Restaurant vRÅ

Trams, buses, and people rush around Drottningtorget in front of the grand post office building – at the time, the most expensive building project in Swedish history. Today, Restaurant Vrå occupies one wing of the Clarion Post Hotel, and in the dining room, the original heritage-listed 1920s interior coexists with industrial-modern and futuristic elements. Together with the many glass details, a grand, cinematic atmosphere is created. Round booths clad in glass sit like small intimate islands, while magnificent arched cast-iron windows along one long wall let in light. With the best view into the open kitchen, raised above floor level, sit two wood-framed, Japan-inspired booths – a perfect little nook for following the evening's performance. A welcoming bowl of fluffy, mildly tangy potato cream starts things off. It is dusted with smoked mussel powder scented with lemon thyme and accompanied by a cup of bancha tea. The appetizer is followed by a leek bonanza with sweet and rich tofu cream and grilled oysters. As the festive chatter from the small islands of guests settles like a soft sound blanket over the dining room, the pace in the kitchen picks up. Course after course dances out of the hatch in well-choreographed fashion. With feather-light precision, a sashimi of thinly sliced farmed hiramasa and citrus fruit fillets is plated – and dressed with a vinaigrette of white miso, ginger, and yuzu. A slightly sweet, tropical-style nama sake is poured into the glasses, and the entire delight comes together in a shimmering balancing act where the dish's almost fleeting lightness lands neatly alongside the umami of the fish and drink. We fall head over heels for the next course, where dumplings filled with springy lobster and scallop are enveloped in a creamy ginger foam. A semi-dry Riesling draws out a register of nutty and roasted tones. Slurp, what a crowd-pleasing delicacy! That the kitchen has complete mastery on the broth front is confirmed when a celery dish gets to play its entire register, both roasted, pickled, and in a celery-rich dashi broth – deep and clear as a forest pond. The delight is topped with roasted nuts and finely grated truffle. Yet the evening's most ingratiating and perfectly executed showstopper is still the vanishingly fluffy, silky, and creamy chawanmushi that can barely support a couple of seared, silvery langoustine tails. Paired with a perfectly lukewarm new harvest sake, every tiny component of the crustaceans' DNA is highlighted. The whole experience is well on its way to defying gastronomic gravity. Such a crescendo is hard to top, and when the uncheesecrusted langoustine arrives, it feels unnecessarily heavy. Fortunately, the mood quickly lightens again with a tart and cleverly aromatic apple and shiso sorbet. As a grand finale, a yogurt sorbet featuring sea buckthorn with miso caramel and rice crisps of white chocolate tops everything off perfectly. The conclusion? Here, a high-level innovative gastronomic spectacle is served that unites the Nordic and Japanese, the local and the global – all permeated by a clear sustainability line where nothing is preached at us but driven forward through an exceptional holistic experience.