Eating out should be fun, right? Even better when chefs push boundaries and servers present their offerings with passion. It sounds so easy in principle, and I have no doubt that the eponymous chef behind this venture has all the above in mind. While there were flashes of absolute brilliance at Ekstedt, there were also moments when eating at this venue felt almost as if it were a chore. Three hours of food with a £145 bill per person (without considering drinks or service) constitutes a major commitment. Even if conversation with my dining comrade for the evening was superb, our time and money could arguably have been better spent elsewhere.
Begin with the concept. Niklas Ekstedt is a talented chef, garlanded with a Michelin star in his native Sweden. For his first venture UK venture, Ekstedt and his team have installed themselves in the somewhat curious choice of the Great Scotland Yard Hotel. Situated five minutes from Trafalgar Square, visitors must navigate both tourists and tat shops before descending on a hotel that aims to be somewhat chic and edgy, notwithstanding its location. Into the fray comes Ekstedt who promises to bring “equal parts of birchwood and passion” to his cooking. The chef’s angle is to eschew electricity and gas, choosing rather to cook exclusively over wood. It’s a laudable ambition, but probably one that will not necessarily win over too many passing tourists. Diners who do make their way into Ekstedt are entitled to a (now obligatory) view of the open kitchen, set at the back of an eating space decked out in muted colours. When we visited, all the guests were seated close to the action. Think of Ekstedt as offering food as performance. It was a pity perhaps that no more than a dozen covers were occupied on the midweek night when we visited.
Onto the food. Diners are presented with, and hence encouraged to go for, the nine-course tasting menu. Rest assured, a la carte options are available too. The preferred approach is, of course, a wonderful way to see the spectrum of a chef’s skills (and dedication to the cause of cooking over birchwood in this case), assuming you have the time and the budget. The performance began with an artful presentation of ‘snacks from the fire,’ a series of dainty amuse-bouches which saw an interesting range of flavours and textures combined. Each bite packed a mouthful of intensity. Next up came Ekstedt’s take on the oyster. My comrade and I discussed how this humble specimen speaks more of the sea’s essence than almost any comparable offering. Here, it was elevated with boiling beef fat and beurre blanc, creating a wonderful dollop of richness. An absolute success in our view. It was a pity, however, that such a tempo could not be sustained across all nine dishes. Any good idea – be it cooking over birchwood or elevating simple classics with a degree of innovation – can become a bit wearing. Sweetbreads with blackcurrant leaves, and juniper-smoked beef with cauliflower fungus both worked – trust me on this – although hay-smoked scallops and our two dessert courses (woodruff cream, anyone?) much less so. A bread course halfway through felt somewhat incongruous and the fika (Swedish petits-fours) with which we finished, excessive. Another justified quibble was that our servers appeared to be speaking off a rehearsed script rather than telling a story. Some mumbled too. They also seemed uncomfortable being asked questions. Have no doubt, Ekstedt is onto something, and his Stockholm original may be wonderful, but the London iteration perhaps can best be described as work in progress.