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ëlgr is fine food, great wine and inspiring cocktails, all served in a relaxed environment. Menus are seasonal and change often, with exceptional, original, yet uncomplicated flavours. The dishes are creatively presented with simple, fresh ingredients. ëlgr takes pride in craftsmanship and as much as possible is home-made in ëlgr’s kitchen
Gourmet Guide Description
Discreetly tucked away behind a dark door on trendy Kloof Street is an edible oasis. Rather than being renowned for fine dining, it’s labelled refined dining with something with everyone. Some come for a cocktail and snack, others for the chef’s choice pairing menu. It’s always for something special. From the marinated olives that arrive as a welcome, to the home-made charcuterie and gherkins, legendary pizzas and simple desserts, quality reigns supreme.
This nod to excellence is the signature of Swedish chef Jesper Nielsen. If you ask him what makes Swedish cuisine special, he’ll tell you it’s that for six months of the year they don't have much available. “So, it's a lot about preserving and pickling and figuring out how you can make things last the longest,” he explains. “When you find an ingredient that you are excited about, like the pure flavour of a strawberry or delicious radish, it's not over-complicate things. Find things that elevate one star element and focus on that instead of having six, seven, nine or 10 components, instead just two or three.”
The food-and-wine pairing puts sommelier Le Roy’s talent in the spotlight, after winning an award for the most sustainable wine list in the world. The focus is unequivocally on refined, premium ingredients. In the words of Jesper, “I'm a sucker for pizza. That's why it's on the menu. If I could only choose the one thing, then it would be a pizza; it's always nice. People often think pizza, oh, you know, it's just going to be a relaxed, casual, but maybe sub-standard meal. But I think for me, when I walk away from a meal at elgr, I think about the ingredients.”
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