The best things about travel always seem to happen when you venture beyond what you expected. Those surprises are the ones you never forget.Following a local’s recommendation is like playing “Where Are You Going?”—the destination is often unexpected, but the result is usually wonderful.That was exactly what happened on our final night in Stockholm, Sweden, when we blended into a Viking restaurant and spent the evening as pirates, feasting on meat and guzzling drinks.
I was sitting in the front seat of a nine-seater van, ready to leave the Swedish Arctic Circle for the airport. Beside me, Klas, the owner of Abisko Guesthouse, chatted with me as he drove: “What are your plans after this? Are you going to Stockholm?” After flying back to Stockholm, my travel companion and IChihwould stay for one more night before flying home to Taiwan the following evening, while two other girls would spend a few more nights in the city.
“Then may I recommend a restaurant?” Of course! A local’s secret favorite is bound to beat the same old places listed in every guidebook. “You absolutely have to try a Viking Restaurant in the Old Town! They really do a good job.” (I’ve kept part of Klas’s actual English wording here to convey how sincerely he recommended it.)
At first, I didn’t even realize what “Viking” meant and assumed it was simply the restaurant’s name. Only after Klas explained did I finally understand that he was recommendinga restaurant serving Viking cuisine. “I highly recommend!” Klas repeated, strongly urging us to fit the restaurant into our itinerary.
But what exactly do you eat in Viking cuisine? Other than their horned helmets, I seemed to know absolutely nothing about Vikings!
[ Thanks to Chih for demonstrating the Vikings’ horned helmet for us ]
Armed with the restaurant’s name, “AIFUR RESTAURANT & BAR,” I searched Google for blog posts so I could find out what kind of food it served and whether the prices were within our budget. To my surprise, there wasn’t a single article from Taiwan—or even one in Chinese. On Tripadvisor and English-language websites, however, I found loads of positive reviews, and it had evenbeen named one of the 10 best restaurants in Stockholm’s Old Town. Although we had deliberately chosen accommodation near the airport and hadn’t planned to travel far, we decided to head into the city and see it for ourselves. Thank goodness we made that wise decision—it gave us an extraordinary and unforgettable final night in Sweden!
The moment we followed the address and arrived outside, the two enormous flags, carved wooden pirate decorations, and weathered-looking door had us incredibly excited about what awaited inside.
[ The entrance—you still have to walk down the steps ]
[ We hadn’t even entered the restaurant yet, and the decor was already this elaborate ]
[ This door is the entrance to the time machine (I was apparently so excited that my hands were shaking…) ]
Located in Stockholm’s Old Town, AIFUR takes its name from a legendary Viking ship.It is the only restaurant in Sweden devoted entirely to traditional Viking cuisine.According to its official website, the team spent 15 years researching and investigating Viking culture, daily life, and food in an effort to recreate the Viking Age of AD 700–1100 as authentically as possible.
The winding pedestrian streets of the Old Town rise and fall, and many ground-floor restaurants and shops sit half a level below the street. AIFUR is one of them. We walked down the entrance stairs and pushed open the door. “Wow!” Not only was it inside a cellar—it looked exactly like the sort of place where you would dine in a cellar!
[ It looked just like a party banquet from a movie ]
Even more excitingly, the waiter who greeted us was actually dressed head to toe in Viking cosplay (although my immediate thought was actually Hagrid from Harry Potter…). The staircase and that heavy door seemed to have transported us through time into the Viking Age.
[ The waiter who showed us to our seats—I really wanted to ask whether his beard was real ]
You could check your coat at the entrance, and everyone from the cloakroom attendant to the waitstaff was fully committed. The only thing missing was a Viking outfit for each of us.
[ The adorable and enthusiastic cloakroom attendant—you can leave a small tip when checking your clothes ]
[ This is what a meeting between ancient and modern times looks like ]
After checking our things, Hagrid led us toward our seats. Fortunately, the restaurant was quite large, and we were lucky enough to get a table for four on a Saturday night without a reservation. As we walked downstairs, Hagrid bent over to pick up the menus and asked me, since I was at the front:“What’s your name?” and “Which country are you from?”(The above has been translated from my toast-level English into Chinese—and now back again!)
I assumed he was merely making polite conversation or figuring out which language menu to give us. Instead, he suddenly straightened up, stood on the stairs, and called out to everyone in the cellar: “Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention?Creya and her friends are from Taiwan!” Everyone below turned toward us, applauding and cheering enthusiastically as they welcomed us in.It all happened so quickly that I was completely caught off guard, but the wildly festive atmosphere was instantly infectious. I couldn’t help raising my hand, cheering, and even waving at everyone (did I think I was walking the red carpet or something?).Somehow, we had successfully given Taiwan a moment in the spotlight inside this tiny cellar.(What kind of conclusion is that?)
[ This was our glorious view ]
[ We didn’t have time to photograph our own entrance, so here’s the wildly enthusiastic welcome another group received ]
Every group entering the restaurant was greeted with cheers, which sounded even louder inside the cellar.Everyone was the star of the evening. As the master famously said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” I had already used up one of mine.(Hey!)
[ When you enter, they first ask whether you’re here to dine or drink. This must have been the bar area ]
[ Every detail in the restaurant was thoughtfully arranged to evoke the Viking Age (evoke, I said—after all, it’s not as if I was alive back then) ]
[ Even the toilets followed the theme ]
[ There was also some very “ancient”-looking writing on the wall. I had no idea what it said—perhaps it was Swedish seal script ]
[ The AIFUR Viking emblem above the doorway, with the candlelight no cellar should be without along the way (also a favorite form of lighting among Swedes) ]
At the long tables, we shared our table with another group of diners—presumably another Viking-style touch. Everyone at AIFUR was happily eating and chatting, and the whole place buzzed with the cheerful atmosphere of a feast.
[ Look, everyone even had a layer of fur beneath their bottoms. Very comfortable ]
[ Enjoying a feast here was such a pleasure (that lady probably won’t ever see this photo, right…?) ]
We communicated with Vikings from over a thousand years ago while wearing our thoroughly unconvincing modern clothes. Luckily, their English was excellent, so we had no trouble understanding one another.
[ Are Viking men all required to grow beards?! ]
The menu has been adapted for modern diners while still retaining the essence of Viking cuisine.It also explains the cultural background of every dish.The four of us weren’t big eaters, so we ordered two mains—a venison steak and a sea bass fillet—plus mussels as an appetizer. We finished with a small dessert of three chocolates and also ordered four kinds of mead.It came to about NT$1,200 per person,which was well worth it for such a lavish feast and this fantastic atmosphere.
[ English food and drinks menus are available, so there’s no need to worry ]
[ The four dishes we ordered ]
[ Shields, weapons, and paintings hung on the walls, while candles sat on the tables in cast-metal boat-shaped holders. I really had stumbled into the Viking Age, hadn’t I? ]
Even the cutlery and drinking goblets were adorable and thoroughly Viking-style. Calling this a theme restaurant almost undersells it—they were completely serious about the whole thing!
[ Viking-style goblet; the ceramic bottle on the right held water ]
[ The super-cute dining fork ]
The Swedish father and son sitting beside us told us thatViking alcoholic drinks were traditionally made with honey, a classic feature of Viking cuisine.We ordered four different drinks and poured them into our Viking goblets. Every one was delicious, though each of us had a different favorite.
[ All four had different colors and flavors, and even came in different containers—but they were all delicious ]
[ Mead is sweet—the sort of flavor we girls loved ]
The venison steak tasted quite different from thereindeer BBQ we had in Abisko.It was similar to beef steak but springier, and it came with the lingonberries that seem to appear in every Swedish dish. Sweet, tart, and absolutely delicious!
[ A Swedish specialty—venison steak. Feast on meat and guzzle your drinks! ]
[ Spear a piece of venison with the adorable fork, then add some lingonberry sauce. So delicious ]
The sea bass was also tender and delicious—so delicate that it would fall apart if we weren’t careful when picking it up. The mussels tasted wonderfully fresh and sweet too. We ordered almost at random, and everything was randomly delicious. Not a single dud!
[ The sea bass fillet was quite large (although I photographed it from a strange angle). It came with onions and vegetables steamed until soft—delicious, delicious ]
[ Mussels served with bread. The creamy preparation was fragrant and exactly to our taste ]
[ Truffle chocolates for our final dessert ]
Every table was apparently supposed to receive some Viking crispbread, but we didn’t notice until we were nearly full. By then, we couldn’t have eaten it anyway.
[ Crispbread is another distinctive Viking food. We didn’t get any, so we had to sneak a photo of someone else’s ]
[ A group was shown to seats above us, and only then did we realize there was actually another table up there. You had to climb a ladder to reach it—so cool ]
There was live Viking music while we ate. Some pieces were purely rhythmic, while others occasionally featured a female singer. Full and pleasantly tipsy, we immersed ourselves in the music and cheerful atmosphere, chatting casually among ourselves and sometimes with the Swedes at the next table. It felt like attending a Viking party in the distant past, and everything about it was simply wonderful.
[ There were slow songs as well as fast, rhythm-heavy tunes. Our mouths were satisfied and our ears feasted too—it was a treat for all five senses ]
[ Listen to a short clip of the LIVE Viking music! It’s absolutely worth experiencing in person ]
After an incredible journey beneath the northern lights with a wonderful group of travel companions, we followed a local’s recommendation to this magical, entertaining Viking restaurant for our final night in Sweden. Everything that happened felt slightly unreal because it was simply too dreamlike and too satisfying!
[ Some of my travel companions from this Swedish northern lights trip ] (Photo taken and provided by Ryoko)
The restaurant had plenty of European and American tourists (we knew because every group was introduced, of course), but many local Swedes also came to dine here. That was proof that it really was an authentic, high-quality restaurant.If you ever visit Stockholm, Sweden, I highly recommend coming here to experience the Vikings’ festive atmosphere and culinary culture—and give Taiwan a little more exposure while you’re at it.(That was actually the real point all along!)
Postscript: “Vikings” generally refers to a group of Scandinavian people from the region encompassing Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The word vikingr originally meant someone who worked around bays. In the past, most Vikings engaged in maritime trade, and only some were pirates. Calling all Scandinavians Vikings or pirates can therefore be misleading.
AIFUR RESTAURANT & BAR
Address: Västerlånggatan 68b, 111 29 GAMLA STAN, Stockholm, SWEDEN
Opening hours: Monday–Thursday 5pm–11pm; Friday–Saturday 5pm–1am; closed Sunday
Official website:https://aifur.se/en-GB/aifur-en
Food & drinks menus (with prices):https://aifur.se/en-GB/meny-en/ https://aifur.se/en-GB/dryckjom-en/
After returning from the Arctic to Stockholm, we stayed one night before flying home to Taiwan. On the drive to the airport, the owner of Abisko Guesthouse heard that we would be heading into the city and immediately recommended a traditional Viking restaurant in the Old Town. The moment we descended the stairs into the basement and stepped inside Aifur Kong & Bar, it felt as though we had entered…
Posted by Creya! Yes, You Can—Travel Through Life on Saturday, January 9, 2016
✈ Travel date: 2016/1/8
| Follow My European Footsteps | Chasing the Northern Lights in Sweden series: (Travel dates: 2015/12/30–2016/1/10)
● A Northern Light Came Out of Nowhere! Welcoming an Amazing 2016 in the Swedish Arctic Circle
● Grab Your Bags and Go: Leaving in Ten Days to Chase the Northern Lights in the Swedish Arctic Circle! Planning It Yourself Isn’t a Dream
● So Being an Eskimo Isn’t Easy Either: Spending a Night in an Igloo Snow Dome
● My Exhausting Adventures in Sweden’s Subzero World—A Polar Survival Guide: Notes on My Snow Clothing and Gear
● No Matter How Cold It Gets, You Have to See Three Nights of Northern Lights in Abisko, Swedish Lapland
● Blending into Stockholm’s Viking Restaurant, AIFUR RESTAURANT & BAR, and Playing Pirate for a Night
● Oops—I Accidentally Went from Sweden to Norway: Discovering a Geography-Textbook Fjord in the Town of Narvik
● So Beautiful We Rushed into the Ice Palace: Lying Inside Sweden’s Arctic ICE HOTEL, Built Entirely from Ice
● Stockholm’s ICEBAR: Breaking the Ice over Drinks with Fellow Taiwanese Met by a Wonderful Twist of Fate
● Thank You to the Me Who Didn’t Give Up: Discovering Stockholm’s Hidden Urban Forests Through Running
● A Plane That Only Takes You to Dreamland: Jumbo Stay, the Unique Hostel Beside Stockholm Airport
