Café Rival

I am so grateful that my good friends in Stockholm took me to this restaurant! It was fun, delicious, and we were well cared for in a cozy atmosphere — listened to great music, and had food that looks to be locally sourced. If you came to Providence, where I live, we’d take you to a restaurant like this and you would feel like you were getting to know something ‘inside’ Providence. That’s what this restaurant is about. It’s not for tourists. It’s not for foodies. It’s a friendly, fun, delicious place to eat with great food — a place to enjoy with really good, old friends. Try it!

Having bounced my way across Stockholm to an ABBA soundtrack after a three hour visit to the museum, I had determined that I was going to give Benny and Bjorn even more of my money by going to their hotel for a spot of lunch.
By the time I actually got there, I was feeling a little tired and was slightly disappointed to hear that the restaurant at Hotel Rival wasn’t actually open, but I was pointed a couple of doors down to the equally ABBA-​owned Café Rival instead.
Plonking myself down at one of the individual stalls, I opted for a strong coffee and a big slice of chocolate cake to replace all the sugars lost during a frenetic morning.
Both were spot on — a good and restorative fika, accompanied by a richly deep dark chocolate cake. Soon, I was feeling much more energetic again and ready for the next stage of the day.
The atmosphere at Café Rival was relaxed and welcoming, with an obvious air of calm sophistication.
A good spot for brunch, lunch or afternoon snacks.
It would have been even better with an ABBA soundtrack…

Nothing special here. Drinks are average in price for Stockholm, but food is very little value for money. 89 SEK for a toasted sandwich and a bit of salad.
Like the place but would not eat here.

As it says by starts, a «helt ok» place for an evening, specially if you are looking for a place to seat and talk with a friend.
You will always find a place to seat, something to drink and a corner to relax.
don’t expect a wide range of choices though, it is limited, there is «something» of everything but their sweets and sandwiches collection is not wow, it is very normal or even little bit below.
I like the interior, warm and dark colors, comforting for me.
I didn’t get along with their wines, have already tried a few types there and for some reason, none was of my taste.
one thing that sticks out is that I never feel welcomed by the personnel, don’t know why but it is always a feeling of «tell me what you want and disappear» for me.
I have been there for few times and even with all I wrote above, I will go back again. The location is super convenient as well as the interior.
As long as a friend is in need of a conversation in peace and calm, I can recommend this place.
I always feel sorry as this place and location has such a huge potential to be a 5 stars experience, but it is not.

I live right around the corner from this place and have been going here for over ten years. I can say without hesitation that I have never… NEVER…come away from Café Rival feeling satisfied.
The atmosphere and location are fantastic, among the best in the whole city, without a doubt. But that is where the good stuff ends.
Their lattes are bland, nothing to write home about.
Their baristas range from robotic and disengaged to downright rude. But then, that is traditional Swedish service. You want friendly, you’ll have to find a place with a more international and modern approach.
Their buns and other desserts are dry and uninteresting.
Here is a description of my last visit to Rival: The place was empty when we arrived because it was early morning and they had just opened. We both ordered our usual, the breakfast scones plate, with two scones, Greek (or Turkish?) yogurt with a bit of honey and walnuts, a hard-​boiled egg, Kalles caviar, a coffee and a juice. We have ordered this breakfast a dozen times in the past few years and it never comes out the same and I don’t think Rival has the slightest clue what a scone actually is. A year or two ago, we got these flat, dark brown triangular things that took up half the plate and were absolutely dreadful. This time, though, both of our scones were the size and shape one would expect, but they were burned black on the top! I couldn’t believe that these got by both the cook and the waitress! Somebody should have said, «hold on a second! These are burned!» But since we had already been waiting 15 minutes, perhaps they realized that getting something… anything…out to us was more important than the quality of the food. Besides, our daughter had already eaten up her pancakes, which arrived ten minutes before our scones (what table-​waiting school taught them that trick??). Not only were they burned, but no clotted cream came with them and there was not even any butter. I had to go ask for butter and when they finally brought some, it was two pats of Bregott wrapped in foil. What the? Oh, then there was the yogurt. Yes, I like a bit of Greek yogurt with walnuts and honey, but this was ridiculous! The bowl was huge and there was enough yogurt for three or four people! Who made THAT decision? And the walnuts were bitter. Where do they get these people? This is obviously not a normal kitchen team.
Oh, and we ordered a small glass of milk for our daughter. It was about two, maybe three deciliters worth of milk. The price? 10kr! When you consider that a full liter of milk costs less than that, you can see where they make their money.
Finally, EVERYTHING is overpriced. I suppose they must pay for the location, because the quality of their food and kitchen staff cannot cost that much.
In short, if you want a great atmosphere and want to mingle with Stockholm elites, check out Rival. If, however, you want good food, good coffee, and good service at a fair price, look elsewhere.

The place is actually very cozy and the coffee is good, but what lowers the score for me is the staff. They’re slow (which means that lines tend to form quickly and move slowly), and the times I’ve been there they haven’t been very service minded. I especially remember once when they were «out of bread» which is ironic when their own bakery was next door.
Having said that, this is a decent place for a light lunch or a coffee with friends. The smaller room that’s behind you when you stand in front of the register is not too crowded even when all seats are taken.

Nice atmosphere and location but the service is pretty bad and it takes forever to order and get your food.