EMMAS DESIGNBLOGG

Finally! I've been meaning to update my Stockholm Guide for a while now, but never really found the time. So I figured, instead of reworking my old guide, I'll just make a new short guide with some of my newest favorites, as an addition to the bigger guide I wrote last year. So for the full tour, please check out the Stockholm Guide 2011 where you can read more about where to stay, which museums to visit and what to see.

I'm making this little Stockholm Guide update in the form of a list, in no particular order. Enjoy!

1. Ett Hem, a small luxury design hotel in a quiet, uptown part of town, designed by Ilse Crawford to make it feel like a private home. As usual, Ilse creates perfection. It's a lovely place, with all the right details to make it feel like a wonderful home away from home, where you would like to invite your friends over for dinner, or stay in for the night, curled up in an armchair in the library.

Ett Hem

2. Restaurant AG, for all the meat lovers out there. Hidden away in a scruffy street in Kungsholmen, this is a gem for those of you, who like me, love to get a great quality steak now and again. They were awarded with the prize "Best Meat Restaurant 2012" and also won an award for their great bar. AG is run by the same owners as Rolfs Kök, one of my oldest favorites, and the service levels are just as excellent, and so is the relaxed atmosphere.

Restaurant AG (picture via Condé Nast Traveller)

3. Fabrique, for the nice interiors and the great sourdough bread and pastries. This is a chain of bread shops spread all over town, with an annex on the beautiful island of Gotland.

Fabrique

4. Flux Shop, a really cool shop selling art in all shapes and forms, and also hosting some nice events like talks and dinners (Once a month 12 people are invited. Every participant signs up with an ingredient and a subject they’d like to discuss during the dinner. Traditional subjects as family, work and home are banned for this evening.) A lot going on at their website as well.

Flux

5. Gastrologik, exclusive new nordic cuisine, with global inspirations, made with very carefully chosen ingredients, also available to buy in their deli next doors. Ps. Don't miss the bathroom.

Gastrologik (Photo: Architect Jonas Lindvall)

6. Talent Gallery, artistic and commercial space in central Stockholm that provides exhibition and retail opportunities for emerging graphic designers and illustrators from all over the world. Also a printshop.

Talent Gallery

7. Restaurant Volt, describing themselves as "Stockholm's first gastro bistro", which basically means they are a luxury restaurant with a relaxed mind set. I would say that they are very inspired by Danish Noma (crowned as the world's best restaurant three years in a row now), and the food is quite experimental. Nice and homely interiors, mostly in black.

Volt

8. Sthlm Design District is an area on the west side of Södermalm with 33 well established brands in the design, textile and furniture industry. If you are a hardcore Scandi design lover, take a walk around the showrooms and shops.

Montana, Sthlm Design District

9. Restaurant Mistral, organic, locally produced ingredients carefully turned into set menus of nordic style dishes, determined by what is available that day. Located a little bit outside of the city center, but worth the trip.

Mistral

10. Centralbadet, if the weather is bad but you still want to take a swim, you should try a bath and perhaps a spa treatment in this beautiful Jugend style building from 1904. There is also a roof terrace with an outdoor gym, a healthy restaurant and a small but very pretty park outside.

Centralbadet

11. Scandic Grand Central, not just a wonderfully designed hotel with excellent service (and a free room for bloggers!), but also a very happening place at night with lots of great concerts, dj's and clubs. The lobby and café are great for daytime meetings, and in the evening I enjoy the stylish restaurant or the lively bar.

Scandic Grand Central

12. My latest crush, Vigårda, is a fastfood barbeque restaurant run by one of Sweden's top chefs, Melker Andersson. It's stylish, tasty, cheap and mostly organic and locally produced. Located in the newly opened MOOD mall in the city centre.

Vigårda

That's it for now! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!