Renowned chef Sayan Isaksson welcomes us into the recently opened reincarnation of Shibumi to whip up his mouth-watering take on a steak frites
We in Sweden love a potato in all its forms. And so, when we popped by the kitchen of Stockholm izakaya Shibumi to see chef Sayan Isaksson concoct his take on a steak frites, we were suitably intrigued. But nothing could prepare us for the mouth-watering magic of his steak frites 'Shibumi Style', which features crispy French fries loaded up with slices of striploin and a pile of umami-packed accoutrements.
“I had it in my head for a while, and now I’m finally using Vogue to promote it,” says Isaksson, playfully, as he begins to prepare the covetable dish. From cooking techniques to a secret ingredient, Isaksson breaks it down step by step.
Adopted to Sweden from Thailand as a child, Isaksson cut his teeth at a slew of restaurants before opening the Michelin-starred Esperanto together with the late chef Daniel Höglander. The restaurant became legendary in the Stockholm scene, even reaching number 72 on the The World’s Best Restaurants list. In 2014 came the first iteration of Shibumi, one of the city’s first proper izakayas. After it shuttered in 2018 (much to the chagrin of its fans), Isaksson opened Nour, yet another Michelin-starred hit.
And so, the opening of Shibumi 2.0 late last year was met with much excitement. Rightfully so; the attractive izakaya, with its long pale wood bar and pleasing rock music, offers up all the OG classics (beef tartar and that bulgogi short rib slider, most notably) joined by a handful of can’t-miss updates (don’t miss the silken tofu). In fact, the restaurant served as the venue for the launch party of the second iteration of Vogue Scandinavia Living.
If you need further proof of Shibumi’s must-visit status, just watch the video below.