There are new krogsatsningar as alerts and make to before the premiere. Often without reason. And then there are the restaurateurs who choose to pull the trigger in silence. Life Sthlm belongs to the latter category. In the fall smygöppnade Life in discrete, spartan premises half a flight of stairs the bottom of the Bjurholmsgatan when the persistent kvartersvietnamesen threw in kökshandduken.

With the subtitle ”beer bar and dining room” has the new kid on the block a significantly greater sensitivity to trends – in Stockholm, sweden in 2019, it is synonymous with a wide selection of mikrobryggda beers and the ambition to put the “seasonal ingredients in the centre”. Hardly revolutionary, but who said that all must break new ground?

among other things Babajan, Martin Ljungqvist, started their own together with Miriam Bensafiddine. It soon becomes apparent that ägarduon know what they are doing and not take water over your head. The basement has been painted white and received a very minimalist design, with simple table and chairs. In the kitchen controls the Goran Vestin with clear influences from Tokyo and Paris, and a past from Sushi Sho and The.

Pulpo, 175 sek. Photo: Krogkommissionen

the Menu consists most of the second courses, a popular way to invite company to share the food but also a grip that can be deceptively expensive. In addition, it provides the kitchen with an excuse to deliver too small portions. A normal main course you will be able to request to be measured on but a skimpy mellanrätt can always be excused with a ”we usually recommend two, preferably three or more”.

Of Life is, however, the allocations do not skimp.

for example, a small plate of mouth-watering Valenciamandlar (sek 55) or six oysters (135 sek), a nice serving of fresh black currants and sorrel. Most of the mellanrätterna is served balmy or cold. Here are few real dishes to choose from, which you possibly can have comments on a dark and chilly winter night.

Tartar in the dairy cow ($165) is a rich steak tartare with beetroot-established in the flesh, which is juicy, tasty and nicely presented, with tunnskuren pepper, coarse mustard and crushed, butter fried bread. Even bluefin tuna (175 kr) is an abundant portion. The fish is smooth, cut into three millimeter thick slices, and served with capers, green tomato and blood orange, as well as straws of young chives. At one moment the fish really is the freshness you can expect and smakbalansen buckling to the tart. This makes the pub a victim of its own motto that ”a right is not better than the raw material”.

bluefin Tuna with capers, green tomato and blood orange, 175 sek. Photo: Krogkommissionen

Grilled celeriac (155 kr) is a satisfyingly soft and dandruff rotsak in leaves of endive with very good portobellosvamp and the salva cremasco, a lombardic, cheese. Flavor combination is very successful, even if endiven becomes a bit too dominant.

, oyster mushrooms and pinjenöt (155 kr) is a fun idea and tastes good, but is rather a home-cooked brunchrätt with old-fashioned fried egg than a modern krogrätt. Could with advantage be pimpas with a temperate eggs and onions for more umamismak.

Better is duck breast (175 sek), which comes in the exemplary succulent and rosastekta discs along with accessories that pull it sötsyrliga: beetroot and onion stands for the sweetness while krusbären is well acidic. Also p ulpo (175 sek) with kikärta, celeriac and smörslungad spinach is a well-balanced preparation even if the squid invite a little too much bite.

A trio of cheeses can be chosen as accessories or closure, including the Almnäs Tegel (95 sek), a hårdpressad cheese with a grainy character and a lightly sweet, nutty flavor, served with some lättdressade lettuce leaves, and fits nicely as an accessory or finish.

Chokladganache with hazelnuts and blood orange, 115 kronor. Photo: Krogkommissionen

Chokladganache (115 sek) is a simple but delicious chocolate cream, this one comes with hazelnuts and pieces of blood orange. Neat, and actually quite enough. However, you can skip the Tarte fine of pears, almonds and cream that is dry, dull and översöt – the only real blot in the protocol.

A dozen beers are available in barrels, including an unpasteurised Czech stocks, ipa from microbreweries in Italy, the US and Norway, and a raspberry-suröl which is brewed exclusively for the Food. The frankofila the wine list is short, but spirited and functional, with a focus on the south of France and some barbera from the Italian Piedmont region on the other side of the border.

in a basement room on the South, delivering Food everything one could ask for: the food is well-cooked, and at the same time personal and professional approach helps to it becomes pleasant to be. The dishes are fun and innovative but need in some cases to be adjusted a little bit to get a little better smakbalans. If we succeed with this it can absolutely be location to beat on the big drum.

In Life, there is evidently a level of competence that can carry far beyond the Skanstullshorisonten. We will not be surprised if the constellation behind this hole in the wall will soon face a larger audience at a different address. Remember where you read it first…

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