Restaurant

Photo: Hantverket Stefan-Ekengren. Photo: Hantverket Photo: Patrik-Johansson

Restaurant of the Month, Sweden Playful craftsmanship at an award-winning Stockholm restaurant

Delicious creative takes on classic food, an intimate but lively setting and an attentive team: these are the building blocks for the 2019 Gulddraken-winning restaurant Hantverket in central Stockholm, where dining is about more than just the food.

By Hanna Andersson

“Our goal is for our menu to feel inclusive, sympathetic and delicious. One of the best compliments we get is ‘I can’t decide what to choose, it all looks so good’,” says Stefan Ekengren, partner and head chef.

Restaurant Hantverket is spacious and welcoming, with an open kitchen and a joyous team that take care of you from the moment you enter. During service, the chefs, waitstaff and management team move around, getting to know guests and making sure that everyone is having a good time.

“We want to create an exciting and dynamic dining room that feels grand but also intimate. The way the restaurant is designed makes it possible to have intimate conversations without missing a word whilst there’s a birthday party going on just metres away. Family dinners, business meetings and parties can all coexist in this space, which makes it incredibly fun,” says Ekengren.

In the moment The menu consists of a wide range of dishes, inspired by Swedish comfort food and ingredients. Signature dishes include crispy Hasselback potatoes with bleak roe, smetana (sour cream) and spring onion; green tomato soup; and beef tartar with Jerusalem artichoke, gruyère cheese and hazelnuts.

“Our food is playful and exciting with focus on Scandinavian flavours and elements of southern Europe. Our main objective is to provide food that creates a moment – it lets you enjoy the ‘here and now’. Guests should feel: ‘I am here, at Hantverket’,” explains Ekengren.

The craft Hantverket, which in Swedish simply means ‘Craftsmanship’, was opened in 2016 by Torbjörn Blomqvist, owner of Stockholm Meeting Selection, who is himself a craftsman. He designed and built the restaurant to feel big, warm and genuine.

Ekengren joined in 2017 and has thereafter helped establish the menu and the concept. “We’ve been doing really well. We have a well-thought-out concept, a team that loves working together, a great dining room and great recipes,” he says. “Our focus is not only on the food, but also on the overall experience where service, food and ambiance all come together to create a great restaurant.”

www.restauranghantverket.se Instagram: @restauranghantverket Facebook: Restaurang Hantverket

Photo: Thomas-Wingstedt

Campo de’ Fiori is a wine bar and kitchen.

Restaurant of the Month, Norway An Italian delicacy in the heart of Oslo

Just a few years ago, getting a decent Italian meal anywhere north of the Alps was difficult. However, in Scandinavia, it was impossible. An Italian dinner in Oslo was often little more than a few overcooked strands of spaghetti in bleak tomato sauce, accompanied by an endless flow of Italian love songs from a bygone era on the loudspeaker, from the first mouthful of antipasto until the tiramisu was long gone.

By Eva-Kristin U. Pedersen | Photos: Dario Polverari

Fortunately, that era is over. These days, all you need to do is to head to Homannsbyen, and down Josefines Street; and find your way to Campo de’ Fiori – the Oslo edition.

While there’s no portrait of Giordano Bruno looking down on you, there are plenty of other elements that guarantee an authentic Italian experience at their tables. ‘forks’ by the food and wine magazine Gambero Rosso, for Top Italian Restaurant, 2022. They only serve the very best, from the traditional sauce ‘amatriciana’ and cured pork-cheek ‘gricia’, to ‘coda alla vaccinara’ – oxtail and vegetable stew.

One such guarantee is the food; Campo de’ Fiori is not only Italian, it is Roman.

Food with Roman roots “Everything we serve has Roman roots,” says Fabio Pezzoli, the owner and a Roman himself. The kitchen is helmed by head chefs Francesco Oberto, a former recipient of a Michelin Star in Italy, and Fabio Pezzoli, who was awarded two

At Campo you will get first and second courses made with top quality ingredients and Italian cooking know-how.

Other typical dishes on the menu are the homemade ravioli and a variety of main courses. All the pasta and main dishes vary according to the season. “We always make sure to have seasonal ingredients of the best possible quality, and that means that our menu changes a great deal,” Pezzoli underlines.

In addition to traditional Italian dishes, however, Pezzoli makes the best possible use of whatever ingredients Norway can offer, prepared in an Italian manner. That’s why, this autumn, guests at Campo de’ Fiori could enjoy an absolutely unique venison risotto. “A friend of mine procured the fresh venison for me, and we made a risotto out of it. It was absolutely delicious,” Pezzoli says with a smile.

A wine bar and kitchen As a sommelier, Pezzoli also pays a lot of attention to his wine menu. “Campo de’ Fiori’s full name is Campo de’ Fiori Enoteca e Cucina,” Pezzoli says. Accordingly, the wine cellar is extensive, based mostly on Italian producers, but also offering excellent French wines.

“We have a lot of wines from regions that Norwegians know well, like Piemonte and Tuscany, but we also make sure to introduce our clients to other regions, like the Marche and Sicily, and lately also Lazio,” Pezzoli elaborates. The wine-producing region around Rome has stepped up in recent years, with wines of markedly higher quality – something restaurant owners both in Italy and abroad are keen to take advantage of.

A winning atmosphere But perhaps what makes this an authentic Italian restaurant, even more than the food and wine, is the atmosphere. Whatever you chose to eat, you’ll do so in Campo de’ Fiori’s warm and welcoming surroundings, which present Italian style without any of its clichés. There are no wall paintings of the Colosseum or the Roman Forum; instead, the walls are decorated with top-notch photos by the renowned photographer Dusan Reljin.

Most of the staff are Italian, many of them Roman, and they’ve recreated the joyfulness that Italian eateries are known for. Go for dinner at Campo de’ Fiori and you’ll feel as if you’ve been out with a very large family.

“The other night some girls started singing. They didn’t really know the words to this Italian song, so I wrote the refrain for them on the mirror and we sang together,” Pezzoli laughs as he remembers it, and adds that the words on the mirror are still there.

Danger of developing an addiction With both incredible food, premium-quality wine and genuine smiles guaranteed, it’s no wonder that Pezzoli sees high numbers of returning guests. It does seem like Campo de’ Fiori is dangerously addictive. With that in mind, why not give it a try next time you’re in Oslo?

General manager Fabio Pezzoli and head chef Francesco Oberto.

www.campo.no Instagram: @camporestaurant Facebook: campodafabio

The quality of the ingredients is guaranteed at Campo de’ Fiori. Italian tonight. Campo de’ Fiori is authentically Italian in Oslo.