Restaurant Reviews and Food Musings

Restaurant

Martini
Norrmalmstorg 4
111 46 Stockholm
Sweden

Phone:- 08 440 3880

Website www.italmonti.se

Overview

Eva and I were in Stockholm this weekend, visiting a few of our old haunts. We decided to visit Martini, an Italian restaurant, in the centre of town.

Ambience

Martini consists of a bar on the ground floor and restaurant in the cellar. The main restaurant is bright and breezy with white painted walls, resembling the inside of a cave, interspersed with alcoves housing wine bottles. The tables are laid with yellow and white tablecloths, the chairs are metal, shaped and painted to resemble bamboo.

In addition to the main restaurant, there is a large private dining area and wine bar that can accommodate up to 44 people; suitable for parties.

I would make one observation regarding the gents toilets in the restaurant, the hand towels had run out the evening we were there.

Menu

The restaurant eschews the traditional spaghetti bolognese favoured by many other Italian restaurants. Instead the dishes on offer are more imaginative. The menu includes baked salmon, pasta with truffles, pasta with calamares and a special tri pasta feast for two people as well as veal, lamb and steak dishes.

Service

The service was very friendly and personal. However, it was a little “languid”; fortunately we were not in a hurry. Indeed, as the restaurant stays open until 3:00 am at the weekends you can take a very relaxed pace to your meal.

Food

I started with pasta tubes filled with ham and cucumber, served in a cheese based sauce. This was a very rich and creamy dish; flavoursome and generous in quantity. Those of you with lesser appetites would have been satisfied with this dish as a main course. Being a trencherman myself, I was very pleased with my choice of it as a starter.

My main course was chicken breast and leg in a fresh sage and white wine sauce served on a slice of bread. The chicken was tender and succulent, complimented by the very flavoursome sauce. The dish was accompanied by a generous bowl of roasted potatoes. I enjoyed it very much.

Eva started with a mozzarella and basil salad, served with a large slice of bread fried in butter. This was quite a generous portion, Eva was pleased with her choice.

Her main course was skewered halibut and prawns served on a bed of risotto. The flavour was light and delicate, enhanced by the risotto which had been cooked in a gentle stock which did not overpower it.

We finished with coffee and dessert wine.

The meal, including a bottle of Chablis, came to 1306SEK before service.

Overall Opinion

I am happy to recommend this restaurant, both for its food and atmosphere.