The whole personal experience
Text Jessica White
Joakim and Jennifer Nerman opened Nerman’s restaurant earlier this year to create a place where customers could go for personal service, great food and value for money – and they have certainly delivered. Diners get the whole experience when visiting the restaurant, from Joakim personally greeting all the guests as they enter to walking them out when they leave – and everything in between.
The contemporary restaurant is decorated with the signature colours of fuscia pink, purple and black while the walls are adorned with art that inspires emotion – which are painted by Joakim’s friend Alejandro Hermann. With indoor and outdoor dining the restaurant is perfect all year round, with a cosy atmosphere inside and a quaint terrace area outside. What has been created is a restaurant where diners feel comfortable and relaxed, enjoying traditional cooking with a few twists.
The menu is internationally inspired and is very creative, offering half portions of most dishes for diners who aren’t as hungry as others or perhaps have a smaller appetite – ultimately giving guests exactly what they want as they can choose the quantity.
Luckily we were able to visit the restaurant for dinner and we invited to sample a Nerman’s mojito – which is made with pear and cinnamon and is absolutely to die for and very more-ish. As we took our time looking at the menu I was able to have a peek at what other diners were ordering and my mouth was watering just watching the dishes come out of the kitchen.
As there were four of us we decided to share starters so we could try a little of everything and eagerly awaited the arrival of mixed salad with sautéed wild mushrooms, sautéed goat’s cheese and a balsamic dressing; a dish of curry herring, mustard herring, onion herring with marinated salmon, skargaard prawns and Scandinavian cheese; fois gras with seasonal fruit marmalade and brioche; and gambas pil pil – none of which disappointed and they were all delicious.
For the main course I had decided what to have the minute I saw someone else’s order arrive at their table – barbecued ribs with the chef’s family recipe for the sauce, served with chips which were tender and succulent – Joakim insisted they should be served with a beer and a shot of Jack Daniels, which also were the perfect accompaniment. My fellow diners decided on ox cheek in a red wine sauce with potato and horseradish mash and patron peppers; oven baked cod on lukewarm potato, onion and herb salad accompanied by sweet tomato marmalade and green asparagus sauce; and confit of duck with sautéed pak choi and wild mushrooms accompanied by soy barbecue sauce and wasabi crunch.
Between the four of us we shared two desserts: white chocolate and mango cheesecake with a mango daquory; and Coco Chanel with white chocolate, rose water and vanilla ice cream. Joakim matched our wines to our courses and we enjoyed a fresh, light Pinot Grigio blush to start followed by a Chilean red wine for the main course, which was perfect with the dishes.