Ekstedt

This was an absolutely splendid dinner. I had booked this for 4 people of which 2 were friends from the UK. In the daytime of the booking i received a phone call from the owner to remind me of my booking and to give me a warm welcome. As soon as we arrived at the restaurant the waiting staff were excellent. They were very well informed on the menu and the drinks and nothing was too much trouble. The food menu had 2 choices either a 4 course meal or 6 courses. We all went for the 6. I was pleasantly surprised as we ended up with 8 as the kitchen send out 2 small appitizers between some of the courses. All of the food in this restaurant is cooked using birchwood which gives the food a lovely smoky taste that is not over powering.
All dishes were well balanced and beautifuuly presented.
A couple of courses from the end of our meal we were invited to go and see the kitchen. What a delight. We were shown into what is a smallish kitchen and were told all about the philophsy behind the Wood burning. The chef whilst busy still had time to have a chat with us. I think this was a class touch.
Ok so some of you may look at the price and be put off, but please don’t be it Worth every krona as the whole experience is not to be missed

The chefs of Restaurant Ekstedt on Humlegårdsgatan 17 practice the art of cooking. Their fires mingle, reveal and ultimately illuminate impressionist palates of tastes, smells, colors and textures that surprise and delight their guests.
The varied woods fueling their fires add brushstroke nuances and colorful accents to create artful compositions rather than manufacture calculated cuisines. Their flames infuse and impart natural tastes burned off with today’s microwave and convection ovens and I never saw a blowtorch brown a crème brulee.
As do many fine restaurants, Ekstedt offers a Wine menu. It is an indication of the care with which they consider their clientele that they also offer a Non-​alcohol menu. Offerings such as Langoustine, kohirabi and scallop roe paired with Parsnip-​Thyme juice or Bone marrow, potato and vendace roe paired with Jasmine-​Passion fruit-​Chili juice indicate a degree of attention and creativity that make Restaurant Ekstedt special indeed.

7 course Menue of World Class. Friendly and competent staff, food heavenly good! Wines you normally wouldn’t get… But matching the food immaculately!
Try it!!!

Great meal!
Was little concerned that would get little fatigued with «smoky», but not the case. Love how ingredients repeat across courses to tie them together.
One of my favorite wine pairings ever. 4 really quirky wines that paired sublimely with the food.
Service and atmosphere very friendly and comfortable. Staff very knowledgeable and has very personal relationship to the food and wines.

Full review to follow…
Ekstedt is one of the most praised places in Stockholm right now. Chef Niklas Ekstedt have created a cave men style «everything cooked over open fire» cusine, that actually works, its not just a PR stunt to attract international foodies and restauranteurs (and yes they succeeded with that as well). The food is simple but yet really appealing and full of pure flavours.
One of my favourite dishes on the tasting menue was the «walk in the forrest» a spectacular dish based on swedish beef tarte, lingonberries and pickeled chantarelles.
Tip: book chefs table. You will be seated in front of Gustav Otterberg (head chef) and follow him when he prepares all dishes.

One of Stockholm’s most talked about restaurant openings in the second half of 2012. An idea and concept taking to its very extremity with nothing but grilled items on the menu. The place itself is small and provides a very intimate atmosphere. Service is impeccable with knowledgable, friendly servers. Food is good, above average but doesn’t really reach the 5* rating that we hoped for. First of all, servings are pretty small, and it’s not every day that you are left with plenty of space in the stomach after a 5 course dinner. Despite this, the food is well prepared, beautifully plated and tastes well. Price level is in the upper bracket, no doubt about it and it leaves you wanting for more since serving sizes don’t match the money you pay for it. I would definitely return to give it another try, it’s a unique place that offers a unique dining experience in a city with a huge variety of choice.

This is one of the best restaurants I have ever visited. The food was excellent. The fish dish was perfectly cooked and the reindeer filet was prepared perfectly. The tastes were subtle, and although the kitchen only cooks in wood burning stoves, the flavors were not overpowering.
The ambience was warm and welcoming. I would recommend this restaurant without any hesitation.

I was very please with this meal! And found it to be amazing the flavors were incredible without being over powering or too smokey. We had both of the options for the 3 dish prix fix one being fish and the othe being sausage with mushrooms the sauces were to die for, the bread was fantastic sourdough they make each day… And I don’t even really normally like bread hand salted butter. The ambience of the restaurant is warm and very cool décor love the rebar ceiling and cooper organizational st rips on the wall, but let us return to the food beef tartare, a big savory yes. Then also desserts the donut with flaming peach ice cream with salted carmel wows a, the almond Casey thing with ice cream on top unbelievable. Ok a concept restaurant can be trying if over done but this one is done really well. Emphasis on showcasing the food to the diner without total concept overkill, an example of which would be Helene Dorozze in Paris, and I did totally misspell the last name. Only 4 out of 5 because of the price point even though I am fully aware of how expensive this city is!

Ekstedt is the latest restaurant from Swedish ‘celebrity’ chef Nicklas Ekstedt. He has opted to do as some other famous chefs and name his flagship restaurant after himself. The concept is that everything is cooked over an open fire — I just love the concept as such but unfortunately the restaurant does not really deliver as one would have hoped.
The personnel working there are friendly and the service was attentive and they seemed to be knowledgeable on what was being served. The food was however the main reason that I came here and it was not totally convincing. We did not go for the set menu so ordered single dishes instead. I went for the lamb and the beef tartar while my girlfriend went for the octopus and the perch. The lamb (also came with a lamb sausage) was ok but nothing special. I was however expecting the fact that it had been cooked over fire to have more of an impact on the flavor. The same was also true of the other dishes we had — the octopus was very disappointing lacking flavor and also a bit weird texture.
The beef tartar was good but once again not excellent, and looking at the level of restaurant Ekstedt wants to be (and the prices they charge) it is just not good enough. My girlfriend thought the perch was perhaps the best dish where it actually lifted above the level of just being good.
The main issue was however not the food — it was the wait for the food. The first dish was at our table one hour after the order, the staff did apologize and offer free dessert as compensation which was of course the way to solve it in a nice way. Still it did take another 45 minutes to get the second dish and then it was perhaps 30 minutes to get the dessert. The explanation provided was that they had been very busy during the evening which sounded a bit strange as the restaurant was only half-​full.
The desserts were however very good, we had the flambeed pancake and the hot vanilla donuts. The pancake was good, and it was pretty cool as it was flambeed in dark rum at the table. The vanilla donuts were also tasty but a bit on the sweet side.
The best thing was however the coffee, it is from Helsingborg based roastery Koppi (they are actually in the location where Nicklas Ekstedt had his first restaurant). It is brewed on a Hario V60 at the table. Excellent coffee and it is great that a restaurant takes the coffee seriously. I will probably give Ekstedt another chance but will return when the menu has changed.

Ekstedt is an amazing idea, but personally we found the execution a bit overshadowed by the «high concept».
We ordered the crab with pork and homemade sausage, the trout, and lamb. The dishes are «medium» portioned, so two dishes each is recommended.
The ingredients are definitely high quality, the atmosphere was really nice, service is really good, and the food is nicely plated.
But, for a place who’s focus is about cooking with wood burning equipment, the food only subtly reflected the theme. Basically, while tasty, we expected more smokey and flame grilled flavors. Something a bit more primal, as the concept suggests.
We ended with a flambéed, fruit filled pancake served with a side of salted caramel ice cream — it was very good!
We probably won’t go out of our way to go back, it’s not quite for us.