The crayfish party (kräftskiva) is an old, Swedish tradition celebrating the beginning of the season for crayfish fishing. At Sturehof we love crayfish and therefore always have an annual crayfish party with traditional Swedish snaps, decorations and a festive atmosphere.
How Swedes celebrate crayfish parties
Swedes have been celebrating the annual crayfish party for over 100 years. Most often family and friends gather sometime in August to splurge on this delicious seafood. Alongside with the crayfish most people also eat “västerbottenpaj”; a Swedish pie made with a tasteful cheese, drink beer and “snaps”. Snaps is flavoured shots made from the liquor aquavit. It’s tradition to sing short songs called “snapsvisor” and toast with your party before drinking the snaps.
Traditionally the crayfish party is held outdoors, partly because swedes want to seize as much as possible of the Swedish summer weather. But also, because eating crayfish can be a quite messy (and of course fun) activity. As for decorations, crayfish moon-lanterns and silly hats and bibs are a must.
Experience a traditional Swedish crayfish party at a restaurant
Are you looking for a restaurant that host crayfish parties in Stockholm? Welcome to us at Sturehof. We have crayfish on the menu basically all throughout August and a bit into September, depending on the year's supply of crayfish. But on a specific day we have a traditional Swedish crayfish party.
The annual crayfish party at Sturehof is always held on the second Thursday of August – a tradition that has been going on since 1995. We only serve fresh, Swedish freshwater crayfish.
If you haven’t eaten crayfish before, our staff will be happy to show you how it’s done! Bear in mind that this can be bit of a messy party, so don’t feel obligated to show up in your nicest outfit.
We go all in with decorations and live performances
We go all in on decorations! The traditional crayfish moon-lanterns hang inside the restaurant and on our outdoor terrace. We also hand out festive crayfish bibs to all our guests. These are practical from two aspects; they keep you dry and clean in all the crayfish-chaos and act as an extra decoration at the party.
In accordance with tradition, we offer live music and play the accordion and sing “snapsvisor” in the with our guests. You’ve got it right; a very fun and lively atmosphere is promised.
For larger parties
Are you part of a larger party that wants to gather and dine and drink? Do you want to invite family and friends, or arrange a company dinner?
