Tysta Mari — Restaurant in Stockholm

In Swedish, Tysta Mari means “Quiet Mary”. As quiet as this restaurant’s founder may have been back in 1834, today, the only thing quiet will be the echoing sound of emptiness from your wallet once you’ve paid the bill.

I've long been addicted to Scandinavia’s open-faced shrimp sandwiches. Over the years, I’ve eaten at least a couple of hundred of them – all over Sweden, Norway and Denmark. So when the craving came upon me the other day while in the Swedish capital, I walked to the nearest café for what I was hoping would be a tasty, affordable fix. That place happened to be Tysta Mari a café/restaurant in Stockholm’s premier indoor market, Östermalmshallen. But boy, what a costly choice that turned out to be.

As a guest at Tysta Mari, you place and receive your order at the counter. Most other restaurants in this market have table service, but not Tysta Mari. The owners have clearly identified that by eliminating service from the guest experience and by calling it a “café" yet keeping table service prices, guests' expectations are lowered, staffing costs are minimized and profitability is maximized. I totally get that.

Once I had requested a sandwich and a beer, a cashier repeated my order monotonously, like a robot. But even a robot can be programmed to say "thank you” or, at least wish me a “have a pleasant meal!". If this sad interaction had taken place at a rural gas station or a drive-in at a fast food joint – not at what is arguably Sweden's most reputable, upscale indoor market – I would have disregarded the situation.

Once my ridiculously costly meal was paid for and the initial chock had begun to sink in, the cashier’s colleague handed me the ready-made shrimp sandwich which she had grabbed from an adjacent display case filled with other ready-made plates. No tray was offered to me and when I kindly asked if I was assured somewhere to eat, the cashier raised her arm and pointed at the seating area. She did so without losing eye contact with me and then suggested emphatically that I go take a look for myself.

With the plate, napkin, cutlery, and beer in my hands, I aimed for the first available table. Fortunately – and, somewhat telling for Tysta Mari – there were plenty to choose from. Once seated but before I started eating, I reflected on the small size of the plate where my sandwich was positioned. Personally, I would have never used such a small plate for anything other than to serve an appetizer, or, possibly a dessert on. Certainly not for such a small sandwich. But then I started thinking…the choice of plate size was in itself pretty interesting. Tysta Mari clearly wants you to believe that their astronomically priced sandwich is bigger than it actually is – thanks to the petit plate size.

Then I looked at the beer. In Sweden, normally, a large glass of beer is 50cl. There is no law about how big a large beer has to be in order to be called a “large" beer. But traditionally speaking, at least during my lifetime, it’s always been 50cl, half a liter. The one I received came in a 40cl glass and had more foam than I cared for.

In all fairness, the sandwich was as tasty as the beer was thirst-quenching. But to charge SEK 225 for a small, pretty basic shrimp sandwich and SEK 82 for a barely large beer is simply highway robbery.

If Tysta Mari was alive today, I’d bet a pretty penny that she would not keep quiet about how her name and reputation are being exploited. Today’s incarnation of her establishment is owned and operated by a huge restaurant group, which means they have enormous purchasing power. So, charging unsuspecting guests such an insane amount of money – without offering any service whatsoever – is shameful and reeks of corporate greed.

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.

Yes folks, I highly recommend avoiding...

After strolling around the ineresting Saluhall we decided to have some lunch. Lisa Elmqvist closed the outside tables on that day - despite the sunny weather. So, no chance with our dog - overpriced all around anyways.

We asked this place here and our dog was very welcome at the lovely outside section of the restaurant.

We ordered the Salmon Potato Gratin and fried Herrings with mash. Two beers with that. Both items tasted nice. Fresh fish in both dishes. The herring was very crispy and tender. The salmon Gratin was a great combination - never thought of that. Melted butter on the side - nice! Enough with the healthy food... Prices were - for Stockholm at the Saluhall - quite fair. Staff was friendly and the whole place felt very welcoming. Surely...

We were recommended Tysta Mari by a friend when we asked for good seafood.

Wasn’t sure what to order as all menu items are in Swedish. At the server’s recommendation, I ordered the mustard-marinated fried flounder with browned butter, mashed potatoes & raw-stirred lingonberries. Did not disappoint. The fish was deep fried - would’ve preferred another preparation to really taste it. The lingonberries were definitely the star of the dish. My sister had the cold poached salmon with potatoes and spring onion mayonnaise.

I found the food spectacular, service exceptional, and environment very casual yet elegant.

Only drawback: all menu items...