Description
Stockholm-born chef and owner Roberth Sundell fuses New Nordic and California cuisines in his Hayes Valley restaurant. The Swedish meatballs are guaranteed to be a hit; they're luscious and meaty, loosely packed to have some texture, and sit atop a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and have a side of spiced lingonberries and a cluster of subtle pickled cucumbers. Another striking Nordic standard is the salmon belly gravlax, where buttery cured salmon melts into lemon crème fraîche, dill purée, and sweet stone mustard for a bite that's light and lively. Cocktails and desserts offer seamless blends of Californian and Nordic cuisines, making this an ideal place to dip into before or after an opera or Civic Center event. Sundell kept the dark beams and white tablecloths of the space's former iteration, Ovation, and the room still feels a bit stuffy despite modern touches like sepia city scenes on the walls and steampunk lights over the bar.
