Dim Sum(mer) Palace at Esperanto- Summer 2017

I was invited last week by the Esperanto group (includes restaurants Esperanto, Råkultur, Shibumi and Imouto) for a presentation of what they have planned for the summer season. In a recent article I wrote about how most of the top tier restaurants close for a few weeks during the summer and that is true for these restaurants as well in varying degrees. Luckily they don't completely close and have some creative solutions for summer dining as well.

Community table, photo courtesy of Esperanto.

All four restaurants are in the same building, located in the downtown area, and run by master chef Sayan Isaksson. Sayan is considered one of the best chefs in Sweden and both Esperanto and Imouto have a Michelin star each. Esperanto, one of my favorite restaurants, has also been rated best restaurant in Sweden for several years in the White Guide. And to top it off, Sayan has been in charge of the glamorous Nobel banquet for the past few years. Sayan gets a lot of inspiration from the Far East and this can be seen in his restaurants, whether he fuses it with Nordic cuisine in Esperanto, creates delicious, modern sushi for Råkultur or makes his own version of Japanese pub culture in Shibumi.

Shibumi, photo courtesy of Esperanto.

Sound interesting? Well, if you are coming this summer... here are your options. Råkultur (sushi) will be open all summer. However, they will be moving outdoors to their garden (when weather permits) and will not be taking any table reservations. Shibumi (Izakaya- Japanese pub culture) will also be open all summer with just a short hiatus between June 23rd and July 3rd. Michelin starred Imouto (chef's table serving Edo-Mae style sushi) and Esperanto (Nordic/Japanese fusion) will both be closed between June 23rd and August 3rd. Instead they will be opening their summer salon which consists of a community table with 16 seats. Each summer they have a theme and this year it is Chinese dim sum and they have named the salon "Dim Sum(mer) Palace". (open between June 27th and July 29th).

During my visit last week, we got to try some of the dim sum (presented by Sayan Isaksson himself) as well as some of the dishes at Shibumi. As per usual, it was all delicious! In Dim Sum(mer) Palace we tried a few of the dishes. I especially loved the wonton soup with the dumplings cleverly made out of daikon. Great wine pairings! In Shibumi it was delicious comfort food with a Japanese twist, like a Wagyu beef slider with kimchi and fish tacos. All well worth a visit this summer. If you are staying at the Rival Hotel, contact me directly for help in reserving seats or for more information.

Dim Sum(mer Palace, photo
courtesy of Esperanto.