Studio Frantzen at Harrods

For a building as iconic and huge as Harrods, it's surprising it's taken the best part of its near-two hundred year lifetime to make the most of its rooftop and open a restaurant there.

Studio Frantzén at Harrods opened in 2022 and takes over the top two floors of the department store. Inside is wonderfully dark and moody, with low lighting and a large Japanese-inspired bar. But the jewel in the crown is upstairs on the partially covered outside terrace.

In the kitchen, Bjorn Frantzén from Sweden is at the helm. He has two other restaurants that have an impressive three Michelin stars, which gives a flavour of the level of cooking to expect – read, pretty high.

Start with the warm laminated milk bread – more like four little swirled pastries baked together, it's flaky, delicious and a little sweet. The menu's theme is Asian-influenced Nordic, which works on the plate better than it first sounds on paper. One of its signature dishes is the tartar of tuna and red deer, a gamey take on the original beef dish which is topped with roe and wasabi cream, that comes in a shallow pool of oil.

Its signature main is the rather mysteriously named 'Sweden vs Japan'. It's essentially two expertly and delicately cooked pieces of meat; Japanese Wagyu and Swedish Oxtail that are totally different in texture but equally superb and almost dangerously rich, hence the small portions. Elsewhere, there's plenty of lobster on the menu, really pointing towards its luxury offering, which might be a zingy cold-poached salad to start, a chunky roll at lunchtime or a served in the shell lightly spiced curry sauce.

Sides are not forgotten and even the humblest of ingredients, the potato, looks and tastes as if it's been given the same treatment and the most luxurious ingredients like lobsters. The deep-fried hasselback potato is wonderfully crunchy on the inside, fluffy inside and served with browned butter and indulgent cream cheese, seriously elevating a simple dish. Puddings are perhaps the least exciting section of the menu, though they change with the seasons. Service is as you'd expect, prompt, reliable and edging towards the formal end of the scale.

It's a well executed operation, as you'd expect at Harrods and they're probably wondering why they didn't do it sooner, just as much as we are.

The latest in a long line of big name chefs to cook at Harrods, the Knightsbridge department store has pulled off somewhat of a coup by persuading award-winning, world-renowned Swedish chef Bjorn Frantzen to open his first UK restaurant in the iconic store. It's fair to say, Harrods has gone all out with the site - Studio Frantzen is set across a custom built space in the store, and is spread across two floors. Downstairs you'll find the restaurant and bar, and there are more covers on the upper rooftop terrace. This is the first time Harrods has ever used the rooftop as a terrace - a landmark moment, which hints at the effort and energy that has gone into this venture.

Frantzen already has two highly-appraised restaurants under his belt, self-named Frantzen in Stockholm and Zen in Singapore, with both holding three Michelin stars. He’s also just placed 6th in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards - and there’s no sign of the Swedish chef slowing down.  

Studio Frantzen's menu integrates some interesting influences, blending elements of Nordic and Asian cuisine, as well as some traditional British flavours too. Dishes on the menu include roasted scallops with scrambled duck eggs, black truffle, beurre noisette, crispy lichens and smoked pea soy, quail with dried spruce and bee pollen, vanilla and black pepper emulsion, and lingonberry marshmallow sorbet with semi dried lingon and blueberries, blackcurrant syrup and liquorice meringue.

Björn Frantzén says: 'I worked in England early on my career and really got a feel for, in my opinion, one of the most interesting cities in the world, so it feels right to be coming back to open in London. Over the past few years there have been several projects and opportunities arise in London, but none have felt right until now. It is an honour to be opening at Harrods as one of the most celebrated institutions in the world.'