There’s much to learn today about Aska, the return of Fredrik Berselius’s gloriously fastidious
destination dinner spot. It’s humming along in South Williamsburg now.
Let’s begin.
You have to make reservations for the main dining room.
So make sure to do that.
That accounts for the fact that there might sometimes be a lot of room to roam.
They move everything around based on how many people will be in that night, so it’s got a bit of a loft apartment feel, with a wide-open kitchen as the focal point.
The MO in the dining room is tasting menus.
Twelve to 15 courses that’ll take up to three hours to get through, so clear your schedule. Like the last iteration, it’s got a Scandinavian vibe. You can, of course, do beverage pairings, and everything will change seasonally. If you don’t know what something on the menu is—and there’s a high likelihood of that—fear not. They’re going to walk you through it all.
Things you might be tasting include but are not limited to:
—Salted Maine shrimp burnt in caramel with a sauce made from shrimp heads and pineapple weed (didn’t know that existed), plated with sprigs of pineapple weed and fresh herb leaves.
—Fresh peas with charred razor clams marinated in wild-pea oil and elderflower broth, garnished with elderflowers.
—Oysters with orpine (they’ll explain), salted white currant and juniper.
—Finnish caviar with grilled onion, lemon verbena, pickled ramp seed, burnt onion shell stock, cultured cream, toasted hay and buttermilk.
Fredrik Berselius does not fuck around.
You can see all of that here.
So click. Go on, click.
There’s a cellar bar and a back garden, too.
Those are wide-open. The cellar is more like a living room, and the garden features vines creeping down wooden fences. Standard delightful garden material.
Those spaces work differently.
You can walk in, do an à la carte thing, have drinks and presumably spend fewer than three hours doing so. Or not. Your call.
It’s one of the growing number of non-tipping places.
For those who have trouble calculating 20% off the top of your head, we salute you.
Let’s begin.
You have to make reservations for the main dining room.
So make sure to do that.
That accounts for the fact that there might sometimes be a lot of room to roam.
They move everything around based on how many people will be in that night, so it’s got a bit of a loft apartment feel, with a wide-open kitchen as the focal point.
The MO in the dining room is tasting menus.
Twelve to 15 courses that’ll take up to three hours to get through, so clear your schedule. Like the last iteration, it’s got a Scandinavian vibe. You can, of course, do beverage pairings, and everything will change seasonally. If you don’t know what something on the menu is—and there’s a high likelihood of that—fear not. They’re going to walk you through it all.
Things you might be tasting include but are not limited to:
—Salted Maine shrimp burnt in caramel with a sauce made from shrimp heads and pineapple weed (didn’t know that existed), plated with sprigs of pineapple weed and fresh herb leaves.
—Fresh peas with charred razor clams marinated in wild-pea oil and elderflower broth, garnished with elderflowers.
—Oysters with orpine (they’ll explain), salted white currant and juniper.
—Finnish caviar with grilled onion, lemon verbena, pickled ramp seed, burnt onion shell stock, cultured cream, toasted hay and buttermilk.
Fredrik Berselius does not fuck around.
You can see all of that here.
So click. Go on, click.
There’s a cellar bar and a back garden, too.
Those are wide-open. The cellar is more like a living room, and the garden features vines creeping down wooden fences. Standard delightful garden material.
Those spaces work differently.
You can walk in, do an à la carte thing, have drinks and presumably spend fewer than three hours doing so. Or not. Your call.
It’s one of the growing number of non-tipping places.
For those who have trouble calculating 20% off the top of your head, we salute you.
