Last week we had the pleasure of visiting our friends Pantechnicon, creators of London’s new celebration of Nordic and Japanese culture, a new food, drink, design and retail emporium.
Located in Belgravia’s famous Motcomb Street, the iconic Pantechnicon building with it’s neo-classical facade was originally constructed in 1834 as an arts and crafts bazaar. Today this exciting new venue celebrates Nordic and Japanese creativity, culture and craftsmanship.
The interior design reflects it’s influencing cultures and feels minimal and authentic with meticulously crafted details throughout. The new interior design scheme is layered above the building’s original shell allowing historical features and original brickwork to shine through and become a part of the building’s new life.
The concept doesn’t fuse the cultures as you might expect, but instead, each experience authentically celebrates one of the cultures, allowing them to sit alongside one another in harmony, as does the building’s historic past and it’s new concept.
Pantechnicon features two restaurants, Eldr (meaning Fire in Old Norse), a modern open kitchen inspired by the 10 Nordic countries and territories and Sachi, a place where you can eat like a Japanese local. It's also home to the Parisian-Japanese inspired Cafe Kitsune, Roof Garden, a gorgeous roof terrace with a deliciously Nordic cocktail menu and Sakaya, a cosy Japanese cocktail bar and bottle shop. Two retail spaces also feature, The Edit and The Studio, offering hand-picked beautiful objects from over 150 Japanese and Nordic brands.
We have been working with Pantechnicon for a year as their digital partner, focusing on their online experience and e-commerce offering which will be dropping soon. To celebrate opening their doors to the public, they invited us to experience their concept and dine with them at their all seasons Roof Garden.
The first thing that strikes you when arriving at the south-facing Roof Garden is how light, open and airy it feels, accompanied by a mass of greenery in the form of a ‘Nordic garden’ designed by Finnish horticulturalist Taina Suonio, it provides a true oasis in a bustling part of London.
Upon taking our seats at one of the many mix and match minimal Nordic dining tables we were greeted by friendly staff who instantly made us feel at home. The atmospheric space is flooded with light, filled with natural materials and finished with simple earthenwear crockery.
The food on offer is prepared by the contemporary Nordic restaurant Eldr with a menu inspired by traditional cooking techniques and traditions such as smoking, curing and fermenting. No dish showcased the team’s passion for Nordic traditions and locally sourced seasonal produce better than the scallops, leek, mussel sauce and reindeer, yes that’s right we said reindeer, as in rudolph! The deliciously creamy sauce perfectly complimented the sweet scallops and gamey reindeer. It’s delicious and we recommend you try it, if you get a chance.
Other favourites of ours included the Pumpkin white beans, truffle & Västerbotten and the whole team raved about the humble, but delicious halibut celeriac and dill starter.
After a gorgeously long meal we headed off, leaving with some Cafe Kitsune cakes, a matcha eclair and raspberry and yuzu meringue, to keep the experience going at home, although they may not have lasted that long!
Pantechnicon offers a unique experience in Belgravia and is a must-see for anyone interested in gastronomy, design or Japanese and Nordic culture. For more information or to book a table - pantechnicon.com
Photography - Pantechnicon
