VOLT
PLACEText: Victor Moreno
Scandinavian fine dining has been in the spotlight during the last decade. Particularly in Sweden, a rather interesting batch of young chefs have made Swedish dishes – or the Scandinavian cuisine concept – more popular and attractive to the international savvy diner. VOLT restaurant opened nine years ago to push the boundaries of the Swedish fine dining. Of course, other restaurants like Danish Noma or Swedish Mathias Dahlgren have set the guidelines in Nordic cuisine, but there are not limitations in that sense. As a matter of fact, VOLT acquired their first Michelin star in 2015. Their concept is pretty straightforward: they go out in the woods surrounding Stockholm to find raw materials and see what they can do with it, how far they could raise the bar. What could you do with a hen or a Birch’s leave? What about Beetroot? These, and many other natural ingredients common in the Swedish nature whereabouts, are their source of inspiration.
Furthermore, they are inspired by worldwide cuisine like the Mediterranean or Japanese Koji, but all the ingredients and technics in the base are Swedish. VOLT is not just a place for international customers but locals find it an extraordinary place due to people can eat very familiar dishes – ingredients they know since childhood – but within a context totally different. In addition, a selection of international natural wines enhances the dining experience. You can choose between a six or a four courses menu. As many other Michelin-awarded places, VOLT works with Carte Blanche; means, nature dictates. The menu is compiled accordingly to the season and what is available each week. “We follow as much as possible the Swedish seasons. We don’t buy anything from outside Sweden, actually,” explains Fredrik Johnsson, Creative Chef at VOLT. “Apart from shellfish & fish, which sometimes is from other Scandinavian countries because of our non-sustainable fishing. And of course salt and pepper is not from here,” confirms Johan Bengtsson, Manager at VOLT.
The first impression when you arrive at VOLT is a relaxed and intimate feeling. The dining room is a small cozy place with twelve tables for barely 36 people in total. No table cloths or anything cluttered. There is a sort of academic environment with furniture similar to the old-fashioned Scandinavian school benches, – with a frame around them – a beautiful ceiling with clean cuts, and stone walls in the same spirit as a National History Museum. Furthermore, the deco with paintings and small sculptures inside the glass boxes with the skeleton of animals – everything made by Swedish artist and illustrator Björn Atldax, who actually was featured in SHIFT – enhances that museum vibe, perhaps.
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