This is the second time I review this amazing restaurant in Stockholm but maybe the 5th time I dine there. The concept has slightly changed since my last visit. Still the theme is to serve one animal for a good five weeks and display it with its different cuts and their various uses and tastes.
Instead of a la carte, Djuret now serves two menus; one 3 course and one 6 course.
The food is cooked with love, not too complicated but always with great flavours, contrasting textures and prepared with excellent craftsmanship.
What makes me love this place even more is its massive wine list and advantageous pricing. On top of that I can add warm, cozy atmosphere, professional but relaxed service, Riedel glasses and a sense of humour that runs like a red line through the venue with everything from menu description to interior. Restaurateur Daniel Crespi knows what he's doing.
It's the third time I had the honour to eat at Djuret with VicSlic, one of my dearest friends and an amazing musician. He doesn't have any classic schooling or knowledge about wine or food but his passion and love for it is as big as it can be. I believe he can analyze wines better than many sommeliers and I honestly think you need to have an artist soul to fully understand the true and deep meaning of a great wine. Might sound pretentious but thats my view of it.
The current "theme" was cow from Rafna in Sweden and while I was flipping through the wine list we got served dried and smoked beef, a Swedish version of Biltong.
With regards to the wine I came up with a theme; two bottles of syrah made in a completely different style and from a completely different origin. Could be fun (and tasty) I thought.
The first bottle was from the classic region for the grape variety Syrah; northern Rhône valley and the other bottle from the warm and sunny California.
2009 Cornas from Auguste Clape started off a bit shy but soon opened up with full grace after a while in the decanter. Lingonberries, raspberries and a herbaceous tone, it was a very noble and elegant wine, we both truly loved it. VicSlic described the wine as perfect HiFi. High treble without being sharp, thick bass without being mushy and a punchy centre core. It got better and better throughout the night and if you happen to have few bottles of this fantastic wine at home, wait and open them in 5-10 years and the reward will be massive.
The second wine, 2006 Reva Syrah from Alban Vineyards was, as I said, completely different. From Edna Valley, this Syrah was packed with fruit and extremely concentrated but it is remarkable how clean and pure the wine still was with all that fruit, not jammy and flabby at all. Even though there was a warmth, you barely noticed the 17% alcohol that this fermented grape juice contained.
The sweetest compote of berries with vanilla, dark tea, black currents (almost like the black Bassett's Winegums), chocolate, toffee and hazelnuts. Very complex and long.
First serving of the cow (apart from the dry snacks) was a tartar of the tenderloin served with oysters, parsley emulsion and algae. The mineral and salty flavours from the oysters worked really well with the raw meat. Great, light start.
The tongue of the cow was one of the parts used for the terrine served next. Layered with foie gras and served with various texture of apples and hazelnuts. Once again a great dish.
Next up was, what I think, a classic Djuret-dish in the way it was composed. Blackened heart with truffle sausage, cabbage, pear and mushrooms. Creamy, crispy, salty and sweet. Finger-licking good Djuret-style!
Balsamico-baked brisket with bone marrow, almonds and shallot.
Rich, caramelized shallot puree and the tender brisket was great.
Rib eye 56 degrees with lardo, cabernet sauvignon, girolle and artichoke.
Cooked to perfection. Juicy read meat all the way with just a thin, seared, crusty surface.
Pomegranate-baked apples with sourdough, Calvados and cream cheese.
Desserts have always been a bit of a weak part of the restaurant and so was this one. Good but nothing memorable.
Dear blog readers, don't get bored if I visit and write about this restaurant another 10-50 times, I cant help it, I just love the place too much.
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