With Peruvian food being labelled the “It” cuisine of the moment and the next trend to sweep foodies off their feet, the opening of Tumi in Stockholm couldn’t have been more timely.
A little piece of Lima has landed on lively Södermalm, with Tumi claiming to be the first Peruvian gastrobar in Stockholm – and indeed Scandinavia. It also fits in very nicely with the growing number of informal eateries offering relaxed dining in the capital. At Tumi, you can have a quick ceviche or tiradito (two popular Peruvian fish dishes) at the bar – flushed down with a Peruvian beer or a pisco sour, of course – or sit down for a proper meal in the dining room.
Tumi serves Peruvian food with a Scandinavian touch, and blending influences from other cultures seems to be no problem in Peruvian cooking. On any given night at Tumi, ingredients might include smoked scallops, lingonberries and chicken from Bjäre, but also yuzu, soya and parmesan cheese. The decor is rustic, with sturdy wooden tables and woven rope chairs mixed with exposed brick walls and bright orange bar stools.
We visit Tumi on a Sunday, when the restaurant has a special menu. It sounds like super deal, covering five dishes for 189 kronor, and there’s also a special dish for the kids; arroz chaufa or fried rice with vegetables, for 85 kronor. Unfortunately the whole thing is a bit too good to be true; the portions are rather small and the food very much home cooking.
On weekdays, Tumi has a more ambitious menu, but on Sundays it’s a pretty straightforward affair. However, with your expectations tuned to the right level it’s a great place for a Sunday meal with the family.
The first dish is ocopa arequipeña, boiled potatoes and eggs with a sauce based on huacatay, sometimes also called Peruvian black mint. It’s half an egg and half a potato, with the mild but tasty sauce giving added points. We eat it with Cusqueña beer from Peru (75 kronor) and Chicka Morada (58 kronor), a sweet homemade juice with purple corn, pineapple and cinnamon.
Next up is jalea con salsa criolla or fried fish with onion, chili, pepper and lime salsa; this one, too is fresh and the crispy fish gets a nice kick from the hot sauce. Pollo al mani is chicken with peanut sauce. While the sauce is once again lovely, this dish is perhaps the least memorable; the chicken could be of better quality, and the lonely half-potato it’s served with is boiled very soft. Arroz chaufa, a kind of wok with sausages, pork and a hot sauce on the side is the main course and the one that makes sure you won’t leave with an empty stomach. It’s simple street food; a sort of Chinese-Peruvian pyttipanna. The meal ends with a tiny but very sweet dessert called Suspiro “Limeña”; dulce de leche seasoned with Pisco Portón.
While the atmosphere at Tumi is in general pleasantly laid-back, the service could be improved. When we arrive, the place is only half full, which makes us wonder why we have to wait so long for every dish, and why the children only get their food when we’re having our fourth dish, despite us asking for it to be brought out earlier. The waiter that brings our meals to the table never once tells us what it is we’re having.
In the end, after having waited for the bill long enough to get a bit annoyed, the waiter asks if we’re stressed – and yes, by then, we are. Final words? Do visit Tumi – but make sure to arrive with plenty of time and patience.
Folkungagatan 122, www.rtumi.se
Photos by Micael Engström
