Some people often ask me ”What is the best pub you have ever been to?”
That question can stoke a fire in the hearts of some. It can also bring back memories of places that have long since been torn down. For me, it is a hard question to answer, until now.
The thought that four years ago, before I moved to Sweden, that is somebody had asked me that question and I said that it would have a been an English theme pub that belonged to a chain would have made me spit feathers but alas it is true. My most favourite pub in the world is indeed The Bishops Arms in Norrköping.
My first few experiences of pubs in life were sitting in a car with my sister while my parents and my grandparents indulged in their usual Saturday smoke filled locally. Names like Clifton Rugby Club, The Old Crow and the Double O Two spring to mind.
Occasionally the parents would bring out some warm coke and crisps and my sister as we babysat our Cocker Spaniel, Dusty, in a warm Austin Princess.
I have to say I joined the beer club late in life. I think my first beer in a pub I was 26 or 27. From the age of eighteen until then I was breathing, training Martial Arts 24/7. Who would have thought the heights I would have reached?
When I did, I would say they my first real ”local” would have been Lord Nelson in Old Kent Road, Elephant and Castle. Nice traditional ’East End’ pub that I believe is one of only three still left along that road.
Of course, wherever you live in life there will always be pubs that you live by that would be called a local. But for me a local is not just a pub, it is a home. A place where no matter what your day was like you could walk in and no matter the time, weather, or how busy it was you would be treated with a warm smile and service that you feel like you were a king.
In 2012, I moved to my first own apartment in Norrköping. That winter was a bitch! My nearest bar was a fifteen-minute walk into central Norrköping and at first I hated it. No football, no pool table, beer was eight pounds a pint, and the food was twice that!
But after two or three walks in -24 degrees I began to realise that this fake English pub actually was not that bad.
As time went on each visit, I began to feel like Norm from ’Cheers’. I can remember having my own tab for the first time, being given a table when all was reserved and so on.
Fast-forward two years and even though I have moved to Stockholm each time I go back the service is still the same. Pure excellence.
Easily the best range of ales and beers I have seen in Sweden also. I have been to bigger pubs, but they don’t have the diversity that this pub does.
The staff are second to none.
I have drank in pubs in Australia, China, South Africa, USA, Canada, South America and all over Europe yet none make me feel at home as much as The Bishops Arms do in Norrköping.
They are not just bar staff; they are true friends for life! No matter if they are long gone or still being the best I cannot wait to get off the train and head there for a great time.
Loved my time there today, and I cannot wait to be there again in May.
Bishops Arms, you are a chain pub…..but the diamond in your crown is Norrköping.
Best pub in the world!
