Crown confirms the Swedish celebrity chef is bringing his Nordic, French and Japanese cuisine Down Under, in what they’re calling a “multi-sensory dining journey”. In Sweden, a meal costs $815.
The dining room of Oncore by Clare Smyth is set to be a restaurant again, with superstar Swedish chef Björn Frantzén confirming he’ll open a fine-diner at Crown Sydney early next year.
The deal to bring the Michelin-laden chef to Sydney has been simmering for several months. In November, when UK chef Clare Smyth announced Oncore would be closing, Good Food reported the Swede was hotly tipped to take over her old digs.
The “sky-high fine dining” Sydney restaurant, Én by Björn Frantzén, is part of a two-pronged dip into the Australian market, with another Frantzén restaurant, Brasserie Astoria, to be launched at Crown Perth next year.
“For a chef, Sydney is impossible to ignore,” Frantzén said of the lure to head south. “It sits at the crossroads of amazing ingredients, international influences, and a dining public that genuinely cares about food. That’s an exciting combination.
“I’ve always been drawn to projects that challenge us to think differently. Opening in Sydney gives us the opportunity to start with a blank canvas and ask ourselves what the next chapter of hospitality should look like.”
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According to a Crown Resorts press release, both restaurants will feature a “multi-sensory dining journey” with Frantzén’s “hallmark techniques and storytelling”.
While Frantzén mightn’t have the local brand awareness of compatriots Alexander Skarsgård or ABBA, he’s a household name in Sweden as the world’s only chef to achieve three Michelin stars for three restaurants – Frantzén in Stockholm, Zen in Singapore and FZN in Dubai – simultaneously.
That ability to operate restaurants in far-flung locations and maintain the high-wire balance of creativity and consistency bodes well for the Sydney push, but diners shouldn’t expect a replica of his existing venues at Én.
“I’ve spent much of my career chasing perfection, but what motivates me today is creating new experiences that people talk about years later,” said Frantzén.
A Crown Sydney spokesperson could not confirm whether the restaurant would be exclusively tasting menu, a la carte or a combination of both. The tasting menu at Stockholm’s Frantzén costs $815 per person before drinks; dinner at his Singapore restaurant is $640 and Dubai’s menu costs $780 a head.
Oncore by Clare Smyth was $395 per person before it closed in February and – as a European comparison – the tasting menu at Smyth’s first London restaurant, Core, is currently $510.
In Perth, Brasserie Astoria will be in a new dining space under construction at Crown Towers. Described by Frantzén Group’s website as an “international power brasserie”, Astoria also has locations in Singapore, Stockholm and Marbella, Spain. Perth punters can expect a similar pitch to the other Brasserie Astorias with a la carte dining, a strong cocktail focus and tableside service.
Australia hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for imports. UK chefs Jamie Oliver and Jason Atherton closed venues in Sydney, and Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal did likewise in Melbourne.
But the incoming batch is promising and seemingly suited to their adopted city. Waldorf Astoria Sydney recently announced that expat Australian chef Curtis Stone will bring his California-fresh restaurant experience to the luxury hotel next year, and Frantzén offers an intriguing mix of Nordic cuisine, Japanese influence and French technique.
Brian Geraghty, owner-chef of Sydney’s iconic Berowra Waters Inn, said he was excited for Frantzén’s addition to the dining landscape.
“I have a Swedish wife and two half-Swedish children, so it’s my second home. The [Stockholm] restaurant is an institution, not just for the country but Europe. The cooking is clean, focused, refined and the produce is of exceptional quality. If they do it well, it’ll blow Sydney out of the water.”
