Our restaurant receives a new direction, new menu, and new look
A warm and inviting restaurant with classic bistro dishes worth returning for – housed in one of the city centre’s most iconic buildings. That is the result as Avalon Hotel’s restaurant receives a new concept, a new menu, and new interiors.
Since opening in 2007, Avalon Hotel has become a natural destination for anyone seeking a calm oasis in the heart of Gothenburg. Whether one is a hotel guest or visiting the restaurant, the common thread running through the experience is clear – design, art, and interiors go hand in hand with food and drink. The hotel is currently undergoing a modernization, with the characteristic rooftop terrace and its pool area being the first to receive an updated look. Avalon now introduces its new restaurant, which not only gets a new appearance but also a new concept with an accompanying menu. What was previously an occasionally somewhat scattered hybrid between fine dining and bistro will now become Gothenburg’s most enjoyable French bistro with Swedish touches – serving dishes guests will want to eat again and again.
“We have consistently had very high ambitions at Avalon – in the restaurant, that previously meant changing all 15 dishes on the menu five times per year. Now, that work instead forms the foundation for our new menu, where we create our own version of a French bistro. Our obsession with always delivering the highest quality remains unchanged – we tested 15 different cuts of entrecôte before deciding which one was the very best, because that is what we want to serve at Avalon. Our guests should have every reason to return to us,” says André Elmberg, Food & Beverage Manager.
It is not only the menu and culinary direction that are entirely new – the dining room and bar lounge’s interiors and design have been updated in step with the gastronomic vision. Interior architect Tina Marin, in collaboration with André Elmberg, has taken the restaurant from its previous Art Deco orientation toward a cosier and more welcoming style, aligned with the hotel as a whole.
“In my work, I have taken the building’s architecture, designed by Semrén & Månsson, as my starting point, shaping an environment that engages in dialogue with the building’s design language. The result is a modern and timeless setting that combines elegance with function, where colours and materials meet the hotel’s existing design and art collection in a thoughtfully cohesive whole,” says Tina Marin.
The dining room now features custom-designed velvet sofas, and the classic Cone Chair – present since the hotel opened in 2007 – has been reupholstered in a new dark red fabric. In the bar area, the Monster barstool from Moooi, the Flare’O lounge chair from B&B Italia, and cocktail tables from Swedish furniture producer Offect are among the new additions. The tableware has been specially made for Avalon by local ceramicist Helene Forsman.
“One could say that time had started to catch up with Avalon a little, but renewal and modernity have always been in our DNA. It’s simply nothing that frightens us – it feels incredibly exciting to be doing this work. I truly look forward to welcoming both old and new guests, Gothenburg locals as well as those visiting our city, to Avalon’s new restaurant. I am very confident they will enjoy it,” says André Elmberg.