#62 | Röda Huset, Stockholm, Sweden
Last Visit: Spring 2025
We do stay away from creating expectations, but based on the menu, the location, and their placements on the World's 50 list in 2023 and 2024, I was excited to experience Röda Huset. A bar that almost didn’t make the cut for this Stockholm trip. If you are curious about general drinking culture in Sweden and my impressions, I recommend our first article about Stjärtilleriet as a little warm-up.
I tried to get into Röda Huset the first evening already, but the restaurant/bar was, very politely, telling me that it was full, so I moved on to A Bar Called Gemma. I then put it at the far end of the list, prioritizing Othilia. Only during the visit there did I receive all the information needed, a bit disappointing, that it takes another bar team to properly communicate your bar.
Röda Huset, at first glance, is primarily an Asian Fusion restaurant, with wines, beers, and cocktails too, and during that first attempt most of the people I saw going there were eating and drinking everything but cocktails. Had I known and had the staff told me that there is also a dedicated cocktail experience on the upper floor, with a set menu, much like Sips vis a vis the Sips Esencia experience in Barcelona, I would have made more of an effort to book myself a spot. It doesn't help that the website does not make clear that these are separate spaces and that you can book it for one person (the booking electronic system starts with two) or that the drinks are different from the regular menu (since the cocktail experience drinks are 'kept secret'). A continuation of the same questions I had after Stjärtilleriet. So many really cool concepts in this city, that no one seems to want to tell potential guests (or maybe just tourists?) about.
When I finally could make a reservation, the upstairs experience floor was closed, and I also went there late after a full dinner, so no possibility to try the food. Nevertheless, I was hopeful, because I did love the design of the former art gallery, stretching from plaza level to the actual entrance up some stairs in an office courtyard. A bit of Cyberpunk 2077 in Stockholm (the Asian cuisine does the rest to add to that vibe). During the evening, you get natural light streaming into the room, reflecting off the beautiful glass and mirror installations. The red on the outside, which gives the bar its name, is paired with vibrant green tones for the inside. People there just know good design, no doubt.
The menu is visually clear and straightforward, by presenting a 'journey' through different places in Scandinavia (not just Sweden), from where the 'local' ingredients for the drinks come. There is of course still quite a bit of industry off-the-shelf spirit used that has zero connection to anything local, but I do appreciate the diversity of flavors and regions. Overall, on the à la carte menu downstairs, you get a selection of 8 signature drinks. From what I was told and what is shown on social media, these do not change much, or use similar ingredients for each iteration. There are some, like the one with cream, that are 'all-time classics'.
The choices were clear. Something fresh with apple and then something stronger, more towards Old Fashioned and Manhattan. I did also ask which of the drinks would go in these directions, and the team was happy to help. Regardless of the final quality of the taste and some miscommunication, the service was top-notch, time was made to answer questions and the presentation was simple, but clean. Prices are what one would expect, with all drinks for 195 SEK, about 18 Eur.
(click the menu for original size:)
Plum & Apple
| Distilled Plum Pits
| Figs
| Carbonated Green Apple
Apple always gets me, and this drink proves why. It is fresh, fizzy, but just the right note of different from lemon as a sour base and even Yuzu, which of course is a common staple of the last years in quality bars. Similar to my drink at Stjärtilleriet the plum is adding more booziness and sweetness rather than really changing the aroma. This is essentially a differently constructed apple lemonade. Distilled plum and toasted fig liqueur combined make 40 ml of alcohol in this drink. The apples are part of a homemade sweet/sour mix that is also, as per their explanation, used in drinks for the 'experience' tasting menu upstairs and presumably other menus. That to me is a brilliant idea, something local, something different, something to surprise guests with (even the ones who are not coming for drinks). Too bad, it is a tad shortsighted. The amount of sugar in this cocktail probably rivals store-bought lemonade (liqueur plus the sweet mix plus fruit sugars) and after a whole glass you have enough of the aroma. Why not keep the sugar low and add more depth another way?
Honey
| Michters Bourbon flavored with honey
| Boulard Calvados
| Apple Cider Vinegar
No way around it. This was the worst drink I had in Stockholm. Which is a bad sign, when the other cocktails on the menu are seemingly even 'lighter' and, as seen above, closer to sophisticated lemonades. This is supposed to be where a bar can shine, show off their skill in using high-quality spirits with homemade ingredients. This just tasted like a watery Bourbon Old Fashioned in a three-star hotel bar. And again, maybe I would not be so disappointed if not for other bars that did much, much better with a similar approach (honey plus bourbon). I was told that the ingredients for this drink are also part of the upstairs Tasting Menu, so it's not like there is a completely different list for that. Some overlap just makes sense.
Not to get caught up in comparisons too much, but I can not help see the parallels to something like Sips Esencia, Barcelona. There, at least, the communication is much clearer, on the website as well as at the location itself. Here I will be left wondering, until the next visit that is, how much different the Tasting Menu upstairs would be. Possibly the drinks on the à la carte menu are deliberately more simple, easy-going choices, that require a lot less prep work and are favorites for a crowd that doesn’t seem to care much anyway. Perhaps the true connoisseurs go upstairs anyway.
From this one evening I can't actually recommend Röda Huset, the regular bar downstairs at least, as it missed the concept in some parts and unfortunately served the worst drink I had during this entire trip. It gives me the impression, and that of course is just speculation, that even the menu upstairs will feature its misses and experiments that might just not work. Everything that I expected here, other bars in the beautiful capital of Sweden, did better and more on point.
Cheers,
/jf
