Monocle Weekend
Edition: Sunday

This week’s caffeine hit comes courtesy of a Viennese coffee house, followed by a reservation at an Italian trattoria in Singapore. Plus: we hear from a Swedish designer rethinking denim in Gothenburg, toast the revival of Greek herbal remedies and bed down in a revamped historic townhouse in the centre of Merano. Mixing it up from the off is our editorial director, Tyler Brûlé.

After the success of seaside bistro Fico, Singapore-based Italian chef Mirko Febbrile embarked on a new fine-dining venture: Somma (writes Naomi Xu Elegant). Located in the city-state’s New Bahru complex, this collaboration with The Lo & Behold Group takes its inspiration from Febbrile’s home province of Puglia in southern Italy. Somma offers a six-course tasting menu in an intimate 36-seat restaurant and a more casual bar with cocktails and freshly made pasta.

At the bar, options range from classic taralli crackers to handmade pastas with river crab or coppa (pig’s collar). The cocktails include Italian aperitivo staples, such as the spritz and the negroni, as well as more experimental tipples: the whiskey-based Bolognese Muse is not to be missed.
somma.world

Plenty of places in Vienna serve Austrian fare but a modern twist on the traditional Wirtshaus (a small, neighbourhood pub) is a rare find (writes Alexei Korolyov).

Rarer still is an extensive wine list that perfectly complements the menu. Combining these two concepts into a wine bar-cum-restaurant called Reznicek was the idea of chef Julian Lechner and co-founder Simon Schubert, the latter a seasoned sommelier who oversees the cellar. The duo preserved much of the building’s smart wood-panelled interior, a nod to its history as a neighbourhood restaurant dating back to 1927.

Reznicek takes its name from the street on which it is located – itself named after a composer – just north of the Innere Stadt in Vienna’s 9th district. Beyond the wisely chosen wines (sample something from the Wachau Valley), the signature dish is the hearty cordon bleu. “It’s schnitzel on crack with cheese and ham,” says Lechner. Other favourites include duck baked with apples and red cabbage.
reznicek.co.at

Planning an Austrian venture? Our annual business special ‘The Entrepreneurs’ has you covered. Pick up a copy at your favourite newsstand to stay in the loop.

Gothenburg-based designer Joakim Levin is the co-founder of Nudie Jeans. Established in 2001, the denim brand has since expanded to the Netherlands, Germany and Australia. Here he talks us through his Sunday trip to the sauna and where he gets his Swedish news fix.

Where do we find you this weekend?
In Kämpersvik on Sweden’s west coast. It’s a small coastal community where I spend half of my time. I’ll be at the local restaurant, Telegrafen, at about 14.00. The owner closes at 15.00 but if you know him you can stay until he opens again with the evening menu. It’s great to have two meals at the same place.

Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle start or a jolt?
Very gentle. I start the day with a pot of coffee and a sauna. If I still smoked – which, regrettably, I don’t – there would be a cigarette in the mix as well.

What’s for breakfast?
Grilled bread with mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and hummus. And coffee.

Lunch in or out?
I eat lunch at my parents’ house on Sundays. My mother’s friend has chickens so it’s usually some kind of omelette.

Walk the dog or downward dog?
The one thing people have told me repeatedly over the years is that I should start doing yoga. Instead, I’ll have an ocean dip and sauna. I always jump in instead of dwelling and thinking about it. This applies in January just as much as in June.

A Sunday soundtrack?
Recently I’ve been almost exclusively listening to Bon Iver’s latest EP, Sable, even though it’s only three songs.

Sunday culture must?
There isn’t much culture in Kämpersvik. I’ve been too busy to watch TV in the past 10 years but now that I have more time there’s a lot to catch up on. Right now, I’m deep into The Boys. I guess I have a thing for vigilantes.

News or not?
I read Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet and The Guardian.

What’s on the menu?
Every other Sunday for the past five years, I’ve dined at a hotel with my friend David Eklund. We’re slowly working our way through all the hotels in Gothenburg. We keep it simple and low key with a meat and red-wine theme. The best part is that David makes the reservation.

Sunday evening routine?
I usually pour myself a glass of cognac, ponder the week ahead and stare into the distance.

Do you lay out an outfit for Monday?
Never. I don’t have that problem because I rotate a very small wardrobe. I’m making it stylish to not change style.

Chef Ralph Schelling adds a little orange-blossom water to pep up a traditional loaf from Fribourg in French-speaking Switzerland. Any leftovers? Cuchaule makes for a great French toast substitute.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

250ml milk
3-4 saffron threads
50g butter
40g fresh yeast
1 pack vanilla sugar
Dash of orange-blossom water
500g flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
2 tbsps milk

Method

1
In a saucepan, add the milk, saffron threads, yeast, vanilla sugar, butter and a dash of orange-blossom water. Cook on a low heat until the yeast, vanilla sugar and butter dissolve.

2
In a bowl, add the flour, salt and the milk mixture (save a splash of milk for the yolk mix). Knead everything into a smooth dough, cover and leave to rise at room temperature and under a damp cloth for at least 30 minutes.

3
Knead the dough again and roll it into a ball. Leave to rise on parchment paper for another 30 minutes.

4
Preheat the oven to 180C.

5
Whisk the egg yolk with the splash of milk that you set aside. Then brush the bread with the mix and bake for approximately 35 minutes. Voilà
ralphschelling.com

Set across two buildings in the Steinach 3 neighbourhood of Merano’s historic centre, this hotel is just the right blend of old and new (writes Ed Stocker). The 17th-century building was tastefully restored by designer couple Roger Botti and Giulia de Andreis, with an understated colour scheme that includes pistachio-green window shutters. Mid-century pieces, such as Le Corbusier’s Marseille lamp, are juxtaposed with flashes of Tyrolean culture, including contemporary art from local artists and hand-painted stencil work on traditional wooden furniture (for which South Tyrol is famed).

With 11 spacious suites, each with its own bedroom and living room, this is the ideal escape from which to launch yourself into winter hikes – or to hit the slopes at the nearby Merano 2000 resort.
steinachmeran.com; theaficionados.com

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Brothers Nikolas and Manos Smyrlakis founded Roots Divino in 2013 with the aim of making non-alcoholic vermouths using ancient-Greek distillation methods (writes Lucrezia Motta). The business is an homage to their family’s medicinal-beverage brand, Callicounis Distilleries, which was founded in 1850 in Kalamata.

“We have always imagined drinking to be a vivid experience, whereby the drinker can sip the taste of our terroir,” says Nikolas. Ingredients include the Artemisia plant, bitter orange, raki, honey and thyme. For a refreshing tipple, pour 60ml of the brand’s Divino Bianco into a glass, along with two tablespoons of olive brine, some sparkling water and an olive, to garnish.
finestroots.com

Pick up a copy of ‘Greece: The Monocle Handbook’ today. Have a super Sunday.