Bar Othilia occupies a corner of the Grand Hôtel Stockholm that faces the water, and the room has the particular quality of a space that has been used well for a long time. The large grid of dark-framed window panes creates a theatre of reflections at night — the chandelier inside, the harbour lights beyond, the red lampshades doubled in the glass. The lamp on the marble counter has a pleated red shade in the Swedish manner; the books stacked beside it are there for use, not decoration. The bar programme is serious without being performative. The atmosphere is the main reason to come: the specific combination of Nordic material restraint and a room that has accumulated genuine warmth over decades of operation.
Blasieholmen, Stockholm, Sweden