No visit to a new country is complete without sampling the local cuisine. In Stockholm I’ve let my friend decide on where to go and we ended up in a restaurant which only cooks over/with fire. If you want to do like us and eat at Ekstedt, you definitely need a reservation. We got a time slot for 4pm. And you know what, it was actually the perfect since we only had breakfast.
The dining room looks rather gloomy at first when you come in from the street. Once you sit at the bar though the light gets better. Our seat at the bar had the advantage that we could watch the chefs while working. Not that I picked up any tricks, but there it something to watching a person create my plate.
dining room @Ekstedt
We started with a wide range of amuse gueules before we even got the first course. First up were mini Ochsenherz tomatoes, lovage cream and ramson capers. In case you are wondering where everything is besides the tomatoes, don’t worry. It was all there albeit in the dark. There was just not a lot of light where we sat. Nonetheless it didn’t change the quality and taste of the meal.
Ochsenherz tomatoes @Ekstedt
Next came fried lichen with lingonberry and spruce with dried deer, interesting and new.
fried lichen @Ekstedt
The third amuse guele was smoked pike perch with a smoked mussel emulsion and truffled seaweed. There was quite a lot of smoke, actually a tad too much for me.
smoked pike perch @Ekstedt
Last but not least the fourth amuse guele were some fresh salad leaves with smoked trout roe. This was just lovely and fresh. A perfect teaser from the kitchen.
salad with smoked trout roe @Ekstedt
Our first ‘real’ course was new potatoes with peas and zucchini. What a nice start to the meal. Full of flavors and quite light. With enough substance to get you going.
new potatoes with peas @Ekstedt
My next course was an oyster with fresh apple. The interesting part was the cooking process which we were invited to follow. A piece of animal fat melted in a red glowing cone and the so rendered fat cooked the oyster for a second. Excellent taste and spectacular show.
a glowing cone @Ekstedt
oyster with fresh apple @Ekstedt
Roasted cabbage with crispy salad and lump fish roe followed next. The dish was a bit on the salty side. But the cabbage was lovely and worked well with the cream underneath.
roasted cabbage with lump fish roe @Ekstedt
Then came the scallops with with chanterelle and sugar kelp. If you don’t know all of these ingredients, neither did we. But fun part was tasting all of them. so many new impressions and sensations. I just loved it.
scallop with chanterelle @Ekstedt
More fish was to come. A juniper smoked turbot got served with leafy greens and lovage. The fish had a really nice crust on top while it was juicy underneath.
turbot with leafy greens @Ekstedt
While I was eating fish my friend ate vegetables. Here she got another bowl of them while I had moved on the meat course. They arrived in a hot pan on top of herbs to create a heavenly aroma. The chef finished his preparations of them at the table.
vegetables prepared at the table @Ekstedt
The meat course turned out to be lamb course. The Jerusalem artichokes which came with it were absolutely delicious and stayed hot for a while. The lamb was great, juicy and tender, but ring of fat around it was disgusting. I am not sure why this didn’t get charred away during the grilling process.
lamb with Jerusalem artichokes @Ekstedt
And this was it with the savory dishes. From now on out we had just deserts. First up was roasted oat with raspberries and sorrel. At least this is what the menu said. What came was some kind of cream with a sorbet of sorrel. It was the perfect palate cleanser although I can’t remember the raspberries anymore.
roasted oats with sorrel @Ekstedt
And before leaving this amazing place we got a trio of sweet nothings from the kitchen. A sorbet of apple juice, a sandwich with rhubarb, and a pancakes with cloud berry and cream. All three dishes worked for me, not overly sweet but a prefect ending to this happy meal.
three deserts from the kitchen @Ekstedt
Ekstedt is a really interesting restaurant especially since all dishes are prepared with natural heat, soot, ash, smoke and fire. There is no gas or electric oven in this place. So it’s all very powerful in a way. And that shines through in its dishes and also the staff. The service was impeccable and watching the chefs really was an added bonus. Definitely a highlight of our weekend in Stockholm. Yours, Pollybert
Ekstedt
114 46 Stockholm, Humlegårdsgatan 17
Tel: +46 (0)8-611 12 10
Email: info@ekstedt.nu
Tue-Fri:17:30-24:00, Sat: 16:00-24:00
https://ekstedt.nu/
cooking area @Ekstedt
