Hantverket Mat & Bar

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

The Craft Behind the Name

Hantverket – the Swedish word for craftsmanship – is a name that carries weight here. The restaurant opened in 2016 on Sturegatan 15 in Stockholm, founded within a group whose owner began his career as a carpenter and crafts teacher before running the interior company Svensk Inredning for over three decades. That origin shapes everything: the dining room is built from wood, granite and cast iron, genuine materials chosen with the same care as the food on the plate.

The result is a lively, grounded space that White Guide has recognised at its "very fine level" – and the recognition feels earned rather than ceremonial.

Stefan Ekengren and the Kitchen's Philosophy

Since 2017, head chef Stefan Ekengren has led the kitchen. A cookbook author, TV chef and columnist – nicknamed, with some affection, "the world's oldest chef" – Ekengren describes the food as "curious, awake and here and now." His Swedish cooking is prepared from scratch, rooted in home cooking with quiet European influences, and driven by a deep respect for raw materials. His forthcoming cookbook Potatis is, in his own words, a declaration of love for the ingredient closest to him throughout his career.

What to Eat and Where to Sit

The menu is broad enough to sustain regulars and reward first-timers in equal measure. Certain dishes have become fixtures: delicately crisp Hasselback potatoes with vendace roe and soured cream; a now-legendary lamb isterband, a modern take on the traditional smoked sausage. A cast-iron seven-hole pancake pan arrives at the table containing salmon tartare with Dijon mayo, tart swede, lemon jelly, salmon roe and a ruffle of brittle filo – a dish the kitchen insists must be ordered for two. Creamed macaroni, lifted with tarragon and broad beans and finished with Himmelsraften cheese from Jämtland, refuses to be what you expect. Dessert might be a laconic "ice lolly" – frozen mint chocolate mousse with crushed pistachio.

The space itself offers several ways to spend an evening: a kitchen bar with a full view of the pass, a main dining room, and a bar a few steps down where smart cocktails are matched to dishes at the spritbordet. Dogs are welcome throughout.

A Stockholm Address Worth Knowing

Hantverket sits comfortably in its own category: too convivial to be stiff, too precise to be casual. The Swedish cooking here is confident without announcing itself – the menu language is direct, the service has personality, and the materials around you remind you that someone cared about the details long before the first guest arrived.