The Tabberaset will no longer be one of the best kept secrets in Södermalm, more and more people in the district are discovering the result of innovative New Nordic cuisine offering contemporary Swedish tapas. Looking from the outside, there's nothing charming about the area which is a bit out of the way in the former Katarina-Sofia neighborhood. Inside, however is where the magic happens in a simple comfortable room that's beautifully done.
Having spoken with Peter Hertzman, I'm left with the impression he along with Evelina Nilsson and Gustav Gehlin have delved into their grandmother's old kitchen recipes, now brought to this once working class neighborhood. Revitalizing traditional Scandinavian culinary dishes with a fresh and modern menu using Nordic root vegetables, the specialties are great value for money. What is sure to be the next hyped dishes in the capital city are the Tabberasets SOS herring plate, Beetroot Dumplings, and the signature Blodplätt with lingonberries and bacon (which I did not get to try on this occasion, but surely on the next visit a must as it was quite popular on the tables next to us).
For our first two small plates, the beetroot dumpling cakes were filled with a specie of Swedish forest mushroom and coated with a layer of purée beetroot and potato as the dumpling skin, sprinkled with ligonberries on top, very intimate look and taste. The recommendation by our waitress was the Tabberasets SOS, which had two types of herring on the plate. The pieces of herring were either delicately marinated or covered with a cream sauce, accompanied by a scoop of minced shrimp, baby potatoes, a small chunk of Swedish cheese, and cream on the side, perfect for sampling a variety of flavors for the palate. We had asked our waitress to recommend an aquavit pairing with the dishes. She had asked the owner, Peter, and his recommendation was a normal and sweet glass of his choice to go with the SOS herring. The aquavit selections by Peter complimented the herring dish well.
Next came our final two Swedish Tapas for the night. The finely minced Isterband sausage is a mouth watering Swedish version of a chorizo when combined with beetroot and mustard seed over a bed of boiled cabbage. Another recommendation by our waitress was the Shoemaker Box. The piece of grilled steak was tender and meaty, well paired on the plate with the strips of crispy potato skins on top, and smoked bacon, all of which was over a pile of mashed potatoes.
The service was warm and affable, able to truly help with ordering and selecting additional dishes to go with ones already chosen. Peter was a wealth of knowledge, with explaining the vision of the restaurant and the details of every dish we had ordered. Tabberaset combines the traditional Swedish and the contemporary European small plates to fine effect amid the new trendy restaurants of Södermalm and merits repeat visits. read more