Nytorget is kind of a hipster-cool city oasis. It’s a little park in SoFo (South of Folkungagatan), Södermalm, surrounded by charity shops and vegan cafes. I have long avoided hanging out there. Not because I don’t like second hand or vegan, but rather because it is so crowded by locals and tourists and the food and drinks selection has been limited. This summer, everything has changed – Bar Agrikultur has opened next to the park. Now, I have been hanging out around Nytorget every week. Other newcomers, like Café Pasqal opening a branch there will make it even more attractive.
Bar Agrikultur is a simpler bistro, or minirestaurant as they call it, by the owners of Restaurant Agrikultur in Vasastan. The bar serves good wines, small dishes from seasonal Swedish ingredients and infused gin tonics. A local gin distiller, Stockholm Bränneri, makes an infusion especially for them. We were actually lured to this place with the promise of good gin cocktails. We had a reservation at one of our favorite restaurants, Café Nizza, and just wanted a drink before. What happened was that we ended up having a “pre-dinner” there. You know, you just order a few dishes as snacks, and then you order a few more. We made it to Café Nizza, but just for dessert.
The food at Bar Agrikultur is served in medium-sized dishes. Menu includes plates like friend potates inspired by the Spotted Pig (a one star bistro in New York), beets with watercress, heirloom tomatoes and ricotta and two different types of skewers. My favorites were the potatoes and the juicy pork skewer.
The wine list is nature inspired and includes wines from small producers. The house champagne is R.Poillon Brut Reserve, which is a fantastic, biodynamic entry level cuvee. Agrikultur also had a very nice, crispy Cremant de Loire as their other house sparkling.
But how about the Gin cocktails we actually came for? Unfortunately, the so called cocktails were just infused gin tonics, and not the inspiring, spicy, acidic cocktails I was hoping for. However, the GTs were very good. I was at first not going to go for one, but have wine instead, but the bartender really sold it to me with his praise of their special infused gin. They also used a special Schweppes premium mixer, that I think did not take too much away from the spirit itself. Even though the selection was quite narrow, I really enjoyed what was on offer.
The damage at Bar Agrikultur was not that bad. We ended up paying around 700kr for two with five dishes and four drinks. That is quite normal for Stockholm. The amount we ate was definitely enough for a light dinner.
If it wasn’t for this place, I would perhaps not hang around Nytorger at all. Definitely worth going
xx Soile
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