General Pubs and Clubs, Stockholm

In the Nordic Sea Hotel, just by Stockholm's Central Station, there is this funky "ice bar" where everything is made of ice, including the glass you drink your spirits with.

In order to go in, you pay about a 70-100 Swedish Kr's which pays for two drinks.

They also require you to wear this jacket. I spoke with the person at the entrance and he told me that the the ice stays cold because the temperature inside this ice bar is maintained at -8 degrees Celsius! It was pretty cold. You'll need only 10 minutes here as it'll be freezing, but it's a fun and unique experience.

There are also interesting ice sculptures inside.

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The Bishops arms is one of those pubs by Stockholm's central that is always "on". There's usually people (locals and tourists) coming and going and they have affordable beers.

The decor looks like an old English library/work room, with books and old train pictures and some spitting pots (!) hanging on the roof.

Dress Code: Come as you are.

We found this place while wandering around Gamla Stan. What attracted us was those magical words "Happy Hour", which the Engelen has every day from 5-8. Not everything is reduced however, as I still ended up paying a whopping 51 SEK for my Murphy's Red. Much more reasonable is the local beer, Stor Stark, for 29 SEK.

There are lots of clubs and bars downtown, especially around Stureplan. Usually the clubs don't get busy until after midnight, however it is advisable not to come too late as the cues tend to get really long.

Here are just a few of the downtown Nightlife Spots:

FREDSGATAN 12, Fredsgatan 12
Great outdoor venue with different clubs every night of the week (only summertime). Get there early, it fills up quickly.

EAST, Stureplan 13
Excellent night club, with DJs playing Hip Hop and Soul every night of the week

BERNS, Berzelii Park 9
Beautiful venue with clubs every night of the week. Several dance floors and VIP room.

CAFE OPERA, Operahuset, Kungstradgarden
An exclusive night club with the opera house as a venue.This is where international celebrities usually have there after-parties.

By the last night of our trip, Pub Engelen had become our regular place, but on this occasion they were charging entry as there was a live band. We would have stayed except the band were doing covers of Wet Wet Wet, so off we went to the next pub. Hence the we found a place called "After". Definitely not as good a place as Engelen, and the beer was quite pricey, but a small price to play for avoiding "Love Is All Around". I tried another local beer, Spendrup.

This was a decent place, two levels, one indoors one out. It is known for the huge chandelier. Locals didn't seem too crazy about it but it always came up in conversations as the 3rd or 4th best place to go. We went late Thursday, it was good, not great. It is worth checking out if you need a place to go. There is a cover charge at the door.

Dress Code: i think you can get away being a little more casual at this place but I'd still play it safe and dress impressively.

I recently visited stockholm, and saw this link right before I arrived, it was quite handy, especially with the music and age. i did hear from other reviews it was hard to get in. check out this site http://www.exclusivestockholm.se

The setting is beautiful in Cafe Opera--you can eat there in the day tm (great place to eat, and at night it turns into a very classy disco. Mostly 90's music and more popular after midnight. Dress smart casual (don't wear jeans and tennis shoes!) and you have to be at least 23 years old.

Thier website is only in Swedish but you can find a short review about it at www.worldsbestbars.com/city/Stockholm/CafeOpera

Loads of places to go out.
I went to -
Patricia, (49kr for a local beer)a boat converted into a nightclub. Its popular and serves beer, has a band playing upstairs and a dancefloor downstairs. There is a cover charge but I dont remember how much! Open til 5am on weekends.

Mest, (39kr for a local beer)a really trendy good bar in Stadsholmen, on a street (i think its called Gotgatan)where theres loads of other bars. Another bar we tried was Tiffanys.(49kr for a local beer)

Thistle Irish pub - a 5 minute walk from the hostel, they have sky sports for watching footy, and also serve loads of different beers.

Galway Irish pub , on Kungsgatan - serves a nice pint of guiness for 50KR, also do a nice plate of chips!(for 30kr)

Plenty of bars which I didnt catch the name of.

On my 2nd visit, I spent all afternoon on the Dubliner pub in the city centre, its a nice place, with sport on tv, and selling good beer! Later on, I ended up back in Patricia, and had another good night!

On my 3rd visit, it was a glorious sunny day so me and my mate sat on a floating boat called 'Flyt' in Kornshamnstorg. It was busy place with beer for 51kr! they also did food.

The KGB is this 3 floor (downwards, not upwards!) bar that is frequented by the Stockholm division of the Communist party in Sweden. While I'm not sure how many of them were there when I was, I really enjoyed this place. You had to pay to check your coat, but overall, it was really unpretentious and a laid back type of place to have a drink with some friends. The bottom floor I suppose is a dance floor with a bar, then the second floor is a bit like a balcony where you can see down to the bottom floor and the top (street level) floor is a normal bar. The bathrooms here are fun as well - there is some sort of propaganda or something playing on speakers when you walk in the stall. Old commie posters decorate the entire place.

Dress Code: Casual