The Story Of… Zum Franziskaner in Stockholm, Sweden

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen

Restaurant Zum Franziskaner in Stockholm, Sweden first opened its doors on December 23, 1898. Lager Beers were imported from Germany. The building is one of the first built on a steel frame. The most famous dish on the menu is the schnitzel. The beer hall was built in 1910 with all details carved in Germany and then shipped over. The restaurant can be seen in the Netflix series ” The Unlikely Murderer”. A few times every night they open barrels that are served by gravity straight out of the barrel. It’s the traditional Bavarian way of serving beer and called Bayerische Anstich. If you are in Stockholm and want to experience this and have some good food, go visit Zum Franziskaner!

KB: Describe to the RSR readers how the restaurant was founded?

It is a German name. Zum Franziskaner first opened its doors on December 23rd of 1898. This was at a time when Lager Beers were young and gained massive popularity. Those beers were not made in Sweden yet, so they were imported from Germany. So, there was a boom of German styled beerhalls and Bierstubes opening throughout Stockholm at that time. All with imported German lager beers. Many were in the old “Klara”- neighbourhood that was ripped out of the heart of Stockholm in the 60’s. One of the reasons why Zum Franziskaner or “Zumen” as we call it is one of the only ones left and the only one at its original address.

KB: Describe the exterior. It is a stunning building.

The building is quite young actually and was finished as late as 1910. This side of the Stockholm harbor was filled out and built on garbage in the 17th. The building Zum started in, was an old building from around 1620. That was demolished and Carl Smith let develop this new building. It’s one of the first in Stockholm that was built on steel frame rather than brick. He was an eccentric guy and when he caught his wife cheating on him, he had the builders add a vagina with a crying cuckold on top of it. The rain gutters lead through his eyes so when it rains, he weeps over the womb.

KB: What is the most famous dish on the menu?

I would say our biggest seller is Schnitzel. But both swedes and people from abroad visit us for our traditional cuisine. We do serve traditional herring and a lot of classic Swedish dishes.
KB: Describe the beer hall with the old art nouveau interior.
That was built in 1910 and most of the woodwork and paneling is original from that time. To my knowledge all details were carved in Germany and then imported. When I got the chance to purchase the establishment in 2017, it was in horrible shape. During the pandemic we got the chance to renovate and restore it carefully so now it’s as good as new again.

KB: Any celebrities had a meal at Zum Franziskaner?

We do get some Swedish quite well-known people but here in Sweden we don’t really pay attention that that.

KB: Has the restaurant appeared in any movies and series?

I think it has been in a few Swedish movies from the 50’s. In “my time” it has only been in a Netflix miniseries about the Olof Palme assassin: The Unlikely Murderer

KB: Describe for the RSR readers what they would see on a visit to your restaurant.

When you enter from Skeppsbron, which is facing the water, you come straight into the old beerhall. We use that as our dining room now. If you walk through that you’ll come up to a bar. That room is quite narrow, and you can only fit about 15 people in there. From here there’s a small isle that will take you pass the kitchen and dishwashing room, and you’ll enter what we call “Little Zum”. It’s another small room that seats around 15-20 people. We serve the full menu there but if people just want to hang out and have something to drink that’s okay too. There’s also a separate entrance/exit from there that leads to the alley north of the building. If you keep to your left, you will pass the restrooms and then into the backroom or “Bakfickan” as we call it. It’s another room all together with its own bar. That space is refurbished, and all made in the style of Art Deco and the old Scandinavian style of “Functionalism”

KB: Why should people visit Zum Franziskaner?

In my opinion we offer something unique. The location, the old part and the history with people drinking beer there for well over a hundred years. 130 if you count the old building. We have very good food, and you can get some classics that are not so easy to find. Of course, we do get some tourist when it’s that season because of the location in Old Town. But our main business is for the natives. The interior in Bakfickan is also unique and made especially for us so you can’t get that anywhere else.

On top of that we also pay close attention to our beers. We are of course specialized in lager beers from Sweden and Germany. We do have four different Swedish beers made especially for us by four small independent craft breweries. For the German selection we work with all really small family-owned breweries in the region of Franconia. We get some of the real specialty Smoked Beer, where the malt has been dried with real fire and they taste smoky. It’s great with smoked sausages and smoked herring.

A few times every night we open barrels that are served by gravity straight out of the barrel. It’s the traditional Bavarian way of serving beer and called Bayerische Anstich. So, you just pound a brass tap into the barrel and let the beer flow from it. Every time we open a new barrel, we ring a bell in the bar and the patrons applauds the new open barrel.

Check out Zum Franziskaner’s website: HERE
Find the restaurant on Facebook: HERE
Find the restaurant on Instagram: HERE

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