Smak

Outstanding service, we couldn’t leave without giving a fat tip to the barman! Having rocked up at 7pm on a Saturday, they sat us at the bar and we ploughed through the tapas menu. Some things we loved — the wagyu beef and the rabbit, some things not so much — the sirloin and the winter apple desert. But everything was delivered with care, and added so much to the experience.

We went to Smak for my birthday dinner with our friends from Stockholm. There is no denying that it was a culinary experience :)
When we arrived, our table wasn’t ready, so we had to wait at the bar for a short while. When we were seated, the waitress explained the concept of Smak to us: you order by flavour, and you can chose to have three, five or seven courses. We went all out and ordered seven courses each. The portion size varies greatly between dishes. I was full at the end, so was my friend, but our better halves could have eaten more. I found the concept intriguing, but unfortunately Smak doesn’t carry it off completely, I think. All dishes I had were very tasty (except the lemon flavour (scallop and cucumber) which lacked flavour), but many didn’t taste very much of the flavour they were supposed to represent. For example, the dill flavoured one was excellent, but I didn’t taste much dill. If you chose to sell your dishes by flavour, that flavour needs to shine in my opinion. However, we also discovered that people do seem to have different sensibilities when it comes to tasting a flavour: while I found that by basil flavoured dessert had strong but very nice basil flavour, my friend said she didn’t taste much basil. Maybe it also has an impact of what dish you had before?! This is something they might need to work on.
The service was very friendly. But it took forever. I think we waited about 30 min for our first course and another 30−45min for the second. That is definitely to long.
I really liked the interior of the place. If you decide to go, I recommend you make a reservation. The place was fully packed on Friday night and I my friend said that she thinks it’s not much better most nights.

Smak has passed with flying colors not only for the fun concept of choosing flavors but also for their attitude towards food allergies. I have severe gluten intolerance and I’m always hesitant when trying a restaurant for the first time. The staff were very kind and knowledgeable, most of the dishes were creative and tasty. Service is a bit on the slow side, as it took us 3 hours to go through 7 flavors. Overall great experience. Would love to go back :)

High quality and amazing service. It’s a great place to go for a birthday dinner or something more formal.
For my taste (which is in a lot of ways childish) it was a bit too fancy with all the flavors. But since that’s not relevant — I think this restaurant deserves 5 stars!!! No question :)

Been there for lunch 3 times and satisfied with the food everytime, great service. Also a perfect place to send big groups to and the staff have always been helpful when i’ve needed to book in people there last min

Normally, I don’t get to indulge myself a lot while traveling so Smak was far from my own radar, but my host (a Stockholm native for 23 years) wanted to treat me to her favorite restaurant.
The location seemed a little off the beaten path but still in a central location. The ambiance was a classy dimly lit space (dim enough that I was having issues reading the menu at first) with many sunken levels of seating. You chose how many plates/​tastes you would like to order (all of the girls in our group ordered 5 and were completely satisfied, while the guys ordered 7) then get to circle them by selecting a specific flavor. Your tastes/​plates are completely your own, so you can technically get 3 hearty dishes then 2 desserts or even just 5 desserts, if you wish (all the more flexibility when you chose 7 plates).
Starting from the top of everyone’s list then descending numerically, the waiters explained each dish as it was brought to the table. Two thumbs up for plating– each dish came out like a masterpiece. My personal favorite was the Wasabi dish– spring rolls with crumbled wasabi peas inside to add a wonderfully contrasting crunch.
The portion sizes do vary wildly so be forewarned, because there’s a chance that you flat out get less food than your neighbor even if you order the same number of plates.
Lastly, take a peek at the cocktail list that is also modeled after the same «taste» system. The rhubarb one was really great and had a nice summer flavor, which I would expect to be a novelty for many Americans (I know I wasn’t familiar with the taste but really liked it).
Expect a long dinner. The meal will go the speed of the person who ordered the most tastes. We waited with empty plates for two courses so those with 7 could catch up to us with 5 and us all eat the final plate (ie. dessert) together– Ended up being a 3 hour meal altogether.
Great experience though and extremely unique! Peruse the menu before you go, because it is actually really hard to narrow the ~20 options down to the 5 or 7 you want to eat!

I had a very pleasant dinner here during a weekend getaway. We were looking for something in between casual and fine dining and Smak definitely fits that description. Their concept is based on you picking 3, 5, or 7 small courses, with an optional selected wine per course. We picked the 5-​course option which is equal to a full dinner. The food itself was very good, it’s not Michelin degustation class, but neither are the prices. Both the taste and serving size varies quite a bit, so I’d recommend mixing and sharing within your party.

Im Smak bestellt man nicht wie normal nach Gerichten sondern nach Geschmacksnoten. Darunter ist beispielsweise Kresse, Koriander, Ingwer, Trüffel und noch einige mehr.
Da die Portionen nicht sonderlich groß sind, kann man mehrere Gänge, also Geschmacksrichtungen ausprobieren. Wer möchte kann dazu auch eine passende Weinbegleitung bestellen, so kommen auch gleich korrespondierende Weine zum jeweiligen Gang.
Das ganze ist natürlich nicht ganz günstig, aber es handelt sich dort wirklich um ein einmaliges Erlebnis, das ich so noch nicht gesehen habe.

Totally recommend this place for gourmets and wine lovers. Beautiful combination of materials combined with excellent quality. If you are an international traveller (not tourist) that wants to experience Swedish cuisine matched with the perfect wine; you are here.

Any restaurant with such a somewhat unique concept as SMAK that can survive for 14 years speaks for itself. Yes, it’s really good… and it’s amazing how they can manage to renew themselves, both food wise and interior wise. My first visit here was waaay back in 2005 and the restaurant has gone through numerous of renovations since then. This proves that the owner, a certain Melker Andersson who is nothing short of a legend of the Stockholm gourmet scene, is a smart guy. Even though I personally think that the quality was slightly higher a couple of years ago it still is a top place. Whether it’s a first date, a group of friends… there’s something for everyone at SMAK. I’ve been visiting SMAK way over 10 times and I’ve honestly NEVER been disappointed. I really hope that they will survice another 14 years.

Elegant restaurant in a sidestreet location since 1999 creating inventive «tastes» inspired by local ingredients. I had the 3 dish menu for 400 SEK, starting with «Hazelnut», an outstanding combination of filberts, wild mushrooms (very much in season — the market near the concert house has piles of chanterelles and black trumpets), butter (a lot), and a soft-​cooked egg. This was followed by «Capers», a silky and crunchy combination of raw lean Swedish ground beef, bleak roe, sea salt, and pureed capers. I finished with «Sesame», which was a tower of rice noodles, shredded duck, a thin slice of duck, watercress, and white and black sesame seeds topped by sesame oil and soy sauce. The dishes are creative in their combination of texture and flavors, the service was attentive, and the atmosphere relaxing.