Restaurant Ekstedt — Restaurant in Stockholm

Fun, interesting, excellent, and amazing experience in a Michelin one star restaurant that uses only wood fires to bake and cook all the food. Dinner starts in a lounge area near the host stand with small bites and cocktails, wine, or water. Next, you go to the dining room and order a drink pairing or drink choice before you are brought to the kitchen and shown the wood fires and see the heat and heat resistant aprons by the chefs and try delicious appetizers with a flaming show as the chef pours the reindeer fat over the oyster, then you are brought back to the dining room to enjoy the rest of your diner. There were 12 courses listed on our menu. My husband chose the non-alcohol drink pairing which featured unique and delicious flavors to go with the food. Like the food, to create the non-alcohol pairings and all the time it can take is truly artistic craftsmanship. I have a limited stomach capacity, so I drank water and enjoyed a sip or two of my husband's non-alcohol drink pairings.

Before coming, I was worried based on a few negative reviews that the food would taste smokey and there would be smoke in the air. Happy to say, food did not have a smokey flavor although there was an item like juniper smoked reindeer (tastes like steak). Also, sensitive to air quality, I did not smell or see any smoke in the restaurant and never coughed or had a problem breathing. The kitchen has an amazing exhaust system. Also, hats off to the chefs working all night on open fires; strong and dedicated!

Service was on point and explanations were mostly at a good volume to hear what was being described. At the end, you might be asked what your favorites were. Mine were: Roasted hay, dry aged beef tartar and lumpfish roe - served in the lounge Flambadau oyser and beurre blanc - for the wow factor of seeing it prepared Ember baked scallop, spruce shoots and onion seaweed fired langoustine, celeriac and solaris - sweeter, more tender than a small lobster Wood oven fired cep mushroom souffle, woodruff and blueberries - dessert and didn't taste like mushrooms which I normally don't like so very interesting Ember baked almond potato and spun sugar - mini volcano

Fascinating, surprising, interesting, fun, and tasty sensory experience. For me, Michelin level cooking is about the layers of flavors they infuse into the food. Ekstedt had that plus in the non-alcohol drink pairing. Definitely...

In the heart of Stockholm, Ekstedt provides a culinary journey that aligns eerily well with the stark nihilism of life itself. The food, decadent and creative, emerges from the flames, a reminder of life's fleeting pleasures. The use of local, seasonal ingredients seems to mirror the existential nature of existence – a moment of flavor in the grand scheme of things. This voyage, that I booked months in advance was a set lunch menu.

The staff, efficient and knowledgeable, approached hospitality with Swedish seamless efficiency. They wove themselves into our experience effortlessly, like a thread in the vast tapestry of existence.

The interior, a fusion of modern Swedish design and hard woods, served as a stark reminder of life's contrast between beauty and futility. The perfectly curated wine list hinted at the pursuit of meaning through hedonistic pleasures.

The absence of selfie-obsessed influencers was a rarity in today's world, allowing us to savor the moment without distractions. It was a fleeting escape from the never-ending noise of modern existence.

A private kitchen tour offered a glimpse into sustainable old-world techniques, a reminder of how we can return to our roots in a world filled with chaos. The old-world fermentation practices resonated with the idea that even the past has something to offer in our quest for meaning.

The pièce de résistance, the reindeer prepared tableside, was a perfect encapsulation of existence in a single dish. Life's circle, the predator and the prey, all served on a plate.

The cost may have been absurd, but in a world devoid of inherent meaning, I couldn't disagree. Ekstedt delivered not just a meal but an experience that challenged my perception of life's absurdity, leaving me questioning the pursuit of perfection in an...

Had a weird experience last night that we are still not sure exactly how to feel about our dining experience.

After the first two locations we ordered a glass of wine to go with the main courses of the meal. The bottle had some version of a Coravin wine saver on the bottle and during the pour, the top exploded / shot off the bottle, shattering the carafe it was being poured into, and spraying what was probably a glass or two of wine on us and around the table. Luckily, we were not cut by the broken glass that landed on us, but the wine went everywhere. It took about ten minutes to clean everything up, including going to the bathroom and trying to get the wine out of our clothes. It took a while to get everything cleaned up and even using water and towels to try and dry everything our clothes were still damp and smelled like wine at the end of the meal two hours later.

I understand that accidents happen, and the individual staff was apologetic, which was good. Towards the end of the meal, we were offered a free cheese course, which was a nice gesture, but the whole experience was not what we were expecting from a restaurant with their reputation. I am not sure what the right thing for the restaurant to do in this situation, but the experience left us feeling negative about what was an otherwise nice evening of food. Paying for the glass of wine (that we eventually did get after everything was cleaned up) that ended up all over us felt weird in the moment.

Accidents happen, and even with the food, neither of us left the restaurant wanting to come back...