The Streetfood Labs — Restaurant in Stockholm

I visited this restaurant a couple of weeks ago, always on the lookout for great food, especially as a New Yorker missing the vibrant culinary scene. The concept of this place—a fusion of Asian, Mexican, and American influences inspired by LA street food—immediately caught my attention, as I lived in California for a few years.

The location had me scratching my head a bit; it seemed more suited for local residents. But, hey, sometimes you discover amazing gems in the most unexpected places. Like The Arrogant Swine, which is situated in the middle of nowhere, yet I’d travel anywhere for their juicy brisket—simply the best in Sweden.

I hoped this restaurant would be another hidden treasure, but unfortunately, it fell short. Here’s why.

We started with the KFC Loaded Fries. Honestly, it was the most "Swede-ified" dish I’ve ever encountered. I often describe Swedish culinary “creativity” as taking a handful of random ingredients that don’t quite belong together and throwing them into one plate. The fries were soggy, and the texture of the lettuce felt off and what’s with the cherry tomatoes! Naturally, as with every Swedish dish, this included red pickled cabbage, which didn’t complement the chimichurri sauce (which, by the way, has nothing to do with Asian, Mexican, or American cuisines). The chicken itself was decent, but it didn’t fit with that confusing pile of ingredients. I would have suggested serving the chicken as a completely separate dish.

Then came the birria tacos. Upon learning that the owners were Persian, the way the tacos were presented suddenly made sense—they were a direct replica of those from El Birria, which I’ve previously criticized in another review. It seems like a trend among certain ethnic-owned establishments, like VASO Streetfood, also Middle Eastern, to recreate these tacos without grasping their authentic roots. If you're going to replicate a dish from another culture, it’s essential to learn from the source rather than imitating someone else who has already gotten it wrong. So, a hard pass on the birria tacos.

Next, we tried the so-called "corn ribs." They looked like a copy straight from Chelas. While they weren’t terrible, the recipe wasn’t original—the credit belongs to a Mexican chef who created Chelas' menu. So, it feels like props should go to them rather than these imitators.

As for the micheladas, they too seemed borrowed rather than crafted from their own experiences in LA. Anyone familiar with authentic micheladas knows that the glass should match the size of the beer, ensuring a balanced mix. The glass was too small making the mix too overwhelming, we asked for a bigger glass of course.

Overall, this restaurant came off as a "copycat" establishment with little creativity. The recipes felt poorly executed and, to top it off, overpriced. They seem to overlook the fact that street food shouldn’t come with a hefty price tag, though I’m not surprised, given their lack of true experience in LA, despite their claims.

This spot may suit locals in Kungsholmen who have few dining options, forcing them to settle here.

They also recently opened a sandwich-style deli food truck/kiosk, attempting to recreate another culture they don’t fully grasp. But the disappointment in the sandwiches deserves a separate review. — never thought I'd be reviewing a response to my review, but here we are… This resto not only lacks originality but needs a professional PR; their response felt like a TikToker defending their wounded pride. Chelas serves esquites, not "elote," and offers the same flavor as your corn ribs, just with a diff presentation.

Check their online menu, there’s chimichurri in the KFC fries! They don’t know what’s on their menu! A fully-booked restaurant doesn’t guarantee quality, especially in an area w limited options, I doubt they'd thrive in a competitive city like LA.

Management's defensiveness shows my feedback hit home. Their emphasis on perceived ‘success’ feels patronizing instead of constructive. I stand by my original review and won’t engage in further...

Never got the food I ordered. I had a similar experience to the previous comments regarding the service. The place has a nice vibe, but the service is really messy. We had to change our table about three times (not sure why). We ordered some drinks, a burger, and a burrito. The burger came in 10 minutes, and my friend said it was nice, which is why I'm giving an extra star.

The burrito didn't come. When we asked, they told us their system was lagging and it would come in a few minutes. My friend finished his burger when we asked again about the burrito; they were surprised that it hadn't come yet. We waited another 15 minutes, but no one came to us, so we asked again. They said it would come in a few minutes. In the meantime, we saw that people who came after us were getting their burritos. After another 15 minutes, we told them that we'd leave if it didn't come. Then they told us it would be around 40 minutes to get the burrito, and they were sorry.

So we left and went to McDonald's instead, which was quite nice...

Our recent visit to The Streetfood Lab left us consistently disappointed with the quality of the fries served with our meals.

Despite good cooked shrimp in the Fried Shrimp Tacos and flavorful chicken in the Fried Chicken Burger, the accompanying fries lacked flavor and texture, and the crust was over fried. They were unremarkable and failed to enhance the overall dining experience.

The Carne Asada Fries suffered the same fate, with bland fries overshadowing the flavorful toppings and leaving the dish underwhelming.

In summary, while The Streetfood Lab showed promise in other aspects of their dishes, the consistent disappointment with the fries detracted from our overall enjoyment. We hope the restaurant can improve this aspect of their menu for a better dining experience in the future.

The saddest aspect is that we were here last summer, and the food was a lot better. Basically we won’t come back anytime soon, but we hope it will get better as it...