Lunch at Taverna Brillo

With the number of new eateries opening on the Stockholm dining scene, you’d never guess that the European economy is in crisis. One of the largest and most ambitious ventures is Taverna Brillo, a 1,700 square meter restaurant concept that combines a high-end Italian restaurant with a pizzeria, an ice cream bar, a deli and a café.

The main restaurant space has some elements reminiscent of Sturehof, the classic Stockholm restaurant just a stone’s throw from Brillo and like Sturehof, it’s designed by Jonas Bohlin. The elegant clothes hooks above the sofas are the same, as is the casual, lively atmosphere and the clientele consisting of hip Stockholmers of all ages.

Two months after the opening, people don’t seem to have found the pizzeria with its wood-burning oven and the ice cream bar yet – the summer will probably change at least some of that – but on this Saturday afternoon, the dining room and the bars, cafés and boutiques on the other side are busy and buzzing. With seats for 350 guests, it’s far from a quiet corner restaurant for a romantic dinner; rather people seem to find their way here to eat with their parents, friends or business contacts.

The menu is long and tempting, offering everything from snacks (pickled vegetables, cheese, pizzas, bread) to starters (pastas, soups, salads), mains (Italian dishes with a Swedish twist), sides (butter-fried gnocchi, for instance) and of course, deserts.

We kicks off with grilled bread with baked pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, pecorino and honey (75 kronor) and a pizza with cockles, mint, coriander, chili and lime (175 kronor). Brillo is already known for these pizzas, and this one is definitely one of the nicest we’ve tasted.

Thankfully, it lacks the cheesy, fatty heaviness pizza often suffers from, but the real treat is the unassuming pumpkin bread. Topped with fried salvia, it’s a heavenly combination of smooth pumpkin, crunchy seeds, sweet honey and salty pecorino cheese.

Brillo’s snacks are on the larger side, so you’ll be safe just ordering in a few of them and continuing with a starter – we tasted the lobster ravioli with lobster cream, tarragon and tomato (185 kronor) from the starter menu.

If you’re starving, there are plenty of options, out of which we went for the day’s special – roasted pork with roasted red peppers and arugula (185 kronor) as a main course. The former consists of just one large ravioli with a mild lobster filling, served with a festively fluffy and very tasty emulsion. The pork, too, gets good marks for its tenderness and freshness.

Naturally, Brillo also offers a rich, moist tiramisù (95 kronor), which disappears from its cup within minutes. To finish off, we sample the lemon tart (105 kronor) and the passion fruit mousse cake (110 kronor). The tart, with its thin, crispy base and tangy filling, is comfortably crowned the winner.

As we leave, we stop by the deli to see what kind of competition Brillo is offering to the nearby Östermalmshallen, the go-to destination for delicacies like cheeses, cold cuts and bread. Served by a young man – all dressed in white and carrying out his work with the utmost care – we leave with a fresh ball of buffalo mozzarella and a feeling that Brillo is definitely one Italian we’ll want to meet again.

Taverna Brillo, Sturegatan 6