Mathias Dahlgren, which opened in May 2007 in Stockholm’s Grand Hotel, is in fact two restaurants. Matsalen ("the dining room" in Swedish) seats 37 for dinner in a salon that combines velvet banquettes with green-gray walls and gleaming brass chandeliers. At Matbaren ("the food bar"), patrons are encouraged to order one small plate at a time, so that meals progress at a leisurely pace. The restaurant’s namesake, Swedish chef Mathias Dahlgren, draws on a range of local and imported ingredients—lemon sole from the Kattegat channel, Småland veal pâté, Spanish jamón serrano, and yellow chanterelles from the forests of Romania—in his elegant yet nonfussy preparations.
Specialties: This being Sweden, potatoes, dill, brown butter, and an astonishing array of berries provide the few constants on the ever-changing menu.
