A local guide to Stockholm, Sweden

Lifelong Stockholmers and best friends Andreas Bergman and Joel Soderback are the former bartenders who became superstar owners of Tjoget, an eat-and-drink emporium in Stockholm’s trendy Södermalm. Tjoget is one of only two bars in Sweden that is currently on the list of the world’s best bars.

This interview is part of The world made local, a global collaboration between the seven international editions of Condé Nast Traveler where 100 people in 100 countries tell you why their home ground should be your next destination.

Tell us about your connection to Stockholm.

We are from Stockholm. We really feel a close connection to the city and especially the neighborhood Södermalm, where we have lived almost our whole lives. It is also where two of our three restaurants are located. It is definitely a metropolitan area, but you can easily reach nature by car, bus, subway, tram or boat.

Where should we go for a smaller tourist Stockholm?

Go to Solna, our neighboring town, and walk around Gamla Råsunda to get a feel for what Stockholm used to be like. Go back to Stockholm through Hagaparken. There is a beautiful park with a butterfly house, botanical garden, Haga Castle and a Chinese pavilion. Tourists go to Stockholm’s archeologies, but so do we! Check Artipelag.

Leave the city to Gustavsberg and eat good pizza and drink natural wine Il Porto Dal Storko. It is only 25 minutes by bus from the city and a beautiful area. Bring swimwear and do not miss Gustavsberg’s porcelain sockets.

Find an outdoor rave in the woods around town – just ask someone who looks cool Paradiso or a bar on Södermalm, and they will help you. Slide pool at our local pool hall Billiards on Hornsgatan on Södermalm, and was nice to the locals. Have a shitty beer on Loch Ness, a dive bar on Södermalm. Get some sun at Skogskyrkogården, a cemetery 10 minutes south of the city. There is also good Swedish architecture out there.

Go to Hellasgården to swim and walk in nature. We also go here in the winter for a sauna and a dip in the icy water.

Where to go to relax?

Södermalm is Stockholm’s southern island. There you can go to Mariaberget or Skinnarviksberget to relax, enjoy an epic view of the city and bring food to enjoy in the park. A good place to bring food from is A bowl, a Middle Eastern restaurant with the city’s best takeaway. Långholmen, in Hornstull, used to be a prison island, but nowadays it is just a good place to relax, swim, eat ice cream and relax. Vitabergsparken is a large park in the eastern part of Södermalm. Lots of fun things to do in that area too.

You are the bosom. Where do we drink?

For wine, do Savant Bar, Nice Cave, Hornstulls Bodegaand the natural wine bar at Reimersholme hotel. For beer: Tjoget, Omnipollos Hatt, Stigbergets Fot, Bar Central, and Beloved. If you’re looking for something more atmospheric, Riche, Sturehof, and Strandvägen 1 are all in the inner city. And do not forget Tjorget!

And when do we finally need to have dinner?

We are big in Thai and Vietnamese. Visit Thongwiset for the best Thai food in Stockholm and for authentic Vietnamese do Viet kitchen in Söderhallarna, a small indoor market. The market is not the best but Viet Kitchen makes it worthwhile.

We really love Symbiosis on Skånegatan. Some old friends from our industry joined forces with a young chef and opened a Swedish French bistro. They serve the only tacos eaten in Sweden in their cellar, plus Mexican beer and tequila to wash it all.

Follow Andreas Bergman on Instagram @dongiannibergmani; and Joel Soderback @joelsoderback