Great Tiki Bar in Stockholm

The family and I visited my homeland of Sweden this past summer and I've been wanting to post this for some time..so here it goes. We were walking around St. Eriksplan, Stockholm one night looking for a place to eat. I can speak Swedish pretty well but my reading is terrible. So the menus weren't making any sense. We got desperate and just picked a restaurant and walked in. It didn't have any signage or indication that Tiki was afoot. When we walked in, however, we saw this sign a the top of an iron spiral staircase leading downstairs. The wife and I looked at each other......"what are the odds?" It was destiny....or Tiki Luck!

We descended into what ended up being one of the top 3 Tiki Bars I've ever been to (and we live within striking distance of Trader Vics and Forbidden Island).

The pics are a bit blurry but I didn't want to ruin the mood with flashes.

Low lights, bamboo and thatch everywhere. "Endless Summer" was playing on a TV screen behind the bar where a DJ was playing classic Hawaiiana music and exotica on a turntable (yes...vinyl!)

The crowd was very much a mix of Rockabilly fans and Tiki-philes. I felt right at home....and in Stockholm of all places!

And let me tell you the menu was as varied and the Mai Tais as good as ANY I've had in the states. The dollar was weak so the Trader Vic Mai Tai's ended up costing a whopping $30 each but worth every penny!

On the way out, we noticed a cigarette machine that sold nothing but Lucky Strikes....nice touch.

Can't wait to go back!

I'm a regular DJ there (mostly wednesdays but some weekends too), it's a very cool place, pity that it's not run by tiki enthusiasts anymore. Most of the bartenders are young and have no interest in tiki, nor has the owner. I'd say that only the DJs and some of the visitors are genuinely into the tiki culture. You can still get a nice mai tai, especially on weekends, but it was definitely better a few years ago. Still, one of the best bars in Stockholm and well worth a visit.