Oh dear. Four hours before my dinner reservation at Mistral on 26th September, my trusty Canon 350D started acting up. It got hot and fainted a few times, woke up again, but only to twitch and finally pass away between my hands. It drew its last breath in the sun coming through the window of Ulla Winbladh’s cosy inn in the beautiful Djurgården in Stockholm. All attempts at revival were futile. The camera housing grew so hot that any digital activity inside the camera’s brain must have seized as the electronics fused together. It was, presumably, a quick death.
So, I have no photographs from this delightful evening at Mistral in the southern part of Stockholm. But the staff has been kind enough to send me these photos of the interior and the dishes we got. The photos in this post are all taken by Erik Olsson (www.eof.se), and it is therefore the first post on this blog featuring someone else’s photos.
If you choose to go to Mistral, don’t be fooled by the huge red neon lights spelling Barnevognsfabrikken (‘The Pram Factory’) on the building in the middle of the residential neighborhood. This is where restaurant Mistral is housed. We came with probably the kindest (elderly) taxi driver who insisted on ringing the restaurant to double check the address – while we were sitting in the car just outside and across the street.
Inside we got a warm greeting by the Daniel and Helena and were shown to our table at the opposite end of the main dining room close to the bar and the stairs down to the kitchen. We were the only guests in that end of the restaurant and had the area all to ourselves the whole evening. It made for a quite special and a very private experience.
The restaurant’s interior is light and plain with white walls, white table cloths and simple, personal decorations.
Mistral has an excellent wine list. It only offers French wines but the selection is full of tempting whites and reds from most regions in France. I had almost made up my mind from home when I droolingly browsed it and considered what to choose this evening. I therefore quickly ordered the N.V. Jacques Selosse Initial which I have heard a lot about from Thomas at Mad About Wine and longed to taste for the first time.
It won’t be the last time I drink Selosse, or at least I hope not, because it was such a lovely experience. Just the taste of it and following how it evolved during the entire evening was quite something. The bottle was degorged in 2007. The nose was very expressive with many nuances of light fruit, slight Sherry tones or oxidization and some oak (can this be true?) in a delicate way. When I first zipped it, I was surprised how fine the mousse was, and yet at the same time it effervescently grew bigger and entirely filled my mouth. The acidity in the after-taste sort of manipulated the taste and even more sophisticated flavours evolved.
We got no snacks, appetizers or regards from the kitchen but started out with the first course listed on the evening menu.
It offered raw and creamy carrots with grilled squid, saffron, coffee and meadow sweet. It was a very pure and fragile dish but also very tasty. The flavour of the grilled squid was copious, and the carrots were spiced with saffron in a subtle and delicate way. What an excellent match not only in colour but also in taste.
Next course was composed by dried potatoes with lavender and brown butter, creamy farmhouse egg and bleak roe in yogurt. The bleak roes were placed under the potatoes and added salt in a nice way. This dish was pure as well but did have a bit more character than the first one. The egg was perfection, soft but not runny and balancing the dish.
Then followed baked and marinated beetroot with redcurrant, hibiscus and cocoa on raw crayfish. The beet had a really intense teaste, the cocoa was restrained. The yellow powder (hardly visible in the photo) was inspired by bottarga and gave salt and bitterness to the dish and thereby balanced it with the sweetish beetroot. Very good.
At this point we got some bread on the table. Bringing the bread to the table so late insured that we hadn’t eaten too much bread from the start of the evening. I liked that.
I ordered a 2006 Leroy Bourgogne Aligoté to accompany the following courses. The scent was dominated by earthiness, cow shed, minerals and burnt hair. I loved it. There was a remarkable balance between the nose and the palate. Even though it’s just appellation Bourgogne it is a seducing wine. After hours of air it was still as consistent as after the first hour.
This dish was inspired by Michel Bras, and dedicated to each ingredient in respect of its qualities. Raw, lightly marinated and fried autumn vegetables with fruit and leaf and milk skin and grated Brazil nut. It worked so well and presented the products in a way that made it possible to enjoy them for what they were but also to appreciate them in combination with the rest and a more complex taste. There were so many different flavours to perceive and appreciate. At Arpege earlier this year I had a similar course where the vegetables had different textures. At Mistral all the vegetables had the same softness to it and this was delighting. One of the highlights of this evening.
And the magic continued as this next dish totally blew me away. Lightly cooked, glaced leeks with almonds, sugar and balsamico traditionale and melted lardo presented in such a simple but beautiful way. Sweetness came from the balsamico and acidity from the wood sorrel and combined with the subtle lardo and the way that they worked together was absolutely phenomenal. A little cup with almond milk was served on the side. It had a pure taste of almonds but also comprised a good amount of acidity so the milk wasn’t too sweet.
I do love scallops in all forms and here they were accompanied by raw shrimps put underneith the green covers of parsley root. Raw shrimps can have a rather bland taste to it but in combination with parsley root it didn’t.
Then followed the main course of lamb with lightly cooked and crispy cabbage, green bread and a green powder which was a bit too dominating. The lamb meat was of excellent quality.
There were two desserts and also the desserts’ focus was on vegetables. First lightly sweetened cucumber, almonds and mint with yogurt-olive oil sorbet and cocoa bread. It was sweet as well as refreshing and really nice.
So were the summer tomatoes preserved with hibiscus. They were accompained by a reduction of something called ‘lagen’ in Swedish, raw honey and milk ice cream and tomatoes marmalade. I was quite sceptical when I read about tomatoes for dessert but this was very delicious.
Mistral is an exciting place. It’s unique and very special. The food is unique and the personality of the staff makes it a very special place. The staff master what I find is important and essential for high-end restaurants: The gift of understanding the guest’s preferences and how to communicate on the level of the guest. I cannot wait to get back and this time with my new Canon 500D.
Hej Trine
Läste på din Twitter du varit på F/L och Rolfs Kök, 2 av mina absoluta favorit restauranger här i Stockholm. F/L är så fantastiskt bra! Satt på deras “Chefs Table” nu på mitt senaste besök i April, har du något till din blog från det besöket? Vore kul att få se. Jag har varit där 4 ggr dom senaste 4 åren. Vad tyckte du?
Rolfs kök är också en klassiker här i byn, det är “kockarnas” favorit restaurang! Dom har även ett steak huse som jag faktiskt tycker är bättre än Mash, har du varit på Retour, Rasmus.O ställe, Ensebles gamla lokaler?
Mathias Dahlgren borde du också prova, fast jag gillar Matbaren bätte än själva matsalen.
Tack för en fin blogg!
Thomas Larsén
Hej Thomas
Mange tak for din søde kommentar. 🙂 Jo, jeg har billeder til bloggen om Frantzén/Lindeberg som jeg vil poste når jeg har lavet min Geranium-post færdig (snart!!;). Jeg elsker både F/L og Rolfs Kök, uhmmm de er fantastiske.
Ja, jeg har flere gange været på Retour det er også et rigtigt dejligt sted, så det må du besøge næste gang du er i byen og spise hummer med bearnaise;).
Trine
Hi Trine,
Thanks for your replying!
I really appreciate it.
Yu-ting
Hi Trine,
From your itineraries,
I know you have been to Mistral and Lux in Stockhom.
Could you please let me know comparing these two restaurants, which one is better based on food in your opinion?
Thank you so much!
Yu-ting
Hi Yu-ting
Though question. I think it’s a matter of preference in food and the style of it. Mistral blew me away there was just so much personality and elegance and I really liked that. Lux was for me more vgf but less destinction and personality.
Hope this helps.
Hey HB,
The website is http://www.mistral.nu/ and it sure is open.
Good luck! 🙂
Hello, I would like to know if this restaurant is still open and if it has a web page??
Thank you, HB
Hej Thomas
Jo, jeg synes så afgjort at det er underligt at Mistral ikke fik nogen stjerne denne gang og spekulerer hvad årsagen til dette kan være. Du som er “insider”, hvad tror du der har gjort at Mistral ikke har fået Michelin-stjerne?
Jeg var uheldig i september sidste år for jeg kunne hverken få bord hos Mathias eller F/L. Det var øv.
Tusind tak for dine fine ord om min blog.
God søndag til dig, Thomas!
Hej Trine
Tack för en fantastisk blog! Läser den varje vecka. Superfina foto alltid med. Jag bor i Stockholm och arbetar här i stan som kökschef och sommelier. Jag var också på Mistral förra året, allt var väldigt gott och fint presenterat, mkt trevlig vinlista med min favorit Champagneproducent J Selosse.
Nu när nya Michelin Guiden “Main Cities” kommit ut, upptäckte jag att Mistral inte ens finns med, är det inte märkligt? Dom kankse inte skulle fått en Michelin stjärna 1a året, men nog tycker jag dom skule finnas med, så turister eller matintresserade kan hitta dit. Well Michelin är hårda iband, Operakällaren och Leiontornet förlorade sina stjärnor men Frantzén/Linderg fick sin 2a stjärna, kan verkligen rekommendera F/L en fantastisk restaurang! Likaså Mathias Dahlgren, nästa gång du är i Stockholm måste du gå till någon av dom.
Mitt bästa restaurangbesök all time förutom Kommandanten på sin tid är i November 2009 på Chez Dominique i Helsingfors, jag var helt i trans i flera dagar efter besöket. Ett annat tips om du skulle til Helsingfors är Restaurang Luomo, kika här: http://www.luomo.fi/pages/06_galleria.html
Okej, men åter tack för en trevlig blog!
Ha en fin dag Trine
Per,
I’m so sorry I haven’t responded any sooner, but I have been ill. 🙁 But now I’m feeling fine again. 🙂
I cannot think of any new restaurant that’s going to open in January. Unless you’re interested in Dim Sum http://restaurantdimsum.dk/ og Aamanns http://www.aamanns.dk/restaurant/? They both opened in 2009.
Trine
Thanks! for all help…
Have been waiting a long time for this trip, by some reason there has always been something in the way but now 🙂
We only have one day ( or what´s left before and after NOMA ) to explore because we have a table waiting for us at Trio in Malmö in the evening so time isn´t on our side.
Can´t decide how we will spend our Monday, if we will stay in Malmö or come over directly to eat in CPH. We will spend some time at some of our small producers like Vilhelmsdal dairy on Sunday so time might fly…Is there any restaurant that is due to open soon that could be worth looking for?
Thanks again
/Per
Snobby & Chuck, thanks!!
Josh, nooo really? That very odd as well as ufortunate. Have you tried to get it fxed? Thanks for the link to your photos from Mistral. Looks like we got very similar dishes.
Per, thanks for your comment and good to hear you’re visiting noma and CPH! The “Gastronaut” (thank you) is right about Illums Bolighus, and Royal Copenhagen + George Jensen right next to it are worth a visit too. For food, I like the Løgismose shop at Ndr. Toldbod http://www.loegismose.dk/ and Magasin’s food store in the basement. Aamanns http://www.aamanns.dk/ is one of my favourite places at the moment. The herring is wonderful. The Glyptotek is a really nice place and the cafe serves good food, brunch and cakes. Let me know if you want more tips. 🙂
Per – you should definetely visit “Illums Bolighus” on Ströget, not to be mistaken with “Illum” – they are 100 meters apart or so. Here you will find all you need to dress your home or kitchen.
As for food….guess Trine will help you out here…but why not visit Toldbod Bodega for an old fashioned “Sild og snaps”.
that looks exceptional
Sounds like an meal in best mistral way of cooking.
Have only had the chance to eat at the new location once, on there third opened day and that meal was very promising….
I personally rank Fredrik as one of the most talented chefs in Sweden and he has really a intellectual style of cooking, it´s so sublime and gentle.
By the way, I have booked a table för NOMA in january, do you have any advice of places to visit while in Copenhagen? foodshops etc…
Thanks
/ Per
Ate in Mistral back in August and really liked it aswell. Pity bout your camera, strangely the exact same happened to mine (also a 350d) about 2 weeks ago as I was walking into Noma for dinner, it just gave up on me!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonto21/sets/72157621827191855/
Been looking forward to reading this!
The dishes sound very exciting.
Tak.