Restaurants of the Month

Nana Omakase’s chef and owner, Jonas Bokedal.

Blowtorching Japanese A5 Wagyu Beef on a Mango tree chopping board.

Variation of blue lobster with black winter truffle, freeze-dried onion pearls, Yuzu foam and ren onion pie.

Restaurant of the Month, Sweden Modern Nordic meets Japanese-French cuisine

Nana Omakase is a fine-dining restaurant in the neighbourhood of Vasastan. Jonas and Karin Bokedal, partners in business and life, launched the venue in April 2019 – transforming an old sweet shop into a must-visit foodie spot in the heart of Stockholm.

By Silvia Colombo | Photos: Nana Omakase

You can taste the flavour of restaurant Nana Omakase in its name. The Japanese word ‘nana’ means ‘seven’, while ‘omakase’ means ‘trusting the chef’. Nana Omakase’s fine-dining experince entails a seven-course menu entirely conceived and prepared by the chef and owner Jonas Bokedal.

“The restaurant is both mine and my wife Karin’s. Together, we bought a former candy shop and renovated it. It’s our dream come true. I’ve cooked ever since I can remember,” says Jonas. At first, he worked at the restaurant by himself, conducting a ‘one-man show’ from start to finish – an unusual undertaking in the restaurant world, especially in Sweden. But today he has teamed up with souschef Edvin Dahne.

The food concept behind Nana Omakase “revolves around three main principles: simplicity, the aesthetic and the idea that every ingredient must be high-quality and taste as it should naturally, not processed or treated too much.”

A dinner at Nana Omakase is slowpaced, lasting about three hours. It’s a dining experience you’ll never forget: the whole menu is based on high-quality, raw products – “the best you can find both in Sweden and Japan, according to the seasons” – combined into simple, tasteful dishes and paired with high-end French wines. Don’t be surprised if, at the end, you’re asked about your experience; Jonas loves to cook dishes that makes guests feel good, and the ‘gastronomic treat’ served at Nana combines the chef’s choices with suggestions and feedback from the guests.

Though the exquisite menu incorporates elements of improvisation, those eager to enjoy the Swedish-meets-Japanesemeets-French cuisine would be wise to plan in advance due to high demand. Tables can be booked on the restaurant’s website. Nana Omakase is a social space, where you’re free to chat with your friends and neighbours, or to enjoy the stunning menu in peace. One thing’s for sure: high-level cuisine and a beautiful environment are the cornerstones of the experience.

www.nanaomakase.com Facebook: nanaomakase Instagram: @nanaomakase

Blowtorched Japanese A5 Wagyu Beef with beetroot in three ways, celeriac puree and fermented garlic and porcini mushroom oil (red and green shiso cress)

Restaurant of the Month, Denmark The modern Pakistani spot shaking up Copenhagen’s food scene

“The modern Pakistani food at Zahida is our take on the food we grew up eating,” says Shane Affridi. Two of five kids to south-Asian parents, he and his brother Bobby grew up in Manchester – on a mixture of classic British fare like pies, pasties and fish and chips, and their mother’s Pakistani home cooking. “She would combine these kitchens – keeping the original flavour profile of our favorite Pakistani dishes, but with a western twist.” At Zahida, the pair vividly recall the flavours of their childhood –and are reshaping Copenhagen’s food landscape in the process.

By Lena Hunter | Photos: Zahida

“Like most south-Asian mums, ours uses a cooking method called ‘andanza’. It means ‘rough estimate’. She measures spices by eye, adding ingredients with a flick of the wrist or sleight of hand. Yet every dish tastes just as amazing as last time,” says Shane.

Back then, if the kids wanted KFC, she’d pull the karahi out from under the stove, fill it with oil and within minutes freestyle her own deep-fried chicken, marinated with garlic, chili, dried coriander, cumin, “and a whole host of things we couldn’t pronounce!” says Shane. “Her Sunday roast had all the traditional trimmings –but with a whole tandoori chicken, so deep in colour that your fingers would turn red just by looking at it!”

“This is the approach we take at Zahida. We mix a little East with a little West,” says Bobby. “We wanted to open a place that does something different with traditional flavours, to evolve the cuisine for a new generation. We cook our food the way we want to eat it, the way our mother served it to us.”

A journey through modern Pakistan Shane and Bobby started Zahida in a small, now defunct street-food market in 2017. “We had eight seats, five dishes on the menu and zero experience working in a kitchen,” he recalls. But the exhilarating flavours spoke for themselves. The pair quickly built up a name and moved into the bustling city centre – a stone’s throw from the Botanic Gardens and celebrated dining and produce market Torvehallerne – in 2019.

Many of Zahida’s signature dishes, like the Gunpowder Bites and Shrimp Ceviche, were conceived during the last two lockdowns. “We had the time and boundless

enthusiasm to push the boundaries of south-Asian food,” explains Shane. Meanwhile, their frequent trips to Karachi help the brothers to keep abreast of food trends in Pakistan’s most populous city.

“These trips inspired our cocktail menu. We serve a Sharabi Lassi with pink candy floss – an alcoholic twist on the everyday mango lassi, with coconut rum and cream liqueur. The Red Fort, named after the iconic 17th-century Mughal palace in India, is served short, with hibiscus-infused vodka, cardamom, cranberry syrup and topped with cava.”

The à la carte menu is comparatively lean, comprising around 20 unique dishes. But the main focus is the six-course tasting menu with matched wine, beer or non-alcoholic drinks. “Our tasting menu takes you on a journey thorough modern Pakistan, with a range of flavours and textures in each course. Every element, from the mustard-seed infused pickled chili in the Aloo Gobi, to the tamarind sauce in the Gunpowder Bites, adds something to the overall dining experience,” says Shane.

He credits Zahida’s current success to its highly decorated head chefs, Sherwin Mariano and Anthony Delos Reyes, who have over 30 years combined experience across Asia and the Middle East, as well as at Copenhagen’s one Michelin-star Asian restaurant. “They’re an absolute pleasure to work with and it’s a real honour to have them on our team,” says Bobby. “They’re responsible for some our most iconic signature dishes such as the Masala Ribeye, Gunpowder Bites, Tempura Soft Shell Crab and our most popular dish, Zahida’s Butter Chicken.” “We always wanted to design a beautiful restaurant” Zahida’s modern-industrial-meets-romantic interior is as vibrant as its cuisine. Pendulous copper lamps in deep turquoise hang from the high ceiling, reflected in a huge New Yorker mirror beneath an arching bough of pink cherry-blossom. Meanwhile, sleek, dark furnishings, cast-iron bars and wood paneling maintain an air of refined elegance. “We always wanted to design a beautiful restaurant – something different to Scandinavian minimalism. Something extra!” says Shane. The effect is thoughtful, bold and playful – “and all sewn together with Pakistani-themed modern art and a homely atmosphere.”

Though Zahida is a relative newcomer, its already moved the goalposts for Pakistani and Indian restaurants in the Nordic’s foodie capital – and has its sights set on the Michelin Guide. “We would love to be featured within two years, and to open a Zahida in Oslo, Stockholm and Aarhus. We’ve had amazing feedback from our northern-Scandinavian guests so far,” says Shane.

His energy is palpable – it’s impossible not to be swept along. Shane and Bobby have created a venue that has that curious, electrifying quality of a place that refuses to conform. What’s the winning formula? Shane says: “Our food philosophy is this… Keep the menu small, keep it original and make sure every dish is an absolute banger!”

www.zahida.dk Instagram: @zahidacph

Skirri is located at Tromsø harbour and has outdoor seating in the summer.

Restaurant of the Month, Norway Eating out in Tromsø tonight?

Kystens Mathus in Tromsø is capitalising on its immediate access to some of the world’s best fish – and changing dining culture in Norway’s northernmost city.

By Eva-Kristin U. Pedersen | Photos: Kysten Mathus

In Norway, the further north you go, the more intriguing the surroundings become. The soft, idyllic scenery of the southern coastline seem to grow bolder and more rugged as you move upwards and, as you reach for the Arctic, that same scenery becomes unruly, wild and dramatic – as if people aren’t supposed to live that far north.

Yet, they do. Small communities of mostly wooden houses are scattered along the coast, with the Arctic Sea and the steep mountains as their closest neighbours, stubbornly resisting in every bay and valley that permits it. The nucleus of this fascinating area is undoubtedly Tromsø, an important port, home to Norway’s northernmost university and an urban break from the wilderness that surrounds it. For many visitors, Tromsø is where the Arctic adventure really begins, but at the same time, it’s also the epicentre of the best that northern Norway can offer.

A cultural challenge One of the things you will want to take advantage of while in Tromsø is the food. In particular, seafood – given the immediate access to some of the world’s best fish from one of its purest oceans. While fish has always been prepared at home, even northerners are now increasingly appreciating how professional cooks prepare local delicacies for them.

“Northerners just didn’t like to pay for somebody else to prepare the fish for them. It’s something that literally swims in their backyard and is there for them to catch,” explains Lasse Wangberg, the ad-

The bar at Skirri restaurant with local beer on tap and excellent wine.

ministrative director of Kystens Mathus in Tromsø. However, that perception is changing rapidly. A new wave of restaurants is changing cultural perceptions of how fish can be prepared and enjoyed – to the delight of locals and visitors alike.

Seasonal specialties and signature dishes The restaurant Skirri at Kystens Mathus, which also includes a fishmonger and aquarium, offers a combination of seasonal specialties and year-round signature dishes. Their menu includes the staple fish soup and a local codfish known as boknafish, but you can also ask the waiter for the catch of the day – and, at times, rare delicacies such as king crab is available. Fish aside, you can opt for a burger. Reindeer patties are offered in the autumn and winter, but replaced by whale in the summer. At lunchtime, a selection of lighter dishes are available.

The selection has become popular among visitors, for whom a meal at Skirri has become a must. Eventually it drew the locals, and today they keep coming back for more. “We want our clients to be able to find certain dishes every time they come to encourage them to return,” says Wangberg.

Tromsø’s best view? Having a meal at Skirri means not only enjoying excellent food but also appreciating the astonishing surroundings this part of Norway can offer. “I think we have Tromsø’s best view,” Wangberg says with a smile. From Skirri, guests enjoy a view of both the harbour and Tromsø’s main square. It’s beautiful in both the light of the midnight sun and during the dark winter, when the city itself lights up the sky – unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis.

To accompany the food, Wangberg and colleagues enlist a wine importer that visits the restaurant regularly to match the wine selection to the seasonal menu. On tap, they offer local beer Mack, and are the only restaurant in Tromsø to serve Erdinger.

Serving fish in the summer sun at Skirri. Enjoy the food and the view at Skirri restaurant in Tromsø.

Christmas traditions As Christmas celebrations start, Skirri changes their regular menu to one of traditional Norwegian Christmas fare, such as the much-loved jelly-like lutefisk, traditional Christmas sausages and other seasonal foods. As well as enjoying the 160-seat main restaurant, parties of 50-plus can rent a spacious private room upstairs.

Eating out was never an inherent part of local culture in the northernmost parts of Norway, but considering the immediate access to fish and meat of superb quality from uncontaminated nature, along with the growing popularity of this fascinating Scandinavian outpost, the time seems ripe for change. At Skirri, staff are determined to capitalise on that opportunity – with style, knowhow and a solid dose of northern charm.

www.kystensmathus.no

Mussels are popular at restaurant Skirri.

Chef and owner, William Hellgren.

Restaurant of the Month, Finland Farm to table: an exquisite stay on a Baltic Sea island

Food is art at Restaurant Back Pocket, thanks to daily inspiration from the Finnish island landscape and a profound love for Nordic produce.

By Lotta Lassesson | Photos: Nestor Hotel

Any Scandinavian will tell you that nothing compares to the Nordic archipelago. The proximity to the sea, its nature and wildlife, combined with unpredictable changes in weather, is both a charm and a challenge.

Restaurant Back Pocket is part of Nestor hotel, situated on Korpo Island in Finland’s Åboland archipelago. Its six rooms are built on top of an old barn and pay tribute to the people who once lived and worked here. They are carefully designed in different in character and size, and each is named after the cattle that once roamed the farm. Hotel owner and head chef William Hellgren has grown up here, with close ties to both the archipelago and the hospitality industry.

Though born in Sweden, Hellgren moved back to Korpo Island when he still was a child. His Finnish parents are both creatives – his father is an industrial designer and his mother, an artist – and decided to combine their skills and passions to transform an old farmhouse into the boutique Nestor Hotel in 2009. In 2016, aged 23, Hellgren took charge of the operation.

After training as a chef at Helsingfors, Finland, Hellgren worked at Björn Franzen’s Michelin-star restaurant in Stockholm. From then on, he knew the kind of dining experience he wanted to create. Hellgren’s cuisine is playful, sourced from the highest-quality local ingredients, and presented artfully on the plate. “I always strive to use innovative and unexpected methods in my cuisine. A key element is to keep the menu alive,” he explains. He treats every day like a blank canvas when it comes to the menu, taking inspiration from the raw ingredients, just as the sourdough for the dinner service is prepared every morning. Back Pocket is a blend of old and new, combining rustic charm with a modern feel. On the six-course tasting menu, the dishes change with the seasons. The 80-seat restaurant is the heart of the hotel, and is a popular choice for private functions, weddings and corporate event bookings.

Here is a piece of Nordic paradise, where design and a love of great cuisine make for a picture-perfect visit.

www.hotelnestor.fi