Nowhere: the Swedish restaurant with only six tables in the middle of the forest

Nowhere, the new Swedish restaurant

Old habits return, including dining out. Of course, before booking a restaurant, you now have to make sure of the distance, the safety rules, more attention is paid to hygiene and compliance with the rules. We prefer outdoor places, spacious, with air recirculation and the right distances between tables. Problems that don't arise in the case of Nowhere, a diffused temporary restaurant that has only six tables in the Haringe nature reserve, just outside Stockholm. A place that will open its doors on August 20 but that already has all its tables booked: six, to be precise, miles apart from each other and immersed in the pristine green of the hardwood forests.

Nowhere: social distancing restaurant

Each table is in a different setting: there is one in the middle of the forest, one on the pier overlooking the lake reached after a long walk through the woods, and others scattered in the beautiful reserve, where guests can dine undisturbed in total relaxation. Responsible for the project is Oddbird, a non-alcoholic wine cellar opened in 2013 by Moa Gürbüzer, a former therapist and social worker, today one of the most appreciated wine producers in all of Scandinavia, who decided to devote himself to the production of non-alcoholic beverages after having worked for over twenty years in alcohol abuse rehab centres. The idea of Nowhere was born during quarantine, to look for an alternative solution capable of responding to the needs of social distancing, a new restaurant format that could also satisfy the newfound need to be in contact with nature.

The philosophy at Nowhere

The cuisine is curated by Linn Söderström and Marion Ringborg, chef of Garba pop-up restaurant opened in Stockholm in 2017, but more than the menu here, it's the location that counts. "The forest is the perfect place," said Oddbird winery in a statement. A place that "doesn't love or hate, a place that's indifferent, that's not fashionable, that's not inclusive or exclusive. We have always been a humanity "on the run," ready for new experiences, new challenges." The pandemic forced us to stop, "and rethink the beauty that has always surrounded us and that we can no longer see." Nowhere wants to be "an opportunity to reflect and find magic in the simplest and most true things." A few poetic and nostalgic lines to describe the innovative project with a minimal design and in line with the surrounding nature, created by The Norrmans studio, which used only recycled materials for the outdoor furnishings.