Totally Stockholm 1
GASTRO Animo ”Hello my friend, if you go up to Ha
nnes over there, he’ll take care of you. You’ll get the best seats in the house tonight!” That our expectations are high is an understatement after a welcome like that at Kungstensgatan’s latest restaurant. Animo is the result of a collaboration between two chefs who have a joint win at the Chef World Cup on their CV. Daniel Haynes and Anders Karlsson have become the latest custodians of the restaurant premises that previously housed Bonbon and Ilse, and have cautiously moulded it into something of their own. The staff is comprised of a young and cheerful crowd, both on the floor as well as in the kitchen, and through the loudspeakers we are in the company of Elton John and the brothers Gibb. We take a seat at our allocated place by the open kitchen and peruse the menu. After a glance our stomachs are already growling in anticipation. Haynes and Karlsson have succeeded in creating a menu where the guest more or less wants to order every single dish. It’s horribly difficult to make a 18 decision. While we ponder our next move, we ask for some snacks in the shape of boquerones on fried bread, and churros with parmesan and harissa, and they’re both as good as they sound. Later we hear Haynes shout behind the kitchen counter, and it turns out to be our starter in the shape of a ceviche with halibut. The fish is served with avocado, coconut cream and green curry oil, and comes in quicker than you can say ’lemon verbena’. There’s generally a high tempo in the kitchen and among the staff working the floor. The only time the pulse slows is when someone from the staff crouches down beside a table for a chat with the guests, which actually happens quite often. Anyway, the ceviche is delicious, and the immodest flavouring of green curry makes us want more. For main course we order lemon sole, and we can’t resist the duck dish that won the duo the chef World Cup in 2018. On the menu they call it simply the World Cup Duck. ”Increase the tempo, it’s Friday” we can hear from the kitchen, and in a flash the mains are in front of us. The lemon sole is beautiful in its presentation, looking like a white avocado. Tastewise it’s as fantastic as the starter, the acidity is significant, even if it’s balanced somewhat with a hash brown and a butter sauce flavoured with elderflower. The World Cup Duck is perfection and the gold medal seem well-deserved. Hot Swedish turnip, Thai basil, and star anise - name a flavour that’s not in there somewhere, and you’ll get a bowl of ice cream for dessert. And speaking of dessert, we treat ourselves to both an absolutely fine crème brûlée and a tartelette with dark chocolate mousse, before being surprised that the cheque for the whole evening, including a couple of glasses of chinon, and perhaps a little digestif, barely exceeds 2,000 kronor. We’ll gladly park our taste buds here again, my friend.