Restaurant Il Tempo

Last week the Rival Hotel's front desk staff went out to dinner together and we chose a restaurant close to the hotel... Il Tempo. Il Tempo is a nice, neighborhood Italian restaurant. But instead of trying to aspire to be a Roman, Neapolitan or even Tuscan restaurant, they take their inspiration from the Italian restaurants in New York's Little Italy or Brooklyn.

In fact, when the restaurant first opened in the early 1990's, it was a copy of the famous restaurant Gino in NYC... right down to the art deco wallpaper designed by Flora Scalamandré (who designed the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel). Il Tempo is located on the island of Södermalm (Stockholm's own Brooklyn according to some) and just a  minute walk from the hotel.

Wood-burning oven.

Besides the wallpaper, the other stand out design in the restaurant is the traditional wood burning oven where they make their own bread and pizzas. The restaurant is popular and I don't think I have ever been there when it hasn't been busy. This evening was no exception!

Pasta with scallops and truffles.

My colleagues and I mainly stuck with pastas and a risotto, though some of them sitting a bit further away from me opted for pizzas. I had the pasta with home-made maccheroni tossed in truffles, lemon and parmesan with seared scallops. My colleagues sitting closest to me had the risotto with autumn mushrooms and crispy sweetbreads and the pasta with grilled flat shrimp, mussel stock, white wine, garlic and chili. But besides pastas and pizzas, they also have meat & fish dishes and more on the menu.

Risotto with mushrooms and sweetbreads.

So if you are visiting Stockholm, have a hankering for classic Italian cuisine in a neighborhood restaurant with Little Italy ambiance then Il Tempo is a good choice for you. Click here for other restaurant reviews/recommendations.

Busy restaurant... but they do have window alcoves with tables for two.