EBG Rating: 8.2/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
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As with the adjoining Zum Franziskaner beer hall, the speciality is Franconian beer including daily “Stichfass” pours where the barrel is tapped and poured from directly. The beer selection and standards are pointedly traditional and world class. Alongside the barrel tappings you have 8-10 Franconian beers from the likes of Spezial, Schlenkerla, Knoblach et al and some select Swedish brews trying to compete. A decent brandy selection and competent back bar.

Style/Décor:
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Bakfickan has a different artistic style and format to the adjoining beer hall. Instead of Romanticism, Art Nouveau and classical approaches, here you’ll find Art Deco influenced artwork in a one room Knajpa style layout with wood-fit tables and booths installed around the walls of the room. Accessible via the side entrance of Zum Franziskaner or the long way round, going through the main entrance. There is a middle room which is a kind of gradient between the two bars, a nice area too but a little bit of an overflow area.

Atmosphere/Character:
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Less showy and grand than the adjoining beer hall, and more casual for it. The casual nature is probably its strongest suit, somewhere if you were meeting up for some friends without the need for ostentatiousness. The activity around the bar is social and a good place to get chatting to people.

Amenities/Events:
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Barrel tapping, snacks.

Value For Money:
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As per the main beer hall, not cheap but when factoring in the quality provided for the price, you can do a lot worse in many places around Stockholm for the same price.

Description:
While considered part of “Zumen”, Zum Franziskaner, and on the same premises, Bakfickan (or Back Pocket) deserves a separate piece about it because visiting this bar as opposed to the main beer hall is a distinctly different experience.

Yes, the beer options are identical (and we can praise our favourite deities for that), but otherwise, the experience is quite distinct. Art Deco styling in a reasonably compact Knajpa style one-room boozer. Smartly appointed and meticulously clean, but there’s a nice casual feel that the showier Zum Franziskaner beer hall can’t quite replicate, for all its grandeur. In turn, Bakfickan can’t compete for spectacle.

Nevertheless, barrel tappings, usually twice a day add ceremony, there are usually some free snacks and sweets at the front and it feels more like the every day option of the two. As a visitor you’ll need to suck it and see which of the two you prefer, but neither should be excluded from your itinerary.

(Added April 2026)