Frantzén

Dining here is akin to a royal audience, and you’re wise to be on time. The slots are every quarter of an hour, dingdong, knock-knock, and a young vassal receives you with courtly airs. The ritual is meticulously timed. A glass of water, perhaps, as your coat is taken and meat aging cabinets signal that any transition from red to green is best done elsewhere. Ready? A lift whisks you, if not to seventh heaven at least to the top floor, where the lord chamberlain, Carl Frosterud, awaits. Despite the precisely timed protocol, nothing here is stiff or contrived. The staff are skilled at reading each guest’s temperament in order to hit the right note. The amuses arrive at a brisk trot. They include an airy grape macaroon with whipped duck’s liver, condensed port wine, and hibiscus on a rye bread crisp – almost decadent in the frivolous flavours and ethereal textures. Before we descend a flight of stairs to the Kitchen Theatre – a peek into the secret box. The evening’s artistes preen on a bed of ice: beautifully pale pink otoro from Ibiza, pickled myoga ginger of almost exactly the same hue, live Norway lobsters scrabbling for an escape route in the unexpected light. Downstairs, the otoro and myoga turn up as ‘crudo’, an exceptionally pretty presentation of purple radish, fermented anchovies and tomato water, with a gossamer texture and esoteric, complex flavours. The Norway lobster met its destiny with bravado: the tail, deep-fried but 12 seconds, on a thin bed of crispy-puffed Japanese koshihikari rice, to be dipped in ginger-infused melted butter, is as unbeatably delicious as ever. The hybrid drinks package, with every second selection non-alcoholic, is a perfect idea – and the non-inebriating items are excellent. New on the menu this year is a piece of turbot hidden under an enormous blond wig of Alba truffle (hey there, Trump) on a beurre blanc flavoured with matsutake. A Frantzén classic follows: French toast ‘grand tradition 2008’, a true gastro-gem and elegantly yummy scrumptious. A Barbaresco Riserva ‘Baluchin’ 2001 has an unexpectedly tough tussle with a purple carrot drink enhanced with smoked maple syrup from Blaxsta. After three or four hours of eating and drinking your way through harmonious compositions you can suddenly ask yourself: is it all a bit too monotonously good? That’s when the bbq dove comes crashing down. Until now it’s been silly-easy eating, and gorge-worthy too. This dove slams on the brakes. It’s hard eating, and testy flavours. But it wakes us up. Still, no respite yet. Smoked ice cream with ginger, dried egg yolk and date syrup weighs down our steps up to the lounge – where another 14 frivolities await us, to go with the coffee. More is more. A small dome of liquorice bavaroise with toffee-like beetroot and violet vinegar is sublime. And we can but certify: the set, the direction, the acting and the whole performance is stellar – right there at the summit, probably among the five or ten foremost in the world.

Exceptional cuisine

Landmark dining destination:Frantzén was one of the first globally renowned restaurants to create a genuinely immersive setting. Guests arrive in one room and take a tour of the beautiful property while being served seriously futuristic and delicious dishes as they meander their way around the multi-storey townhouse. What’s the story?The restaurant began with humble origins as a bijou dining room in Stockholm’s old town, before closing in 2016 to relocate to larger premises. Set across three storeys of a spruced-up 19th-century building in the Norrmalm district, the restaurant reopened in 2017 and it’s been making impressive progress ever since. In the kitchen:Björn Frantzén is a former professional footballer who started out as a chef in the Swedish army before working at Chez Nico in London, Arpège in Paris and Stockholm’s Edsbacka Krog. He co-founded original iteration Frantzén/Lindeberg in 2008. And the food?Frantzén’s cuisine is a unique hybrid of Nordic cuisine that marries classic and modern techniques inspired by local tradition with Asian notes. Just one menu is available at lunch and dinner, which might feature the likes of scallop with chicken dashi, vin jaune and lardo; chawanmushi (savoury custard) of aged pork broth, razor clams and ramson; white asparagus with coconut, lemongrass and pistachio; finishing with grilled pineapple paired with milky oolong, sweet potato and mezcal. Talented siblings:Frantzén has sister restaurant Zén in Singapore, plus a number of casual restaurants, cocktail and wine bars in Sweden and Hong Kong and French-leaning Bobergs Matsal also in Stockholm. In 2025, the chef’s Dubai eatery FZN gained its third Michelin Star, making Frantzén the only individual in the world to have three tri-starred restaurants currently in their roster.