New-Nordic cuisine in Stockholm
Publish date: 26 June 2024
Taste New Nordic Cuisine in Stockholm! Here are the city's best restaurants that push the boundaries of Scandinavian cooking traditions.
Some of Stockholm's most noted restaurants of recent years have one concept in common: New Nordic Cuisine.
In short, it's a modern twist on Scandinavian culinary traditions with carefully selected ingredients, and a focus on locally produced, organic foods.
Proponents of New Nordic Cuisine also try to document and preserve old, sometimes nearly-forgotten, cooking methods with ingredients typical for the Nordic countries.
What is New Nordic Cuisine?
"New Nordic Cuisine" was coined in the early 2000s'. The movement was spearheaded by Danish chefs René Redzepi and Claus Meyer of Noma-fame.
The chefs invited twelve peers from the Nordic region to develop and formulate a 12-point manifesto around this new approach. Some key points are:
- Food that highlights ingredients typical of the Nordic region. For example indigenous fish, meat from Nordic livestock breeds, game meat, mushrooms, forest herbs, typical Nordic vegetables -and fruit varieties.
- Seasonal menus and dishes to promote self-sufficiency and traditional preservation methods (smoking, pickling, salting, etc). In practice, this means no fresh fruit when it's out of season unless it's been made into for example jam, and so on.
- A close cooperation with local producers and farmers, and a promotion of animal welfare and sound production process. Sustainability is a core tenet of New Nordic Cuisine.
- Finding new ways to make and prepare typical Nordic ingredients, reinventing them for modern times with influences from international gastronomy. But also preserving and documenting traditional cooking methods.
Read the entire manifesto at norden.org
Restaurants with New Nordic Cuisine in Stockholm - 5 tips
- Frantzén – While not strictly a New Nordic-styled menu, Frantzén's cooking has much in common with the approach. It's lavish setting and food menu have earned the restaurant three stars in the Guide Michelin.
- Portal – Homey and cozy restaurant-on-the-corner in Vasastan. Portal mixes local Swedish ingredients with French cooking sensibilities.
- Ekstedt – One-starred restaurant on Östermalm, founded by Swedish celebrity chef Niklas Ekstedt. Traditional open-fire cooking methods are used, with a fire pit being the kitchen's centerpiece.
- Lilla Ego – Rustic and relaxed restaurant in Vasastan. Its modern take on Swedish staples; isterband, matjes-herring, and more – is infused with international flourishes.
- Woodstockholm – Stylish diner on Mosebacke Square, preparing seasonal menus with a playful and thematic twist. Although the menu's journey might start in Sweden, it might take a detour to France, Japan, Mexico, or Greece.
Find more tips below!