Restaurang Gåsgränd 4

On a cold New Year’s Eve, this place was one of the few options that wasn’t booked entirely. After eating there, I can see why.
Despite a quaint cellar, the food is abominable and the service well-​meaning but inept.
Customers were frequently shuffled and moved to make room for new arrivals.
It took roughly 45 minutes to receive a tiny prosciutto and rocket salad, which was mostly iceberg lettuce, with no dressing.
Despite the waiter writing our order down, he forgot it twice and had to ask us what we’d ordered. Food was routinely brought into the room with the server having no idea where it was meant to go. The wrong food was delivered, then taken away.
The food itself, when it arrived 90 minutes after ordering, was miserably awful. My dinner partner’s «pepper steak» consisted of some charred scraps of meat in some kind of mole sauce. My own duck dish was thin pieces of some unrecognizable meat covered in a sauce that tasted as if it were from a powdered sauce mix. The potatoes were somehow undercooked. Iceberg lettuce salads on the side were also underdressed.
Throughout the meal, the customers to either side of us were amused greatly at the sheer awfulness of the experience. It reached FAWLTY TOWERS level hilarity, as we continued to wonder what would happen next.
The only pleasant side of the evening was chatting with the equally-​suffering American and Dutch couples to either side of us, but unless they’re sticking around, I would avoid this place at all costs.

I rarely give bad reviews but this is the worst restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. The herring tasted like vomit, the meatballs were definitely chef boyardee and looked like cat food, and we actually sent the «pepper steak» back because the pepper was charred onto the dry, overcooked steak. I could barely choke it down, and I’m not exaggerating. It was like three little pieces of meat that you couldn’t even convince me was beef in the first place. I’m actually listening to my friend sticking her fingers down her throat right now. It would’ve not been such a terrible experience, except no one came by to ask what was wrong or to apologize, and the waitress was rude. I told her that the other waiter didn’t ask how we wanted it cooked but when we realized, it was too late and she was like «you should’ve asked.» Yeah, well you should ask the chef to make his food good, or at least edible, in the first place. I always say never trust a restaurant with white tablecloths; proven once again.

Picture this.
The sun is just starting to set. You walk into a narrow alley which opens up into a charming courtyard with big trees and flowering plants.
It’s dinner time.
At 10 PM.
In the land of the midnight sun.
Perfect.
Even more perfect was the warm and VERY friendly service we received from Ibrahim. Not only did we get free appetizers (okay, so he was really into my friend! LOL) we also got insider tips on where to go in Gamla Stan.
Honestly, apart from the classic Swedish herring plate (I loove herring!) the tomato bisque was on the salty side and the seafood casserole was nothing to write home about. Prices are pretty much on par with San Francisco’s tourist spots (apps are $ 14 and entrees $ 25 above). The restaurant is very cute, with Mediterranean-​style ambiance and had big windows that open to the alley. Snag a seat at one of the few tables outside and have a fabulous time.