Danish Lunch in Gamla Stan (old town)

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a visit to the restaurant Två Små Svin to eat traditional Danish smørrebrød. If you don't have the time to travel to the suburbs (where Två Små Svin is located), then there is another restaurant in Gamla Stan (the old town) which also serves good smørrebrød. Easier to just pop in for a delicious lunch! This restaurant is called Matrosen and I visited here the other day with friends.

Roast beef

 "Matrosen" basically means the sailor in Swedish... though it is a little more complicated than that. Not a regular sailor, more of a type of sailor. The exact translation is "able seaman". At any rate, the name is very fitting as the restaurant is located on Skeppsbron, where trade ships used to moor when visiting Stockholm harbor through the centuries. 

Herring

Like many traditional smørrebrød restaurants, Matrosen is only open for lunch, closing at 6pm. The best way to eat smørrebrød is at a leisurely pace with a snaps or two. Matrosen is quite casual and not that large. You can book a table through their website or, if you are staying at the Hotel Rival, you can contact me directly for help. 

Unassuming entrance

We noticed that they were good at keeping diners socially spaced, including
blocking a table next to us.