Pharmarium

Pharmarium is a cocktail bar and restaurant on Stortorget, the main square of Gamla Stan, and one of the best places in the old town for a carefully made drink. It opened in 2013, and its theme takes inspiration from Sweden's first pharmacy, which opened to the public in this area in 1575 with Anthonius Busenius as its first druggist. The owners set out to create a place of medicine, beauty and magic, and the bar now describes itself as an award-winning cocktail bar combining mixology and gastronomy in a timeless atmosphere.

The drinks list is built around signature cocktails, and when the bar opened its concept was that the cocktails would shape the food menu rather than the other way round. Traditional medicinal herbs and seasonal ingredients feature in both the drinks and the medium-sized dishes, which are designed to go with what you are drinking.

The setting is part of the appeal. Stortorget is one of Stockholm's most photographed squares, lined with tall, colourful merchants' houses, and an evening drink here is a good way to see Gamla Stan after the daytime crowds have gone home. The atmosphere is intimate and relaxed, suited to conversation rather than dancing.

Pharmarium suits couples, small groups of friends and cocktail lovers. It is open from 17:00 to 23:00 on Mondays, Tuesdays and Sundays, from 16:00 to midnight on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and from 15:00 to 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Tables can be booked online through the bar's website, which is a good idea at weekends. Prices are in line with other quality cocktail bars in central Stockholm. If you are new to the menu, try one of the signature cocktails with a dish chosen to match it, which is how the concept was designed to work.

Stortorget is about five minutes' walk from Gamla Stan metro station through the lanes of the old town. The Nobel Prize Museum is on the same square, the Royal Palace and Storkyrkan cathedral are a couple of minutes away, and Chokladkoppen, on the same square, is an option for coffee earlier in the day. After a drink, the restaurants of Österlånggatan and Västerlånggatan are close at hand for dinner.