At lunchtime on Friday September 9, Swedish chef Björn Frantzén officially made our week.

The chef posted an image of chopsticks alongside a knife set on top of a menu of sketches, announcing on his personal Instagram account that there are exciting times ahead: "We are opening a restaurant in Hong Kong in the middle of November. Say hello to @frantzenkitchen and Executive chef @jimlofdahl". 

(Photo: @bjornfrantzen on Instagram)

What We Know

The restaurant will be called Frantzén's Kitchen by Björn Frantzén, and is a "modern bistro with influences from both Nordic and Asian cuisines."

Jïm Löfdahl is currently the head chef of Frantzén and project manager at Studio Frantzén, and will be heading up the restaurant opening here in Hong Kong.

The project is a collaboration with entrepreneurs Arne and Helen Lindman, who operate a design studio and whose previous projects include Nosh on Tai Ping Shan Street.

The restaurant will be located on 11 Upper Station Street in Sheung Wan, which is owned by the husband-and-wife duo. The heritage building was renovated to blend Scandinavian design with the existing Chinese-style architecture and is an apt venue for Frantzén's Nordic cuisine that often takes on Asian ingredients and techniques.

The restaurant will seat 36 in what is being billed as a "stylish and relaxed Scandinavian environment" and will be open for dinner and for lunch on the weekend.

Mid-November is the targeted opening period.

“Hong Kong is one of the world’s most interesting cities for food and it will be a challenge to create a Nordic food experience with local ingredients and influences there.”—Frantzén

“Opening Frantzén’s Kitchen in Hong Kong is a natural step for us. I have long dreamt of opening a restaurant overseas and Asian cuisine is very close to my heart”, said Frantzén in a press release on his website. “Hong Kong is one of the world’s most interesting cities for food and it will be a challenge to create a Nordic food experience with local ingredients and influences there.”

The last time we met Frantzén was three years ago, when he was in town to host a pop-up dinner at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental and taught us how to make grilled scallops with lemon zest, browned butter and black truffle— one of his restaurant signatures. Check out the video here and stay tuned as we update this post with more details as we get them. 

Not familiar with Frantzen? Here's a brilliant primer to the groundbreaking Swedish restaurant in a quick 3 minute video: