Today head chef Roger Johnsson aims to wow guests with food as inspired as the surroundings. Dinner might include grilled scallops with sweet vinegar and ginger pear. We loved the lightly smoked duck with preserved cherry and sauteed cabbage.

The view Forget the outside world . . .all the eye-candy you'll need is encapsulated in this 146year salon. The oncefamous theatre hosted many rich patrons and high above diners you can spot two balconies: one for aristocrats and one opposite for courtesans, discreetly linked by a hidden corridor.

Three jaw-dropping chandeliers cast glamorous light over a room of wellspaced tables dressed in smart linen. In the middle of this opulence a shimmering Crustacean Bar, an altar to all things fishy, draws smart Swedes looking for luscious lobster and a glass of bubbly. On Saturday and Sunday nights diners can eat until 3 am, often to the sound of live, laidback jazz.

A three-course a la carte dinner for two, without wine, will cost about 80.

Half a lobster from the Crustacea Bar will set you back 42.

Berns, Berzelii Park, 103 27 Stockholm, Sweden (0046 8 566 32222; www. berns. se)