was perfectly pickled with a sweet tart flavour and a nice firm texture. Paired with finely chopped chives and red onion, it made for an exciting burst of flavours. An amazing start to lunch!

The Avocado Alexandra (211SEK) with a mix of shrimps, honey, dijon mustard, sour cream, mayonnaise was light and refreshing. The shrimp filling was served in a halved avocado and topped with smokey salmon and a sprig of basil. What I thought was really smart was that they cut a little slice off the bottom of the avocado to keep the shell from rolling around the plate.

The Butter Fried Fillet of Pike Perch (315 SEK) was my favourite dish. The skin was perfectly fried with a light crunch as you bite into it. But the star of this dish has got to be the hot buttery sauce with cream boiled wild mushrooms. Not only was the taste of mushroom very apparent, there was also a lemony flavour which made it irresistible. I ended up finishing off every drop with the complimentary bread.

The Steamed Cod (335 SEK) was my least liked. Although the cod was extremely tender and perfectly cooked, I felt the fish itself lacked flavour. The eggs, shrimp, horseradish and beurre noisette did help to make the dish more exciting but overall, it did not compare to the rest of the dishes we tried.

We were lucky enough to drop by really late in the afternoon in order to get a table. However, reservations are something I would definitely recommend here as the restaurant started to fill up again fairly...

As a tourist really love the food and atmosphere! We got really good Oysters and Kalix löjrom Skagen! The place is not cheap but I think it is not the bad for a Michelin recommended place!

The restaurant is located in a Östermalm's food hall ( 19th century beautifully renovated food hall). Its classy ambiance sets it apart from other food halls we've visited. Excellent service at Lisa Elmqvist, quick and attentive. Food quality was exceptionally good, and prices were reasonable.

THE STORY ABOUT LISA In 1926 Lisa bought one stall in Östermalm's food hall and laid the foundation for what her fellow workers would call "the most superior fish shop in Europe". Lisa started her business with three employees - two shop assistants and the errand boy Enar who remained with her until she retired. In 1963 the third generation of the family Elmqvist came on the scene. Lisa, her son Hans and her grandson Christer were now working together, and the business expanded with four new stalls. Lisa retired in 1968 and lived for another ten years but her experience, knowledge and recipes lives on in the unique business which was her lifetime achievement. The shop expanded with an oyster and shell- fish bar and later a new delicatessen counter was created on the little marketplace in front of the stalls. Lisa's son, Hans Elmqvist, retired in 1985 and at that time his grandchildren Ulf, Peter and Ninna had already started to work in the company. In 1986 the oyster bar was converted to a fish restaurant. During the years the restaurant has developed and today it is often top ranked by discerning critics with recommendation in e.g. Guide Michelin. In 2021 the family business celebrated its 95thanniversary. Four generations of the family Elmqvist have through its genuine interest in the handling and preparation of fish and shellfish developed the business from a modestmarket table at Munkbron to probably one of the world's best within its field. April 2016 the business moved to a temporary markethall on Östermalmstorg when the regular hall underwent extensive renovation and restoration and on the 5th of March 2020 the newly renovated market hall was...

I almost never experienced bad service in Stockholm. But this place made me feel really small. If ever you plan to go here, try to dress up for the ladies working in the restaurant. We walked in and waited to be seated, almost no one wanted to talk to us. Eventually, after some 7-10 minutes, someone entertained us. We said that we were there for drinks, but the lady sat us in the dining area even if the bar was almost empty. She gave us a basket of bread, (that was nice I thought). But after another 10 minutes, when her colleague got our order she said we should not be sitting next to the dining guests. They asked us to move to another section of the dining room where we were alone. They even did not give us water while all the other tables had water. She also took back the bread she gave us earlier. After some 20 minutes more, our drinks have arrived and they probably heard me complain how we weren’t offered water so they gave us water eventually.

I also noticed that they were friendly with other tables but not with us - specially to me who is a person of color.

The one star is for the good drinks! Thank you! But I was not informed that you must be properly dressed to be treated like a paying customer in a restaurant inside a food hall.

Maybe we did not wear suits but I was wearing an okay dress and my boyfriend an okay shirt. I think we did not look like we cannot pay for what we ordered. I feel sad because I love buying seafood from this store but I can no longer support a restaurant or brand who practices stereotyping and do not treat paying...