The story
Etoile in Stockholm runs an international kitchen at Norra Stationsgatan 51, and it holds one Michelin star (2026). The restaurant serves a single set menu of twenty courses over roughly four hours, cooked and presented by a team that works as one unit.
Every member of the Etoile team is a chef. They start the day together, select products, cook side by side, and then prepare for guests. The evening follows one playful international menu, with each course meant to take about twelve minutes. Guests are asked to follow the sequence rather than order from it.
The White Guide Masters rating (2026) praised the kitchen's appetite for technique and surprise. Courses in the White Guide account include an afternoon tea party built on mushroom and onion broth, beef with liquorice and German-Russian caviar, and a fish 'n' chips made with smoked halibut and pickled Jerusalem artichoke. Charcoal veal sweetbread with black curry and a dessert series built on apples and blueberries show the range. The guide found most dishes delicious, and nearly always entertaining, often thanks to a show in the dining room.
The wine pairing leans toward vin nature and moves across regions, from Austrian riesling to Argentine criolla. Non-alcoholic drinks are mixed at the table, including a teetotal Old Fashioned with a maraschino cherry. The setting is home-like and unpretentious, and the evening ends in a sweet lounge.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Naming your restaurant Etoile (star) is cocky in itself. But that’s part of the attitude of Messrs Falkeman and Lagerström in this little nook by Norrtull. Etoile is not for everyone, but there’s definitely something here for everyone. The concept can be described thus: ‘fun ingredients and flavours from all over the world, prepared and presented just as we please’. Sound unusual? Amid current concerns about certifications and locally grown seasonal produce, Etoile is certainly gastronomically incorrect. Almost anarchist, in fact. As a guest, all you can do is get on board. There is just one set menu, of twenty courses, neither more nor less. Each course is meant to take an average of twelve minutes. After exactly four hours we’re brimming with impressions, and wondering what, actually, we’ve just experienced. Well, here goes: Afternoon Tea Party (mushroom and onion broth with edible flowers and onion cake in a sweets tin), Beef and liquorice (with German-Russian caviar), Fish’n’chips (potato, smoked halibut, pickled Jerusalem artichoke, fried lacinato kale), Bagel (crunchy pumpkin and carrot skin with duck liver and passion fruit cream), Dim sum (like strawberries filled with a Bloody Mary explosion), Maki (yuzu and soy with cedar-roasted zander from Lake Hjälmaren, in banana leaves), Preserved summer (scallops, strawberries and charcoal-grilled cream), Forest (mushroom toast and croquette with a hat of cep consommé), Charcoal (veal sweetbread with black curry and tempura batter with burnt coconut), Ras el hanout (variations of lamb and carrot, Jerusalem artichoke with North African spices). And that doesn’t include the copper-coloured dish CU 29, the airy Fresh Air, or the ice lolly that tastes like a Thai soup. Nor the parade of desserts made with apples and blueberries. Is it delicious? Most of it, yes. Is it entertaining? Always – not least because most dishes involve intriguing techniques and a dining room show. Are the drinks good? Definitely – the wine package is well matched to the menu and tends towardsvin nature. From Austrian riesling and chenin blanc from the Loire to a rich American chardonnay and a chunky criolla from Argentina. Interspersed with both sake and pinot meunier champagne. The non-alcoholic drinks are colourful, and by turns refreshing and sweet. Many are mixed at the table, like the most sophisticated cocktail – as in a teetotal Old Fashioned: smoky and carroty, with a maraschino cherry. An evening at Etoile is a real mood enhancer, and when you step out once again into the traffic by Norrtull you feel somewhat dazed.
High quality cooking
Location