Interview Oliver Ingrosso
Oliver Ingrosso is a well-known musician and restaurateur in Stockholm. In December 2025 he opened his second restaurant in the city, inspired by his Italian heritage, Baroma. The walls of the restaurant are decorated with selected designs from Desenio. Here, he talks to us about the process of choosing the artworks and how they contribute to the restaurant's atmosphere and personality.
Tell us about yourself and your route into the restaurant world.
I grew up in restaurants, my dad opened his first when I was four years old, so food and restaurants have always been a big part of my life. To begin with, I chose my own path with music, and it wasn't until near the end of the pandemic that the possibility to create Olli (Ingrosso's first restaurant) came up. Food has always been an important part of my life, but that doesn't mean that it's the obvious thing to open my own restaurant. Then again, I had always had the dream. When the chance came along, I felt I couldn't shy away from it. With a little knowledge you can get by and learn the rest along the way.
Tell us more about the restaurant – the concept, the kitchen and when you opened. Do you have a favorite dish?
Baroma is a Roman pizza and cocktail bar. That's where the name comes from, bar for the cocktails and Roma because that's where the food comes from. Roman pizza is thin and crispy, they call it scrocchiarella in Italian, which means crisp and that is how you sum up Roman pizza in one word.
We opened on 25 December 2025 after a few delays. Picking my favorite is hard, since I made most of the menu myself – it's a bit like choosing one of your children. That said, a margherita is always a margherita.
Why was it important for you to work with art in the restaurant?
For this project it was especially important to work with art. We wanted the restaurant to live and breathe in a way that is perhaps a little bit unusual, but with a strong, clear personality that is both playful, old and young at the same time. Art does a lot to contribute to that.
Do you have any personal connection to any of the pieces?
Some pieces I have strong personal connections to, others I just chose because they are beautiful or have the right energy. My mom played Pippi Longstocking throughout my whole childhood, so that has a very personal connection. The fact that she is eating pasta is even better! I loved Tom & Jerry as a kid and watched it all the time. My grandpa loved it too, even as an adult. There are also beach designs with orange umbrellas and lounge chairs which remind me of the beach in Taranto where my family comes from.
How did you pick the pieces?
Choosing the art was all about diving into the assortment and looking for clues and designs that chimed with me and my upbringing. It was quite an intuitive process.
How did you choose between prints and canvas?
The choice had to do with the individual artworks. Some designs work better on canvas and others quite simply work better as prints.
Have the restaurant's guests or staff responded to the art?
The response has been very positive. The guests think the art is fun and thought-through, and that it creates a strong personality for the restaurant. The Pippi print has been really popular with guests, both taking photos and posing with it.
