Stockholm’s timeless beer hall The haunt of loyal residents for 134 years, Zum Franziskaner stands as a bastion of historical authenticity in Stockholm’s now tourist-swamped Old Town. But tradition-seeking tourists are just as welcome through the doors as the locals are for a dose of conviviality, good food and assorted beer in the wood panelled interior of the institution’s bar and restaurant. By Xander Brett
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Photos: Patrik Lindqvist
For well over a century, a perfectlypreserved institution has been dishing out honest food and foaming beer to its locals, right on the doorstep of Stockholm’s Old Town, Gamla Stan. Zum Franziskaner was opened in 1889, in a building erected back in 1620, when Skeppsbron – the street on which it lies – first began to serve as Stockholm’s quay. “The old building was torn down and Zumen, as it is known to regulars, moved back in around 1910,” says the restaurant’s current owner, Sten Isacsson. 10 |
Issue 152
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March 2023
Zum Franziskaner still features the original waterfront woodwork from that time. The building is listed and has recently been restored. The institution, as its name implies, was founded as a German-style beer hall. Today, though it now serves both German and Swedish classics, it has not forgotten its Teutonic roots. Isacsson came to Zum Franziskaner five years ago, moving over from Akkurat, a beer bar across the bridge that had been showered with praise by critics from all
over the world. Fed up with modern flavours and innovations, he moved to Zum Franziskaner to get back to pouring traditional tankards. Back then, the restaurant was in desperate need of repair. Traditional German beer halls used to be ubiquitous in Stockholm, thanks to the two countries’ cultural and economic exchange, but today Zum Fraziskaner is one of the last remaining. “I felt Zumen needed attention from someone with passion,” Isacsson recalls. “It’s very dear to me and I think Stockholm deserves to have a place like this in mint condition.” Lilla Zumen and Bakfickan The old beer hall is now used as a restaurant while, onwards through the bar and past the kitchen, you’ll find Lilla Zumen,