Villa Valentina opens in the heart of Stockholm

A Spanish farmhouse opened its doors on 28 May in the centre of Stockholm. Villa Valentina opened in Slussen, occupying a building with panoramic windows on all sides and a west-facing terrace overlooking Stockholm’s waterway and Gamla Stan. The restaurant seats close to 400 guests, 150 of them on the terrace, and represents the new flagship for Urban Italian Group, which operates 17 restaurants across Sweden and Spain including Basta, Florentine, and Lola Maria.

The concept draws on Andalusian and Mediterranean food culture, with an interior of mosaic floors, hand-painted walls, Murano chandeliers, and an open kitchen and bar that runs in a 360-degree arc through the space. The menu is built around sharing plates from land and sea: gambas with sobrasada, squid with chorizo and salsa verde, pluma ibérico, alongside a Basque cheesecake with brown butter and a dulce de leche with rum among the desserts. The wine list spans accessible to more exclusive selections; cocktails follow a Mediterranean thread from aperitivo to closing drink.

“There is something in Spanish cooking I have always been drawn to – the simplicity, the respect for ingredients, the ability to create a great deal of flavour without complication,” says Kristjan Longar, Co-owner of Urban Italian Group. 

For founder and CEO Brazer Bozlak, the location at Slussen, one of Stockholm’s busiest transit points, was central to the vision, which developed during the group’s years of expansion in Marbella and Madrid. Villa Valentina opens 28 May at Mälarterrassen, Slussen.