Frantzén - Stockholm
Entryway for Frantzen - ring the doorbell to get in.
Rating: 19/20
Where: Stockholm, Sweden
When: Dinner for 2 on 12 April 2022
Cost: Tasting menu 4200 SEK / Wine pairing 2800-6700 SEK
Accolades: 3 Michelin Stars, #6 on Top 50 Restaurants list (2021)
Why: Delicious modern tasting menu with Swedish and Japanese influences; a well-thought-out experience from end to end
Frantzén is located on a quiet side-street in downtown Stockholm, just a few minutes walk away from the central train station. After ringing the doorbell, a receptionist welcomed us to a black-paneled room. Display cases of meats being aged lined one of the walls. These were actually real, we were later served one of the fish hanging here. From the entry hall, an elevator took our party several floors up to a lounge. The music and lighting on the elevator were timed to the ride, the light level and background music going from barely there to intense, matching the lounge that we arrived at. A nice touch, showing a surprising attention to detail even regarding something as prosaic as an elevator ride.
Seated in the lounge, we were offered a choice of aperitifs. A pâte à choux, a small pastry filled with three cheeses and topped with charred green onion powder, was next. This was pleasant enough, but also somewhat boring, I couldn't taste much of the cheeses inside 17.
A small cup made from celery was filled with langoustine, and too many spices for me to remember, including vanilla. I should maybe start to secretly record the servers reciting the ingredients of dishes... This was pretty nice, the cracker underneath really tasting like dried celery 18.
Next, a "fake sushi". A bottom cracker topped with foie gras (I think, but couldn't really taste) and pickled red beet spheres resembling salmon roe. The acidity of the beets was really nice, but the cracker had gotten a bit soaked through and soft before making it to our table 17.
A riff on a traditional Swedish dish was a cylinder spun from thin potato threads, filled with a creme of a composition I forgot, and topped with pickled onions. I'm not familiar with the Swedish dish this was based on, but the closest taste association for me was salt and vinegar potato chips. Definitely nothing wrong with that 18.
The final amuse bouche was a cup filled with veal tartare 17.
Presentation of the ingredients used in the dinner - the peas next to the rhubarb are more expensive than caviar…
At this point we had looked at the menu both in printed and in visual form. For the latter, one of the chefs took us through a display of the main ingredients that we'd see in the courses to come. I had never seen such a thing before, definitely an innovative presentation. That gave us more time than usual to ask questions about the ingredients, since there was no concern of a dish getting cold.
The menu is a fixed tasting menu, with dietary restrictions accepted. The printed menu already contained the pescatarian adjustments for my wife. So the only choice to make at dinner time is what beverage pairing to get. There are two levels of wine pairings at about $300 and $700 each. A non-alcoholic pairing is about $100, and finally there is a mixed version of the non-alcoholic pairing and the "cheaper" wine pairing at about $200. We tried the two wine pairings. To slightly jump ahead, the wines turned out to be fine, but not as amazing as one would hope them to be at this price point. I think the $300 (or $600 for two people) would be better spent on a nice bottle of wine or two.
Finished with the lounge for now, we were led down a flight of stairs for a look into the prep kitchen and the wine cellar and then finally to the dining room / kitchen. All chefs were introduced by name and their stations. Diners are seated at an L-shaped table around the open kitchen. There's really no bad seat, all have a good view of what's cooking. Two separate tables off to the side have a more limited view, but are better for larger parties.
During dinner, all dishes received final touches right in front of us, and some were entirely plated on the dining counter by one of the chefs.
The first course of the tasting menu was hamachi cured with umeboshi (a pickled Japanese plum), topped with tiny radish slices, a vinaigrette and toasted seaweed oil. A wonderful dish, fresh tasting, with nice fish, a pretty presentation, and just the right amount of sourness 20.
Next was a big piece of langoustine, coated with Nishiki sushi rice and then fried, causing the rice to pop. It was served with a side of tomato and butter emulsions. The langoustine was eaten by hand, dipping it in the sauces between bites. A very rustic dish, this was tasty, but somewhat mayonnaisy (yes, I claim that's a word). I grew up with French fries served with mayonnaise and ketchup ("red and white"), so maybe that's what this dish was channeling, albeit with seafood instead of potatoes, and obviously at a fancier level. Still, less complex than previous dishes 18.
Chawanmushi (a Japanese egg custard) with peas, ikura and a white asparagus emulsion was next. This was nice, but it ain't no chawanmushi. Egg custard was to be found in the dish, but it was just one among many ingredients, and not dominant as it would have been in a Japanese preparation. So more "inspired by true chawanmushis" than the thing itself. But it was still a delightful dish, all ingredients adding texture and flavor 19+.
The next course was Norwegian cod topped with N25 caviar, sitting on top of a salad of peas and razor clams, some "piso" (pea-based miso), and a pea sauce. The caviar was excellent - N25 is a German distributor that sources the caviar from China, and works with many high-end restaurants to create custom blends. The cod was cooked perfectly, the peas and razor clams distinctive and fresh. A wonderful dish 20.
King crab leg cooked in escargot butter with a morel filled with house-made nduja was next. This was plated table-side (well, counter-side). The crab leg had a very unusual texture, very soft - the bite usually present was entirely missing. I can only assume that's intentional, but we didn't feel that it was necessarily better. At least not as strange as the soft abalone that we had at Harbor House Inn in California the prior year. The butter sauce had a nice vinegary touch, but the nduja was subtle to the point of almost disappearing in the dish 19.
The next dish was one of the restaurant's signatures, apparently continuously on the menu since 2008. Caramelized onion puree veloute with an onion creme, Marcona almond pieces, almond oil and licorice powder. My first bite had an abundance of licorice powder, which was a bit off-putting, especially since I'm not a big fan (unlike most Swedes, I presume). But then, after mixing the ingredients, this was a delightful dish. It was onion soup, but unlike any onion soup I've had before, an truly original take on the subject 19+. There's a reason it has stayed on the menu.
The final savory dish was reindeer, cut into thin slices, with lardo (to add some fat to the otherwise lean meat), with black pepper, sea buckthorn, oyster mushrooms, mala pepper seasoning, and a fried shiso leaf on top. The pescatarian alternative was pike perch for the protein, leaving everything else the same. This was a wonderful dish, the meat cooked perfectly, juicy (maybe with a little help of the lardo), the mushrooms "meaty" as well, and the Szechuan pepper sauce delightful 20.
The reindeer was served with a very nice buttery brioche, folded sixteen times according to our server 19. The butter was also very good.
A palate cleanser was server next: lime leaf ice cream with a lime marshmallow, sake granita and matcha powder. Fine, fresh, tart, bot not wowing 17.
The main dessert was based on tomato and strawberry, with an ice cream, praline sabayon and lemon verbena powder. Quite tasty 19.
We were then led back to the lounge for petit fours, coffee, tea, and more drinks, if desired. I read online about a group of people staying in the lounge, or (in the summer) its outdoor patio for six more hours. Presumably it's a good idea to start with lunch if that's your plan, but I could definitely see it as a nice place to hang out further.
Caramelized madeleines were wonderful 19, a gooseberry pate de fruit was pretty good and a nod to a fruit common in Scandinavia 18, a white chocolate with blueberry and cookie crumbles was yummy as well 19, as was a milk chocolate with walnut butter in a walnut shape 18, licorice is not really my thing 14, but a fermented garlic praline was nicely aromatic, different and not that sweet 18. An inverted nougat (with the nuts and fruits on the outside) was delightful 19, a torched marshmallow had an almost savory filling 17. The madeleines were refilled once we finished them, as were coffee and tea, a nice touch, especially since that was included in the overall price.
Considering the above scores, oddly the appetizers and petit fours score lower than the main courses. That's obviously not a bad thing (if you had to choose, you'd definitely have the main courses be better), but oddly counter to what happens in many fine-dining restaurants. The bite-size appetizers there often outshine what comes next.
The wines we had during dinner (thankfully just a glass each, though).
Reflecting back on the evening, I'm impressed by the work that went into planning the whole experience. Not just the very good food, but the succession of rooms, and visual presentations. Showing all the ingredients as a spread is not just a neat way of introducing and discussing the menu, it's also a prototypical Instagram moment. Similarly, assembling all the wine bottles from the pairing in a row after dinner just begs to be photographed. Note that even though the lighting in the dining room is on the dim side, there is a spotlight at your seat to photograph the dishes well. Clearly an experience designed with a mobile phone wielding audience in mind.
Overall: A very good meal, with some nice inventive touches, such as the visual menu. I liked that the menu did feel "local" without being in your face about it. You might get the feeling that you're missing subtleties by not having grown up in Sweden, but not enough to feel that the dishes are lessened by it, which really is the perfect combination. Even though the whole evening was a "production" with every step preordained, the service still made it seem friendly and fairly casual. A place I'd happily return to - we were told that the menu changes continuously, so that after three months the menu has changed in its entirety. I'm not sure that I'll get the engraved steak knife anytime soon - regulars get one after 10 visits -, but it'd be a nice stop when next I return to Stockholm 19+.
