Jonas Bohlin designed the house with the four elements in mind and let the kitchen represent fire. Aira opened in the first week of the pandemic in 2020 – and today holds two stars in the Guide Michelin.
In this story · 5 sections
On 17 March 2020, Aira opened on Djurgården in Stockholm. It was the same week that the pandemic shut down large parts of the world, after roughly five years of preparation. The restaurant survived that start, received its first star in the Guide Michelin in September 2021 and its second in June 2023. In the 2026 Nordic guide, Aira still has two stars.
The house is located on Biskopsvägen by the water, and it was built specifically for this restaurant. According to Shift, the walk from the city centre takes around twenty-five minutes, and you can also take the boat.
Aira
- Address
- Biskopsvägen 9, Djurgården, Stockholm
- Distinction
- Two stars, Guide Michelin Nordic Countries 2026
- Opened
- 17 March 2020
- Stars
- First in September 2021, second in June 2023
- Owners
- Tommy Myllymäki and Svenska Brasserier
- Architect
- Jonas Bohlin
01Jonas Bohlin's house with the four elements
The building was designed by the Swedish architect and designer Jonas Bohlin, and the work took three years. According to the design magazine Shift, Bohlin conceived the house based on the four elements, with the kitchen representing fire. The exterior is reminiscent of a shipyard, with concrete and rust-red sheet metal that acquires a patina over time.
In the evening the house glows over the water, and the architecture is just as much a part of the visit as the food. More about the city's buildings can be found in VERA PI's guide to Stockholm's architecture.
02Tommy Myllymäki and Pi Lé
Aira is owned by chef Tommy Myllymäki together with the restaurant group Svenska Brasserier. Myllymäki is known to a wide audience as a judge on the Swedish edition of MasterChef.
In the kitchen, he works alongside Pi Lé, a Swedish-Vietnamese chef. According to Shift, Aira's kitchen is built on seasonal produce with global influences, where the Nordic meets Pi Lé's Vietnamese heritage.
03A Nordic cuisine with Asian influences
In 2022, Svenska Dagbladet's reviewer described a thirteen-course tasting menu built on Scandinavian seasonal produce and called the restaurant one of Sweden's most lavish restaurant ventures. The reviewer gave it five out of six but felt the flavours could have been bolder for the price. Since then, Michelin has awarded the restaurant its second star.
Shift highlights a dill crisp – small forest-green, edible glasses filled with lobster cream and browned butter – and a dish with halibut. The kitchen draws on both the Nordics and Asia, but it is the ingredients and the season that dictate the menu, and those who return at another time of year will encounter a different menu.
04Around Djurgården
Djurgården is Stockholm's green island, with museums, parks and water on all sides. A dinner at Aira can start with an afternoon at one of the museums or a walk along the water. Read the island's story in Djurgården, from royal hunting ground to Stockholm's green island, and find more restaurants and hotels in Stockholm at metromode.co.
05How to make the most of your visit to Aira
Try to arrive in daylight if you can, so you see the house and the water before it gets dark, and consider taking the boat or walking along the water out there. Set aside the whole evening for the tasting menu and book well in advance. Check opening days directly with the restaurant.
