Harlequin by Hunger och Törst

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Room Within a Room in the Heart of Umeå

Harlequin by Hunger och Törst describes itself plainly and honestly: a playful restaurant and wine bar, open seven days a week. Sitting at Rådhusesplanaden in central Umeå, it has earned White Guide's Fine level recognition — and the guide's own words capture the place well. "A kind of sophisticated humility unites both them and Harlequin itself," the White Guide notes, pointing to velvety armchairs, intimate conversation, and a crowd that ranges from stylish groups to couples' dinners. The room is relatively small, but the team has managed to create a world inside it.

Wine at the Centre

The wine list is serious enough to come with its own wine hotel — a storage and curation service that signals just how central the cellar is to Harlequin's identity. Sommelier events are a regular fixture: wine battles where three sommeliers each select a pairing and guests cast the deciding vote, deep-dive evenings into obscure grape varieties, Chianti Classico tastings led by head sommelier Mattia Del Re, and champagne dinners built around a single house such as Gosset. Anette Andersson, sommelier at both Harlequin and sister venue Hunger och Törst and winner of the Lily Bollinger Award 2022 for Sweden's best female sommelier, has hosted sparkling wine dinners matching lesser-known bubbles to seasonal produce.

Events, Guest Chefs and a Stage

Beyond the wine, Harlequin runs a packed calendar through its Facit Bar space. Guest chef evenings have brought in names with serious credentials — a chef responsible for the Nobel Dinner 2019 and a Bocuse d'Or runner-up among them — alongside collaborations with restaurants from Östersund, Linköping, and Gothenburg. Concerts, whisky tastings, gin journeys through Sweden's distilleries, and seasonal menus tied to Midsummer or crayfish season fill the rest of the calendar. The brunch and lunch offer runs alongside dinner, and takeaway boxes — including multi-course weekend bags — mean the kitchen's output extends well beyond the dining room.

Straightforward Hospitality

What ties it together is an absence of pretension. The menus are priced accessibly for their ambition, the atmosphere welcomes everyone from first-daters to long-standing regulars, and the team's enthusiasm for wine, food, and good company comes through in every event they put on. For a city like Umeå, Harlequin punches well above its weight — and the White Guide's recognition confirms it.