Grodan is a Swedish/French restaurant located on a pedestrianised street in Östermalm. Swedish/French restaurants are one of the most common combos you will see in Stockholm and so one has to have something quite special about it for customers to be drawn in. Grodan certainly has that special something with its opulent and varied rooms. Looking through the images on their website it certainly looks like an impressive venue and upon arrival we were not disappointed. At the front of the building there is a large outside seating area, which in winter is enclosed with glass walls and awnings. It is well heated and blankets are provided, so it is still quite comfortable if not planning on staying outside too long.
Grodan is busy at lunchtimes throughout the week, so we were pleasantly surprised to find it relatively quiet on Sunday. We were politely greeted by a hostess at the door and taken to our table in the Dining Room. This is a beautiful room with decorated walls and ceilings and chandeliers hanging from the middle of the room. It certainly makes an impression!
Our waiter was very efficient. We never had to wait too long for anything and upon clearing each course he checked whether we were happy for the chef to start with the following course. We had a few questions which he answered with ease and we found him to be very personable.
The menu is very appealing. There is a perfect mixture of French and Swedish dishes with all the food groups well covered. We opted for half a dozen oysters followed by Roquefort snails and the ‘Three Dishes’ which are three bitesize portions chosen by the chef. On this occassion it included deer heart, Skagen and smoked salmon. For mains, we had a steak tartare which came served with French fries and salmon quenelles with mashed potatoes. All of the food was delicious and made to a very high standard. I did find the tartare to be slightly lacking in flavour, but this is mostly due to my tastes as I am accustomed to having it with both Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco.
We took advantage of their heated outside space to finish our meal with a creme brulee and whiskeys. It was a fantastic end to a wonderful meal.
Pricewise it is quite a mix. Some items are expensive compared to the norm and others are relatively cheap for what they are. I guess it averages out to be moderately priced, but it is quite easy to turn it into an expensive meal. They do have breakfast and lunch menus during the week, which are far more budget-friendly.
Overall, it does have an elegant and refined feel to it, although from a time long ago. The waiters being dressed in a rather outdated bellboy-esque uniform from an era long passed and the opulent features of the room leave the impression it is trying to retain the reputation it likely had many years ago. Unfortunately, the paper tablecloths and the long hair I had embedded in my starters show it isn’t quite hitting the mark. It is a great restaurant with delicious food but it needs a couple of small tweaks to meet the standards they are trying to convey. My only other grievance is their way of seating customers. This is fully focused on making the restaurant look busy from the outside and trying to coax customers in rather than focusing on the comfort of the guests they already have.
With all that said, it is well worth the visit.
Location: Grev Turegatan near Östermalmstorg station in Östermalm
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