A Swede Treat

SIDDHARTH DHANVANT SHANGHVI DISCOVERS THE FOOD SCENE IN SWEDEN TO BE AN EXPLOSION OF GASTRONOMIC EXCELLENCE

- Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi

While I’ve been a fan of the Swedish food scene—one of the best in the world along with the Japanese—a recent trip unearthed two gems. The first was Woodstockholm, a quiet, graceful wonder; and the other, Gastrologik, an operatic powerhouse of culinary gems. Located in the south of Stockholm—close to Södra Teatern, where I read from my books years ago on my first trip to Sweden—Woodstockholm is wee enough to miss. Nestled across a small public garden in Södermalm, it conforms to the smart minimalism of Swedish design. I went to Woodstockholm with no expectations. And I discovered, to my luminous surprise, a restaurant with dynamic, whimsical menus, built on robust organic produce, drawing on a food philosophy popularised by Alice Waters at her iconic Berkeley eatery Chez Panisse, where dessert can sometimes be a pear from Frog Hollow Farm.

I was suggested an Austrian white—how nice to go past the usual slews from Portugal or Spain—and how smartly it paired with the starter of salmon, tartar and egg. This was followed by herring and white asparagus. My main was the handsome Arctic char with a dill sauce, very clean, level, exact. Now there was wine from Hungary. And I was pleased to be introduced to new soils and new light by a knowledgeable, friendly waitstaff.

My dessert was rutabaga in a white meringue (this appeared to be trying too hard) and I also indulged in a lick of exquisitely memorable chocolate mousse. There are many enduring and fresh stars on the restaurant scene in Stockholm—take recent firecrackers Café Nizza or Tegelbacken. Good food is not difficult to find in a city that prides itself on gastronomic excellence, but Woodstockholm, which is also excellent value for money, has the bones of a sturdy modern classic amid blustery new arrivals.