Totally Stockholm 1
GASTRO Främmat We were all curious what Kalle Nil
sson would come up with after Punk Royale – the restaurant he started with Joakim Almqvist that, during a couple of short years, managed to be hyped, critically acclaimed, cut down to size, thrown out of their premises, restarted and hyped again. There was sterling quality and craft behind the food at Punk Royale, even if at times that was clouded underneath peculiarities like cigarette ash and horse heads made of plastic. But that’s all in the past – now it’s time for Nilsson’s new venture Främmat. Främmat is nothing like his previous restaurant. Here, Kalle Nilsson picked up the phone and called his old friend Jonas Helgesson, previously head chef at Le Mary Celeste in Paris. His pitch was to create a French restaurant, sans frills or gimmicks, and without hesitating, Jonas agreed to join. We step into the basement that’s home 18 to the new restaurant, and its lack of a concept is liberating, even if they do use a French phone number. The menu is dynamic but simple, and consists of a mix of smaller dishes and larger dishes, with the latter written on the black board. We opt for a tarte flambée (135 kronor) and a hearty portion of duck liver (160 kronor) from the smaller dishes, and select an even more substantial helping of reindeer from the larger dishes (300 kronor). The tarte flambée soon arrives, and to the satisfaction of our party, it’s blessed with a wafer-thin base that gives it a perfectly crispy texture. The duck liver is duck liver, and not in the half-ironic Punk Royale style - instead it’s predictable in the sense that it’s served seared with just a few accompaniments, like grilled bread, some citrus, white raisins and roasted macadamia nuts. The main course is simply-put, a generous and well-cooked piece of reindeer. On the wine side of things we see similar tendencies. Their supply consists of some simpler house wines, but they also make room for some fancier titles, with some from Jura, for example. We indulge in a bottle from the wine farmer Jéröme Arnoux, which we, of course, don’t come to regret. For 700 kronor we get an experience that make it clear why wine lovers eyes shine as soon as someone mentions Jura. An accomplished French Toast later, and it’s closing bell time. It’s fortunate that the government has enforced a restaurant curfew, because if they hadn’t, we’d probably still be sitting there today. If you were given a never-ending dinner, this is everything you’d want it to be. Dalagatan 54, open Wednesday-Saturday frammat.com