Restaurant in Stockholm, Sweden
Serious wine list, residential Stockholm address.
Bar Nîmes is Stockholm's Vasastan wine bar with back-to-back Star Wine List recognition in 2023 and 2026 — a credentialed stop for serious wine drinkers who want depth over atmosphere. Easy to book relative to the city's dining scene, it works best as a focused evening wine session rather than a full dinner. Go with a specific ask and let the list do the work.
Bar Nîmes is not the kind of place you stumble into expecting a casual wine bar. The misconception worth correcting upfront: despite the name, this is a serious wine destination that has earned back-to-back recognition from Star Wine List in both 2023 and 2026. If you are coming to Stockholm for the wine, this address on Rådmansgatan 25 in Vasastan belongs on your shortlist. If you want a lively, low-commitment bar crawl, you are better served elsewhere.
Bar Nîmes sits in Vasastan, one of Stockholm's more residential and less tourist-trafficked neighbourhoods, which is itself a signal. Venues in this part of the city earn their regulars through quality rather than footfall. The address positions Bar Nîmes away from the Old Town cluster of tourist-facing restaurants and closer to the kind of local wine-focused audience that actually cares about list depth and glassware.
On the space itself: the bar format implies intimacy and a counter-facing experience that shapes how you engage with the wine program. Spatial arrangements like this, where the bar is the focal point rather than a backdrop, tend to produce more directed, knowledgeable service. You are likely to be guided through the list rather than handed a weighty tome and left alone. For the explorer profile, that guided interaction is part of the value proposition.
The double Star Wine List award — a credential issued by one of Europe's most authoritative wine publication platforms — tells you that the list has been reviewed and validated at an international level, not just locally celebrated. Star Wine List evaluates wine programs on depth, range, pricing, and the quality of by-the-glass selections. Two awards across 2023 and 2026 suggest that whatever the program looked like when first recognised, it has been maintained and developed rather than allowed to drift. That kind of consistency is rarer than a single award year suggests.
For context within Sweden's wine bar scene, the Star Wine List credential puts Bar Nîmes in the company of venues like Vollmers in Malmö and 28+ in Gothenburg, both of which have built reputations around serious wine programming outside Stockholm. Within the capital itself, Bar Nîmes occupies a distinct position as a bar-forward rather than restaurant-forward wine destination, which makes it a different kind of stop than Frantzén or AIRA.
The editorial angle here is worth addressing directly: Bar Nîmes is a wine-led bar, not a tasting menu destination in the conventional sense. But any serious bar with a credentialed wine program has its own arc of progression, structured through pours rather than courses. The conversation with the person behind the bar, the movement from an aperitif register through to a bottle-sharing scenario, the sequence of glasses across an evening , this is the format's version of a tasting menu. Coming in with that framing, rather than expecting a kitchen-driven narrative, is how you get the most from the visit. Pair your session with a focused ask: what is drinking well right now, what is new to the list, what is worth staying for.
For food and wine travellers building a Stockholm itinerary, Bar Nîmes works well as a pre- or post-dinner stop around the Vasastan area. It is not a substitute for a full dinner at Operakällaren or Adam / Albin, but it fills a specific gap: a credible wine bar with documented list quality in a neighbourhood that rewards wandering. The full picture of what Stockholm offers across dining, drinking, and beyond is available in our Stockholm restaurants guide, our Stockholm bars guide, and our Stockholm experiences guide.
Worth noting for those building a broader Swedish wine bar circuit: venues like VYN in Simrishamn, ÄNG in Tvååker, Knystaforsen in Rydöbruk, and PM & Vänner in Växjö each offer their own regional takes on serious wine programming. Bar Nîmes is the Stockholm entry point to that circuit.
Booking difficulty at Bar Nîmes is low relative to Stockholm's competitive dining scene. Same-week reservations are likely possible, and walk-ins may be feasible depending on the evening. That said, if you are visiting on a Friday or Saturday and want a specific time, a few days' notice is sensible. This is considerably easier to get into than, say, Frantzén, where lead times run to weeks.
Specific menu items are not confirmed in available data, so avoid going in with a fixed order in mind. The strongest move at any Star Wine List-recognised venue is to ask what is drinking well by the glass right now. The award signals list depth, so the by-the-glass program is likely the leading entry point for a first visit. If you are exploring Swedish wine more broadly, Aloë in Stockholm also runs a credible wine program worth comparing.
The bar format is likely the primary seating configuration given the venue name and style, but confirmed seating details are not available in current data. Arrive with the expectation of a bar-side experience rather than a full restaurant setup. If a sit-down dinner is the priority, Adam / Albin or Operakällaren are better-suited alternatives for a table-based evening in Stockholm.
Without confirmed capacity data, large group bookings are leading confirmed directly with the venue. Bar-format spaces in Stockholm's Vasastan neighbourhood typically work well for groups of two to four, but parties of six or more may find the configuration limiting. For groups wanting a more structured group dining experience, AIRA or Operakällaren offer private dining options better suited to larger numbers.
No confirmed dress code exists in available data. The Star Wine List credential and the Vasastan setting suggest a smart-casual register is appropriate , not formal, but not weekend-casual either. Stockholm's wine bar culture generally leans towards polished rather than strict, so dressing as you would for a serious wine dinner without a jacket requirement is a safe frame. Compare this to the more formal expectations at Operakällaren, where the historic setting raises the dress register.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Nîmes | Easy | — | |
| Operakällaren | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| AIRA | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Adam / Albin | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Ekstedt | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
| Etoile | €€€€ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Book at least a week in advance for weekend evenings — Bar Nîmes is a Star Wine List award-holder (2023 and 2026), which means Stockholm's wine-focused crowd knows about it. Vasastan's residential setting keeps walk-in foot traffic lower than central areas, so mid-week visits are more forgiving. If you're planning around a specific bottle or occasion, earlier is safer.
The wine list is the primary reason to come — Bar Nîmes has earned Star Wine List recognition twice (2023 and 2026), which signals genuine depth and curation rather than a perfunctory by-the-glass selection. Ask the staff for guidance; venues that earn this award consistently are chosen in part for service knowledge. Food details are not available in current data, so treat this as a wine-led visit rather than a full dinner destination.
Bar seating at wine bars of this format is typically part of the experience rather than a fallback option, and the Vasastan address suggests an intimate, counter-friendly setup. That said, specific seating configurations are not confirmed in current data — call ahead or check their current setup before arriving with a group expecting table service.
Vasastan wine bars at this calibre tend to run small, and the neighbourhood positioning at Rådmansgatan 25 suggests a compact space. Groups of two to four are likely the sweet spot. For larger parties of six or more, check the venue's official channels to confirm capacity — nothing in current data confirms private hire or large-group provisions.
Vasastan skews local and low-key rather than dressy — this is a residential Stockholm neighbourhood, not the Östermalm fine dining corridor. A wine bar that attracts a knowledgeable crowd rather than a tourist one typically rewards relaxed but considered dress. Think neat casual: you will fit in whether you come from work or from a walk.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
