5.0
4.8
5 / 5
A smart, modern bistro de luxe with rich décor and crushed velvet banquettes. The 3 or 5 course seasonal menu mixes the modern with the traditional and all dishes come with suggested wine pairings. This is a deservedly busy spot where the attentive, personable service adds to the experience.
Rating: 24/25
We immediately feel at home in Carbon's cozy room with gloomy colors, soft velvet on comfortable chairs and sofas and nice light. The cars parked outside the windows and the trams that whiz past outside are forgotten after a short while in the staff's hospitable embrace.
The evening's food journey begins with three generous mini dishes, of which sorbets with parsley and mint are the best. Not sour, not sweet, but just balancing smooth.
This is followed by mussels from Orust with an Austrian chardonnay from the wine house Birgit Eichinger, which is a favorite with the staff and which quickly also becomes ours. Charcoal-grilled wild duck breast is served as a taco. The deep yellow Spanish wine, Terroir Historic, is not good separately, but a hit with the poultry meat.
Grilled lobster with béarnaise sauce and french fries is a triple hit, as is the harp with a lot of umami and a delicious game flavor.
When it's time for a main course, fish and the king of the forest are on the menu. Our one main course, elk fillet, is a great pleasure as we have cooked venison for many years and have not had it as good as here. The browned Madeira butter binds the dish together, but we leave the marrowbone untouched, after tasting. The Bordeaux wine Grand Enclos du Château de Cèrons from 2002 has a lovely aroma, which moves us to the vineyard and contributes to the perfection of the dish.
Carbon's staff has a relaxed philosophy without frills regarding food and wine combinations. "It has to be good". So, it must taste good together.
We like the environment, the interior design and the professional, easy care. It is pervasive that all dishes are well thought out and well-balanced. We enjoy the whole evening of fine taste experiences with appreciated food and wine compositions adapted to ten different varieties served at a reasonable pace.
Rating: Very good class
Scattered at its best
Carbon has a kind of wild western mentality when it comes to food. But do not get us wrong - it's fun that in such an exclusive restaurant, lobster ceviche, bouillabaisse, wagyubiff and carrot cake are served in one sitting.
To really accentuate the eclectic cooking, the tasting menu also offers freedom of choice. For each serving, three options are given - one vegetarian, one from the sea or lake and one with meat. It is a brilliant layout in every way and whatever you choose, you never risk having to wonder if the grass may be greener on the other side of the table. Garlic pork sausage with mustard marinated turnip is a real full scorer. Another is a variant of coq au vin that manages to be concentrated and light at the same time. A delicious piece of cheesecake is matched as ingeniously as it is with fresh guava sorbet.
If you go for the drinks package, you get a small crash course in the wine world. It's burgundy, it's burgundy with age, it's south african pinotage, it's american chardonnay, it's tawny port. Everything is good, but quite a bit stands out, as it easily becomes when it comes to offering traditional wines at a reasonable price. In match with the food, however, each glass sits like a glove.
The room manages to be neat and cozy at the same time. Yes, at Carbon, most of the pieces are in place despite the sprawl and the best is the service, which is absolutely world-class.
