Oddnorm – The Experience
text Ulrika Lindqvist and Natalia Muntean
Oddnorm presents itself not as a traditional dinner, but as a state of mind. A journey through shifting concepts where food, music, and art intertwine. The evening unfolds as a decadent, meticulously choreographed experience in which each course reshapes both the dining room and the mood. For four weeks, Restaurant Persona, in collaboration with Doubble Space and No Normalcy, takes over the Old Gasworks at Norra Bangården for a new edition of what has become the Nordic region’s most multisensory dining event.
photography John Scarrisbrick
The Experience
We arrived knowing almost nothing beyond an estimated start and end time. The night opened in the Oddnorm bar, where a southside served in a playful squeeze pouch set the tone alongside snacks such as a liquorice cone filled with foie gras and raspberry jam, finished with liquorice sprinkles. ODDBAR welcomes guests from Wednesday to Saturday during the weeks when ODDNORM takes place.
Guests were then ushered, one group at a time, into the main room and seated along a single long table that gathered all seventy of us. Conversations buzzed, speculation, excitement, a little nervousness, exchanged with both tablemates and strangers met in the bathroom queue.
Each chair held a custom-designed pocket for cutlery, to be retrieved by the guest before each dish. The backs of the chairs featured specially designed holders for bottles of still and sparkling water, which were continuously refilled during the evening. From there, the evening escalated: video art washed across the walls, smoke drifted thick through the room, music pulsed, and a procession of exquisitely constructed dishes appeared, accompanied by thoughtful wine pairings.
Highlights included a smoked halibut tartare with dashi and vanilla, a surprise oak-aged vodka, and a mushroom-and-spinach pithivier served with an unforgettable sauce. Ulrika was even invited into the kitchen to choose between champagne or beer, don a black glove, and help decorate the sauce on a meat dish.
About the Creators
The menu is crafted by Persona. Based in Stockholm, the restaurant is known for blurring the boundaries between culinary craft and contemporary art. This year’s ODDNORM menu is designed to awaken the senses, disarm expectations, and guide the guest through a spectrum of emotional states — from curiosity to enchantment.
Oddnorm was founded in 2024 by Julia Anjou and John Scarisbrick of Doubble Space, Karin Ringbäck and Carl Philip Dickman of No Normalcy, and Jonatan Nyström and Louis Caspedes of Persona.
The ODDNORM Dinner Experience
The experience takes place at Doubble Space in Stockholm’s Old Gasworks at Norra Bangården, Torsgatan 22. Each seating lasts roughly three hours, beginning between 6 and 7 p.m. and ending around 9 to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday from November 13 to December 12. The set menu is priced at 1,700 SEK, with drink pairings ranging from 1,100 to 4,500 SEK. Reservations can be made at www.odd-norm.com/booking.
