Food Friday: Sushi in Stockholm

Even though Stockholm has a very strong connection to the sea, sushi is a relative newcomer in the cuisine of Sweden. Sushi is very common now, but good sushi is pretty rare and being from Seattle has left me a little bit of a sushi snob. We like our sushi and we have some of the best ingredients around. Combine that with a healthy Japanese community and you've got everything you need to turn someone from apathetic to having "discerning tastes" in no time. White salmon at Maneki's, for example, is nearly a religious experience.

But what's a person supposed to do in Stockholm where sushi is largely limited to "both kinds" (salmon and shrimp)? For that, there's Akki Sushi, which is quite possibly the best sushi in Stockholm and pictured somewhere below.

Have you found it yet? Akki Sushi is the place with the blue awning. There are four places to sit, and barely any room to stand. Most of the restaurant is the kitchen, staffed by three insanely busy reggea listening chefs who make the sushi right there in front of you. Business is brisk, with most of it being take out. On sunny days like this, there's no need to have a indoor restaurant, but in the winter seating can be a challenge.

9 pieces will set you back 95 or 105 sek (I forgot which), which is still quite a lot when you crunch the numbers. Even then it's only marginally more expensive than other places which focus on mass producing salmon and shrimp. The 9 piece includes 6 nigiri sushi and 3 pieces from a sushi roll, but unlike most places in Stockholm, here you get a true variety of good fish. There will be at least one piece of salmon, but tuna, albacore, mackerel, octopus, squid, snapper and a couple other types of fish also are liable to come out. If there's one that you really don't want, you can tell them (for example, I'm not a huge fan of amaebi) but otherwise you won't really know what you're getting until you get it.

If you're in Stockholm and need a fix of sushi, this is your place.