Operakällaren, Stockholm

Operakällaren is the restaurant housed within Stockholm’s Royal Opera, beside Kungsträdgården. Its story begins in 1787, when it served as an ordinary eating place; by the 1830s, artists and politicians had made its dining room notable. In the 1870s, Bengt Carlsson reshaped it for a more privileged clientele.

Linen covered the tables, wood lined the walls, and coffee became part of the restaurant’s new fashion. Its original name, Terrassen, referred to an outdoor section. Look at the restaurant entrance as you imagine its changing fortunes: the Opera bar arrived in 1905, with Anders Zorn and Albert Engström among its regular guests.

By the 1950s, the business was worn down and losing money. Tore Wretman then took on its revival, commissioning a modern kitchen, a wine cellar, and another outdoor serving area. Peter Celsing and Nils Tesch directed the renovation, which lasted six years, and the restaurant reopened in 1961.

Werner Vögeli led the kitchen then. Stefano Catenacci later guided its return to Michelin recognition in 2014, after a loss of its star in 2010.