This past Friday my boyfriend and I went out to celebrate his birthday. We decided to eat at a place we hadn’t been to in a long time: Bistro Barbro.
Bistro Barbro is a small-ish restaurant situated almost underneath Liljeholmsbron in Hornstull. They have a distinct Asian theme with “tapas style” dishes and the point is that you order a couple of them and then share. I like that as it makes the dining experience a lot more relaxed and you can try different things more freely. They are also very accepting towards food intolerances/allergies and will tell you which dishes will be unavailable for you (that is, that they can’t adapt for you) as long as you have let them know beforehand.
Now, I love things that I can eat with my fingers and one of my favourite dishes here is one that you don’t need knife, fork or chopsticks for. It’s seared fois gras on top of deep fried lotus root with figue compote, pistachios and balsamic vinegar. It’s decadence in a single bite.
Fois gras, deep fried lotus root, pistachios, figue compote and balsamic vinegar
The cooking style is a mix of Asian and European and it really works here. As always it’s all about balancing flavours and textures and at Bistro Barbro they know what they’re doing. A while ago it could be tricky to get a reservation here because it was so popular but they have now an area downstairs so as to make room for more visitors.
Their signature dish though I would say is the sushi. While they occasionally will change up the rest of the menu a bit the sushi stays pretty much the same. The attention to detail is just as present here with how the dressing is added and perhaps a scatter of tempura pieces on the top.
Seared salmon maki with yuzu kosho, cream cheese, chipotle soy and tempura crisp
If you’re not a fan of sushi though I highly suggest you try their deep fried dumplings. I can’t eat them myself but my boyfriend loves them!
Deep fried dumplings filled with shiitake, edamame beans and parmesan, served with a miso broth.
Like many other restaurants Bistro Barbro also a keep a list of signature cocktails where half of them are more standard combinations with European flavours and the other half are Japanese inspired. It’s a very nice touch as they all work well with the different dishes so they complete the dining experience.
Cocktails with Asian flavours such as ginger and shoshu
Cocktails with a more European base including bourbon, lime, vodka, rosemary and elderflower
So if you like food to share as well as both European and Asian flavours, Bistro Barbro is the place for you!
Philosophia Cibi 