Svensson & Butler – en recension

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Fick i min hand idag en helt makalöst intressant bok – ”Eating out in Stockholm” av Frank Ward från 1972. Detta var tydligen den första genomgången av Stockholms restauranger och rörde upp många starka känslor. Bland annat blev Frank, som senare startade importfirman Ward Wines, bannlyst på Tore Wretmans krogar. Läs mer om detta och om Frank Ward här.

Fascinerande att läsa om kroglivet i en helt annan tid. Otroligt mycket har hänt på 45 år. Men det som fångade min uppmärksamhet var beskrivningen av Carl Butlers restaurang ”Svensson & Butler”. Efter att ha ägnat så mycket tid och snudd på osunt intresse för Carl Butler och hans recept var det otroligt spännande att få läsa hur maten upplevdes, vad den kostade och hur atmosfären var på krogen. Nästan som att ha fått kika in en stund. Frank Ward gav omdömet ”Outstanding”.

Varsågoda – stig in på Stockholms bästa bistro 1972!

This must surely be one of the very best of the Stockholm bistros, the food having a pristine freshness that few of the others seem able to equal. It’s cheap to: garlic-caressed lamb with white haricot beans, potatoes, and a good, if sometimes thinnish gravy, costs Kr. 11.50. One meal I had there consisted of a hearty – and heartening – cabbage soup followed by a fine, light cannalone that would have earned any Italian’s approval. The blackcurrant pie that followed was well made but clearly a leftover from a day or two previously, being on the dry side. All this with a small carafe of red wine, a glass of port with the pie, and coffee came to Kr. 27. The bread, as ever, was really crisp and fresh and the cabbage salad which always greets you on entry is free. Another visit a few days later was rewarded with one of the finest pieces of beef I have had for many months and in scores of restaurants visits: tender, juicy, and full of flavour. This rarity cost only Kr. 13.25. A bean soup was once a bit lukewarm, but this was a small fault to set against four or five fine meals.

Each Tuesday, by the way, you can get the House’s speciality, a tasty cheese-tomato-mushroom quiche which has the luscious consistency of thick cream. This comes at Kr. 8.25. Other dishes from France, Spain, Italy, and Sweden recur on the hand-scrawled menu once weekly or monthly.

Mr. Butler himself is an unassuming man in his late thirties with a frank and open manner. He left catering school a qualified cook and promptly got a job as a waiter. He then signed on with SAS and spent several busy years travelling the globe. He went into an early retirement and set up the present establishment in 1968. The place itself is tiny, barely ten paces long. Walls are midnight blue and overhead lights focus concentrated beams onto the waxed wooden tables. One long table in the centre serves as mute catalyst to many a stimulating discussion. It truly is is an open house: you can see into the tiny kitchen, and watch the chef at work; and the young be-jeaned waitress plays with her own child while chatting informally with regulars. Once, a whole train of prams entered, pushed by housewives eager for a snack.

• Rörstrandsgatan 11; Tel 32 18 23
• Open: 11 – 21.30; Sat 12 – 16.00 (closed Sun)
• Seats: 43
• Wine and beer only
• Owner: Kalle Butler