Restaurant Pelikan is a Swedish beer hall on Blekingegatan in southern Södermalm, where Stockholmers have eaten traditional husmanskost under the same ornate ceilings for more than 110 years. People come for honest Swedish home cooking in one of the city’s best-preserved historic dining rooms.
The main hall sets the tone. Dark wood panelling lines the walls, and painted ceilings rise over long tables of regulars, families and visitors. The menu sticks to Swedish classics:
- Hand-rolled meatballs with cream sauce
- Herring and fried strömming (Baltic herring)
- Veal liver
- Fläsklägg (salted pork knuckle) with rotmos (root mash)
Desserts include Småland cheesecake and rhubarb pie. Expect brown butter and gubbröra, a classic egg-and-anchovy mix. Many diners pair their meal with cold beer or a glass of aquavit, the Swedish caraway spirit traditionally served with herring.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
Book ahead for Friday and Saturday evenings, when locals fill the hall. Early weekday dinners are calmer and give you time to take in the ceiling. Order the meatballs or the pork knuckle if it’s your first visit, and save room for the cheesecake. Skanstull metro station on the green line is a short walk away. Afterward, you can walk north through Södermalm toward Medborgarplatsen’s bars, or toward the Nytorget area’s cafés.
