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Nordic is just off Oxford street and, until it enjoyed its 15 minutes of fame earlier this month, its main claim to fame was having once been declared the best singles bar in London. According to Crushguide - an A-Z of London's bars for those looking for more than just a good head ontheir beer - you don't have to be an oarsman on a Viking longboat in order to pull at Nordic. It begins to fill up towards the end of the working day and, by dinnertime, it's usually heaving with hormonally charged singletons. 'We get a lot of young men coming in because they think they're going to meet beautiful Scandinavian girls' laughs Curtis.
Instead of ordering individual items from the à la carte menu, I told the chef to whip up a traditional Scandinavian feast with all the trimmings. Within ten minutes, the food began flooding out of the kitchen and it didn't let up for over an hour and a half. Dishes included all the mainstays, such as Gravadlax, meatballs and deep-fried Jarlsberg, as well as some I'd never tried before, such as pytt-i-panna, a Swedish all day breakfast dominated by a couple of fried eggs. The highlight was the pudding, an enormous waffle accompanied by two scoops of vanilla ice cream and liberally sprinkled with Dime Bar shavings. Nothing that was put in front of me was particulary fancy, but it all went down pretty smoothly. If i has to sum it up I'd describe it as 'hangover food', which is ironic considering each course was accompanied by a glass of Schnapps." [ Back to top ]
Whether or not this is true matters little, as such claims to individuality are what our legal friends would refer to as 'mere puff'. But Scandinavian it very definitely is, and my Swedish friend Karin, in delivering a rare seal of approval, reckons that it's pretty much as authentic a food and drink menu as you are likely to find. Nordic is a two-roomed venue housed in a recently refurbished basement under the shadow of the BT Tower. The look is shoestring meets prefabrication, with the result being a chicly shabby den with the relaxed atmosphere of a student union common room.
Scandies eat a lot of potatoes, but Karin wasn't sure she'd had them on a hot dog before. The lunch menu is a more substantial affair, with meatballs, Pytt I Panna (bacon and potato hash with egg), crayfish and Nordic steak with hasselback potatoes. And main courses average a reasonable £9. As for drinks, it's traditional to have a beer (of which there are many exciting offerings) chased with an akvavit (eau-de-vie). So we quite rightly followed with tradition and found ourselves a little wobbly underfoot when we attempted to leave." [ Back to top ]
Scandinavians know a thing or two when it comes to surviving long, dark winters. They hole up in a warm, cosy hostelry
and eat and drink their way through the cold days. Nordic, two subterranean rooms in the shadow of the BT Tower, is a
classic example of London home from home for Scandinavian hospitality.
It has that fashionably shabby look as though it was thrown together yesterday, with the youthfully exuberant atmosphere of an aprës-ski venue. It offers as authentic a food-and-drink menu as you are likely to find in London, with, for the most part, Scandinavian staff who are clearly dab hands with a smorgâsbord.
In the evenings, the menu is limited to snacks, polar bread wraps and hot dogs garnished with mashed potato and relishes. The lunch menu is much more substantial, with meat balls, beef Lindstrom, Pytt I Panna (bacon and potato hash with egg), crayfish and Nordic steak with hasselback potatoes. Main courses average £9.
It's traditional to have a beer (of which there are many, including Red Erik, a 6.5% cherry beer on draught) chased with an akavit (similar to eau-de-vie). So raise your glasses and say cheers to Nordic, or "skôl", as they say in Scandinavia." [ Back to top ]
Contacts:
Londonsbestbars (Nordic) T. 020 7631 3174
The Unnatural Light Company T. 020 8986 5160
Bushe Associates T. 020 7697 0707 www.busheassoc.com
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Fluid Style (opens in a new window)
Toby Young - Restaurant Spy review
Time Out review
Best Pubs In London review
Square Meal review
Hot Tickets magazine review
Evening Standard review
Toby Young - Restaurant Spy Review
"I had quite high expectations when I sat down to eat at Nordic. After all, given how completely wrong Chirac was about British food - Gourmet magazine recently declared London the 'best place to eat on the planet' - he was certainly wrong about Scandanavian food as well. Indeed some of the most enjoyable meals I have ever had have been in Denmark. The taste of freshly cured Salmon, bought from the smoke house that morning, is hard to beat, and Danish ice cream is second to none.Nordic is just off Oxford street and, until it enjoyed its 15 minutes of fame earlier this month, its main claim to fame was having once been declared the best singles bar in London. According to Crushguide - an A-Z of London's bars for those looking for more than just a good head ontheir beer - you don't have to be an oarsman on a Viking longboat in order to pull at Nordic. It begins to fill up towards the end of the working day and, by dinnertime, it's usually heaving with hormonally charged singletons. 'We get a lot of young men coming in because they think they're going to meet beautiful Scandinavian girls' laughs Curtis.
Instead of ordering individual items from the à la carte menu, I told the chef to whip up a traditional Scandinavian feast with all the trimmings. Within ten minutes, the food began flooding out of the kitchen and it didn't let up for over an hour and a half. Dishes included all the mainstays, such as Gravadlax, meatballs and deep-fried Jarlsberg, as well as some I'd never tried before, such as pytt-i-panna, a Swedish all day breakfast dominated by a couple of fried eggs. The highlight was the pudding, an enormous waffle accompanied by two scoops of vanilla ice cream and liberally sprinkled with Dime Bar shavings. Nothing that was put in front of me was particulary fancy, but it all went down pretty smoothly. If i has to sum it up I'd describe it as 'hangover food', which is ironic considering each course was accompanied by a glass of Schnapps." [ Back to top ]
Time Out Review
"Tucked away off Newman Street, the Nordic achieves the impossible: it's a praiseworthy theme bar. Scandinavian-styled but not anal about it, this basement space divided into three areas (lounge bar, narrow counter corridor, dining room) has enough humour and good taste to offer the best of northern Europe (draught Danish Faxe or Red Erik, clear bottled Icelandic Pölstar or Finnish Finlandia, fine smörgåsbords) without ramming it down your throat. The decor, too, gets everyting in the right measure and spirit: a triptych of a pre-Exorcist Max von Sydow necking Aquavit, framed portraits of famous Scandos including a wistful Allan Simonsen, assorted retro tourist shots with brochures to match. A cocktail list is aided by the Pölstar wheel of misfortune behind the bar, and yes, that short staircase into a thoughtfully traffic-free cobbled alleyway does get tricky after a few Red Eriks chased with a Scandopolitan (three vodkas and a lingonberry juice)." [ Back to top ]Best Pubs In London Review
"Scandinavians know a thing or two when it comes to surviving long, dark winters. They hole up in a warm, cosy hostelry and eat and drink their way through the cold days. Nordic - two subterranean rooms - is a classic example of a London home from home for Scandinavians." [ Back to top ]Square Meal Review
"Original, affordable basement theme bar where Abba, Ingrid Bergman & reindeer prints are set off by cool, dark walls & clever low lighting. Let an artsy display instruct on how to down your akvavit, & then try it yourself. There's a huge range of flavoured vodkas & Scandotrash cocktails (anyone for a Bloody Viking or an Ice Maiden?). Food is Nordic kitsch, from Swedish meatballs to Danish bacon & cheese wraps as snacks & a proper smörgåsbord for the hungry. Don't plan and meetings after a visit - you're likely to see double." [ Back to top ]Hot Tickets Review
"I know we like to moan about the weather in this country, but there are times - only ever when I'm in the unfortunate position of being in bed alone - when I wish a segment from the polar icecap would break loose and deposit its chilled waters over the nether regions of my loins. Summer, then, is the perfect time to introduce to London what publicity material describes as 'London's first Scandinavian bar & restaurant'.Whether or not this is true matters little, as such claims to individuality are what our legal friends would refer to as 'mere puff'. But Scandinavian it very definitely is, and my Swedish friend Karin, in delivering a rare seal of approval, reckons that it's pretty much as authentic a food and drink menu as you are likely to find. Nordic is a two-roomed venue housed in a recently refurbished basement under the shadow of the BT Tower. The look is shoestring meets prefabrication, with the result being a chicly shabby den with the relaxed atmosphere of a student union common room.
Scandies eat a lot of potatoes, but Karin wasn't sure she'd had them on a hot dog before. The lunch menu is a more substantial affair, with meatballs, Pytt I Panna (bacon and potato hash with egg), crayfish and Nordic steak with hasselback potatoes. And main courses average a reasonable £9. As for drinks, it's traditional to have a beer (of which there are many exciting offerings) chased with an akvavit (eau-de-vie). So we quite rightly followed with tradition and found ourselves a little wobbly underfoot when we attempted to leave." [ Back to top ]
Evening Standard Review
Scandinavians know a thing or two when it comes to surviving long, dark winters. They hole up in a warm, cosy hostelry
and eat and drink their way through the cold days. Nordic, two subterranean rooms in the shadow of the BT Tower, is a
classic example of London home from home for Scandinavian hospitality. It has that fashionably shabby look as though it was thrown together yesterday, with the youthfully exuberant atmosphere of an aprës-ski venue. It offers as authentic a food-and-drink menu as you are likely to find in London, with, for the most part, Scandinavian staff who are clearly dab hands with a smorgâsbord.
In the evenings, the menu is limited to snacks, polar bread wraps and hot dogs garnished with mashed potato and relishes. The lunch menu is much more substantial, with meat balls, beef Lindstrom, Pytt I Panna (bacon and potato hash with egg), crayfish and Nordic steak with hasselback potatoes. Main courses average £9.
It's traditional to have a beer (of which there are many, including Red Erik, a 6.5% cherry beer on draught) chased with an akavit (similar to eau-de-vie). So raise your glasses and say cheers to Nordic, or "skôl", as they say in Scandinavia." [ Back to top ]
Contacts:
Londonsbestbars (Nordic) T. 020 7631 3174
The Unnatural Light Company T. 020 8986 5160
Bushe Associates T. 020 7697 0707 www.busheassoc.com
Click here to email your booking
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12pm-11pm Friday
12pm-12am Saturday
6pm-12am 
Tel: 020 7631 3174
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