Critically Lauded Williamsburg Restaurant Aska Closes Next Week
Aska, chef Frederik Berselius’s critically adored tasting menu-only Williamsburg restaurant, will be serving its last meal on Wednesday, March 19th.
Aska opened in December 2012 to much acclaim, and Berselius’s cooking was hailed as emblematic of the new Nordic cuisine trend, with special attention paid to innovative (and at times intimidating) ingredients like sea buckthorn berry, lichen, and pig’s blood. The restaurant won a coveted spot on Bon Appétit‘s Best New Restaurant list in 2013 as well as a Michelin star and, more recently, Berselius was a semi-finalist for the James Beard award.
And yet, Berselius told the New York Times this weekend that he would be closing the restaurant, saying, “We want to continue on with what we set out to accomplish, and we have outgrown the space… It’s time to move on.” Berselius plans to open up a new spot, and says, “99 percent chance I’ll be in Williamsburg… I want it to happen as soon as possible. I want to cook tomorrow, if I can.” Having been lucky enough to have had dinner at Aska, we have little doubt that Berselius will continue to cook in this city, and only hope that wherever he winds up, he will continue to make those creamy, savory pork-and-potato dumplings that we’ve been craving all winter long.
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