Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The Liffey - Good food, poor beer selection

Over the last week I have twice visited the Irish pub The Liffey in Stockholm. It is situated in the old town (Gamla Stan) at Stora Nygatan and has in just over a year gained a stable crowd. Every night they play live music and show sports after the well updated weekly schedule available in the pub. At fridays and Saturdays the place gets truly busy as the party people seem to assembly here.

I really enjoy the atmosphere at The Liffey. It is nice and clean and laid back. All of the staff speaks pretty much only English and it feels fairly genuine. The food quality is far above what you can expect from an Irish pub in this style. It is classical pub food but well made and extremely affordable. The fish and chips plate is one of the bigger I've had and the fish is well done. So are the Sizzling-fajitas and the Nacho plate. The gambas starter is also sizzling hot and has a powerful garlic taste which is truly enjoyable. There is also a sweet deal for bbq-ribs and beer.

There seem to be a group of regulars hanging in the bar and I can really understand them coming there repeatedly. The music that starts around 10 pm is not to loud anf the place is hence talk-able even though you can enjoy the atmosphere with live music.

As you may have guessed I really like the place. Anyhow there are things that could be better! Of a gastronomic perspective it lacks some quality. As mentioned the food is really good in relation to what is expected of an Irish pub and especially to the price. But, if you're in Stockholm to have a gastronomic experience you'd better try out Frantzén Lindeberg just around the block. Thus I don't think the food is the problem at this place. The problem is the beer. And the beer is fairly crucial at an Irish pub. The selection is highly commercial with nothing that sticks out. There is Guinness, Kilkenny, Staropramen, Stella Artois, Carlsberg etc. on draught and not a single interesting beer. With the strong beer-trend coming up and growing in Sweden it's not acceptable and I hope they will change it soon!

If you are a budget traveller visiting stockholm for the first time or a thirsty local doesn't matter. You can drop by The Liffey anyway.

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Lucas Spinnars