culinary – Odalisque

Koh Samui by Reservation

Kaat Van Der Linden / March 5, 2026

photography Selma Omar Costa Koh Samui by Reservation The air is thick with salt and sweetness, frangipani and grilled seafood. Mangoes tast brighter here. Limes cut sharper. The heat slows you down just enough to notice what you are eating. And that is the point. Travel is never only about where you sleep. It is about what you taste while you are there, and who guides you through it. Beyond the beach clubs and coconut shakes, Koh Samui has quietly built a fine dining scene that is thoughtful, ambitious and occasionally theatrical. Not loud, not trying too hard. Just confident. I spent my evenings and one very strategic lunch letting the staff decide what I should eat. If you are going to fly across the world, you might as well surrender control to the people who know the kitchen best. Dining on the Rocks If you are the kind of person who wants the setting to do at least half the seducing, book this first. Located within Six Senses Samui, it is built on ten terraced decks of weathered teak and bamboo at the tip of a headland, quite literally hanging over the Gulf of Thailand. Around 5:30 pm, the light turns cinematic. On Saturdays, a saxophone or violin drifts through the air while a small pop-up bar appears as if on cue. Dinner here is structured. I had The Rock Tasting, a fixed menu that moves between Thai and continental references. The standout arrived early. Rock Lobster with pomegranate, pickled zucchini and Khao Yai vanilla, a fragrant Thai-grown variety, alongside red curry and basil oil. Two generous pieces of lobster. Minimal plating. Maximum flavour. Precise and bold at once, it was the kind of dish you remember long after the evening is over. What makes it more than a postcard moment is their sourcing. The seafood is supplied by small-scale fishers in Surat Thani using low-impact line-caught methods, with each catch traceable back to its origin. It is a quiet detail, but it matters. Come here for proposals, anniversaries, or any evening that deserves a horizon line. Luna Gastro Theatre In the middle of Fisherman’s Village, Luna stands out in the best possible way. Earthy red walls and plush chairs sit under lighting that flatters everyone. Through an amber onyx-like circular opening in the wall, you can watch the chefs at work. It feels intimate without trying too hard. Service is where Luna excels. You are seen. Guided. Gently convinced. I let the staff choose every dish. The Hamachi with ponzu, buttery corn mousse and fresh jalapeño was the star. Salt, sweetness, spice. Perfect balance. The salmon steak with broccoli and creamy dashi broth looked almost too virtuous on paper, yet delivered something deeply comforting and rich. And the mango sticky rice, reimagined with white chocolate mousse instead of coconut sauce, felt like mango sticky rice’s boujee sister. Creamy, smooth, finished with crunch. This is where I would book a date or a dinner with girlfriends when you want to feel slightly dressed up but still at ease. Tree Tops Signature Dining Hidden within Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort, Tree Tops feels like something out of a childhood fantasy. Small wooden bungalows circle a 120-year-old tree, creating private dining pods suspended in lush greenery. It is cozy, secluded, almost secretive. Ideal for larger groups who still want intimacy. The eight course menu, Embers of Earth and Ocean, began with a laser-engraved wooden card personalised with my name, a small gesture that set the tone for a meal built on precision and care. Several dishes competed for first place, but the Essence of the Sea, a Koh Samui Bay tiger prawn ceviche, won. Bright, clean, deeply fresh, served with toasted bread topped with what looked like sea foam. It stayed with me long after the last bite. The charcoal grilled Wagyu striploin was indulgent in the way you hope Wagyu will be. Dessert, Embers to Ashes, a coconut namelaka with pineapple compote, delivered freshness, chocolate depth and crisp texture in equal measure. Before dinner, stop at The Singing Bird Lounge just below, recognizable from The White Lotus. Classic cocktails share space with playful White Lotus-inspired creations. It sets the tone. This is the place for birthdays, reunions, or any night when you want your own treehouse in the tropics. The Tent Beachfront Restaurant and Bar Fine dining does not have to wait for sunset. Located within SALA Samui Chaweng Beach Resort, The Tent offers a refined midday alternative in Chaweng. A vast white canopy frames views of Mad Lang Island, with sea breeze drifting through wooden and earthy interiors. Relaxed, but considered. There is both a continental and a Thai lunch menu. When in Thailand, you know the answer. I opted for the Thai selection, beginning with a papaya salad that was particularly vibrant, balanced and refreshing. It felt perfectly suited to the island heat after a morning in the sun. The crab curry, prepared with blue swimmer crab, was unapologetically luxurious. Generous pieces of crab meat, silky vermicelli noodles and a sauce rich in flavour yet surprisingly light. It managed to feel hearty and fresh at the same time. Dessert, simply titled The Banana, arrived as delicate banana shaped chocolate shells filled with banana mousse, alongside warm banana cake, vanilla ice cream and salted caramel to pour at your discretion. If you like bananas, you will not regret it. This is where you go when a beach day lingers. Salt still in your hair, no rush to return. Lunch drifts into late afternoon and another glass of something cold feels entirely justified. image courtesy SALA Samui Chaweng Beach Koh Samui feeds you in more ways than one. Between the humidity and the horizon, the island insists that you slow down and pay attention. And if you choose the right table, it rewards you generously.

Culinary, Uncategorized

A Visit to Allegrine by Danyel Couet, Stockholm

Kaat Van Der Linden / February 17, 2026

A Visit to Allegrine by Danyel Couet, Stockholm Allegrine, or the Art of Taking Your Time photography Stefan Anderson I always choose the front row. Not for attention, but for closeness. To the hands. To the silence between movements. To the quiet focus that exists just before something becomes finished. At Allegrine, that closeness feels essential. This is not a place to observe from afar. It asks you to lean in. Allegrine is Danyel Couet’s Parisian inspired refuge in Stockholm, though refuge might be the wrong word. It feels less like an escape and more like a return. A return to warmth, to rhythm, to the unhurried pleasure of being exactly where you are. From the moment you step inside, the world outside softens. Time loosens its grip. The room is generous, but never overwhelming. There is space to breathe, yet everything feels personal. Like a favorite brasserie you have known for years, even if this is your first visit. Conversations drift softly between tables. Laughter settles into the walls. The atmosphere holds that rare balance. Elegant without being distant. Intimate without being precious. Though the soul of Allegrine carries the light and ease of the south of France, it is unmistakably Stockholm that surrounds it. Water glimmers beyond the windows, replacing any imagined coastline. The contrast feels intentional. A reminder that identity is not about imitation, but interpretation. The name Allegrine suggests cheerfulness, but here it carries something far quieter and deeply personal for Danyel. It was the name of his grandmother. A presence that lingers, not through grand gestures, but through feeling. Through rhythm. Through care. You sense it in the way the restaurant moves. Nothing is rushed. Nothing needs to be explained. A meal that is allowed to take its time, much like the moments that matter most. From the room to the drinks, everything feels considered, almost tender in its restraint. Even the presence of Kronenbourg on tap becomes a small act of honesty. A beer that does not try to be more than it is, and in doing so becomes exactly enough. The meal begins without spectacle. Gaufrette potatoes, crisp and delicate, topped with bleak roe from Kalix (Sweden’s equivalent to caviar) and sour cream. A small opening gesture. Confident in its restraint. It sets the tone for everything that follows. This is French cooking filtered through a Scandinavian sensibility. Clear, precise, respectful of ingredients. Steak tartare arrives dressed in richness, foie gras, truffle croutons, a whisper of Sauternes. Yet it never weighs you down. Each element knows its place. Rödräka is served clean and direct, as if to remind you that complexity is not always the goal. Then comes the agnolotti. Warm, grounding, quietly generous. The kind of dish that holds a meal together without asking to be remembered, and therefore is. The escargot pauses time. Removed from their expected shell and tradition, the snails meet mushrooms, pancetta, and a soft touch of balsamico. Familiar flavours, rearranged. Reimagined without force. The mushrooms linger. Earthy. Comforting. They stay with you long after the plate is cleared, like a thought you do not rush to replace. When the fish arrives, it is accompanied by an elderflower beurre blanc. Floral, light, almost fleeting. It lifts rather than leads, adding perfume instead of weight. Dessert follows the same unspoken rule. Nothing unnecessary. A yuzu pavlova with fresh blackberries. It is winter, yet the flavours feel honest and alive. Choosing restraint here feels generous. Seasonal. Almost radical. Allegrine is not a place for performance. It is a place for presence. For the joy of craft, of detail, of sharing something made with care. French gastronomy meets Scandinavian clarity, but what lingers most is not a dish or a flavour. It is a feeling. Of calm. Of intention. Of having been exactly where you were meant to be, for just long enough.

Culinary

Sörmland Mazmez Take the Stage at Restaurant Bitza in a Unique Culinary Collaboration

Kaat Van Der Linden / January 27, 2026

Sörmland Mazmez Take the Stage at Restaurant Bitza in a Unique Culinary Collaboration images courtesy of Bitza and Sörmland Mazmez Sörmland has long been home to several influential culinary talents, including chefs Jacob Ker Lamb, Maria Printz and Kristofer Winnerhed. Now, they are coming together in a new project that aims to highlight Sörmland’s rich ingredients and food identity. At the heart of this initiative is a culinary exchange with Stockholm restaurateur Aadel Kersh and a guest appearance at his restaurant Bitza on Södermalm. Together, they have created an exclusive menu where Palestinian flavours meet Sörmland’s ingredients in a fresh and unexpected way. Maria Printz notes that restaurants do not need to look far to find top-quality ingredients; many of them are grown or produced just an hour outside Stockholm. The collaboration began during an intimate workshop at Arkadien outside Gnesta, where the chefs explored how Sörmland ingredients could be interpreted in new ways. Heritage grains, foraged produce, fermented elements, by-products and wild catch quickly became the foundation for new ideas. The new menu is a set of Sörmland small plates, so-called mazmez, that will be served at Bitza later this spring. The dishes reflect a personal meeting between two food cultures: Palestinian tradition and Sörmland’s deep-rooted food landscape, woven together through flavour, technique and storytelling. “Jacob, Maria and Kristofer are extraordinary culinary minds. It has been inspiring to experiment with them,” says Aadel Kersh, owner of Bitza. For many, the Sörmland pantry remains an undiscovered goldmine. The region holds a unique mix of strong agricultural tradition and forests full of culinary treasures, Sävstaholm apples, heritage grains, fallow deer, greylag goose, freshwater crayfish, mushrooms, rapeseed and a wide range of legumes all contribute to one of Sweden’s most diverse food landscapes. The menu will be served exclusively at Bitza on March 11–12 at SEK 750 per person. Table reservations can be made via bitzahornstull.com. Booking will open tomorrow.

Culinary

Oddnorm- The Experience

Natalia Muntean / November 29, 2025

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. image courtesy John Scarrisbrick The ExperienceWe 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 CreatorsThe 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 ExperienceThe 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.