After a long refurbishment period, the Södermalm restaurant Himlen is opening again. Located at the top of Skrapan, they offer food across two floors.
The dining room Köket on the 25th floor and the Grill & Cocktail restaurant on the 26th floor have both seen a makeover: “We wanted to change our profile somewhat. We wanted to be more aligned with the times and also be more customised to this part of town,” says Niklas Ahlbom, founder and owner of Restaurang Himlen. The part called Köket got its name from its interior, consisting of tiled walls, brass and sheet lamps plus wall decorations in the form of slates to serve the more classic fare. The idea behind Grill & Cocktail is something more urban and with a rough edge. Something that could just as well fit in in New York’s Soho. The staircase in between the two floors has been remade in metal, with the walls in brass and despite it making room for more guests, there’s a feeling of more air and of a larger space than before. Simon Scheiwiller is the architect behind the facelift.
Niklas explains: “We tore most of it out. The two large sofas are what’s left, everything else is new. The bar is located where it always was, but another bar has been added. In the past we have probably been thought of as a bit expensive and as a stiff, fine dining restaurant, but we wanted to erase that conception and be more accessible to our guests. We want it to be easier for the local residents to just pop in any day of the week.”. So on one floor you encounter dishes like Wallenbergare and the classic shrimp sandwich, and on the other floor there are influences from American, Mexican and Spanish cuisine.
“Initially the idea was to build a kitchen up on the second floor and I guess that’s when the idea for Grill & Cocktails came about. The upper floor kitchen never materialised but the seed for the grill concept was already sown, so we kept working on it. Today the menu is a bit more varied when it comes to inspiration from several continents. We have let ourselves go the whole nine yards, previously it was just a Swedish/French bistro. And the prices are better now too,” explains head chef Joakim Haglund.
Himlen, Götgatan 78, www.restauranghimlen.se
