This Wednesday was Markus’ 25th birthday and for that I took him out on a somewhat fancier dinner date. Which scared him senseless once he found out.
We’re rather simple folk, the kind of people who choose beer over champagne every time and rather drive an old, rusty Volvo than a stylish sports car. And we never ever go to fancy restaurants.
“But… but… I can’t wear this then! Where’s my nice shirt? Is it in the laundry? DO I NEED A TIE!!??” 8O
He was also worried that we would have to drink wine. I told him to calm the fuck down and just take a plain black shirt and order a beer or water or something. ;) Truth be told I was a little nervous too.
(The images are crappy because it was rather dark and cosy in there and I didn’t want to disturb the other guests by using the flash.)
Like I said, we’re not very used to finer establishments so when we got there we spent a whole minute standing in the hallway wondering if we were supposed to wait to be seated or just grab a table. Then a waitress walked by and noticed us standing awkwardly behind the door. She took us to a great table in the corner, with a good view of both the restaurant and the river outside.
Inside the restaurant was rather small and cosy and we could see the chef placing the food and decorating the plates behind the counter. There were other guests there, but they were sitting to the right and on the tables behind Markus.
This was a complementary appetizer they came out with. It’s fried European perch with some lemony cucumber thing. I honestly can’t remember what the waitress said, but it tasted really good.
After this the waitress came out with what looked like two muffins in a plastic case and a small plate with what looked like ice cream with a little green leaf and some spice sprinkled on it. After she left we just sat there like two idiots looking at it.
“What is that?” Markus whispered.
“I… don’t know. It looks like dessert?” I whispered back.
“So… we’re supposed to eat it? Like, now? Is it another appetizer?”
“I don’t know!!”
We spent a few confused moments staring at the supposed dessert until we saw the waitress go to another table with the same things and the lady at that table actually spoke up (i.e. unlike us she wasn’t completely socially handicapped) and asked what it was.
“Oh, it’s bread and butter for you” the girl replied.
I felt like such a n00b when I heard it. Of course it was bread and butter! I wish I had taken a photo of it to show you though, because it did look an awful lot like muffins and ice cream. Just sayin’.
Starter: king bolete (mushroom) soup with smoked pork belly, preserved onions, and rowanberry caprice. The big red thing in the middle is a thin slice of crispy dried meat. It was absolutely delicious, the best dish of the night in my opinion.
Main course: fried venison with two sauces (mushroom and juniper berry sauce), kale salad with beetroots, lingonberries and chanterelles. Loved everything but the meat. I’m not a big meat lover and it was just a bit too much of it on the plate.
Dessert: hot chocolate cake with a taste of coffee and cognac, served with licorice ice cream and licorice lava with some freeze-dried raspberries and blueberries.
This was rather interesting, I had never heard of “licorice lava” before, but it was really good. It looked just like lava and when chewing it it felt kinda fizzy on the tongue. I didn’t think it would go well with the chocolate, but surprisingly it worked really well together!
Last fallacy of the evening was when it was time to pay and my card refused to work. God, I hate that… Luckily we had enough in our wallets to pay in cash, but I was still embarrassed. I knew I had money on it, the stupid thing just wasn’t working for some reason! :doh:
All in all: the food was delicious and the restaurant was really nice.
And next year I’ll probably just take him to a pizza parlour…
Ah that food all looks and sounds so good! I’m intrigued by Swedish cuisine as I don’t think I’ve ever had it before. Last summer I read Marcus Samuelsson’s memoir and the way he described Swedish cuisine made me really want to try some – I wonder if there’s a good Swedish restaurant near me?
If you like fish and venison Swedish food is delicious. :) Have you watched the Jamie Oliver show where he visits different countries? I think it was called “Jamie does (name of country)” and in one episode he came to Sweden. It was really good and accurate, if you haven’t you should try to watch it!
Mmm, looks yummy! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who feels awkward in fancy restaurants, haha :D One time with work we got our desserts served on rather large, rectangular plates. It was a swoosh of vanilla sauce in the middle and a mint leaf and a tiny sprinkle of chocolate and nuts in one corner. We looked at each other and wondered if they had forgot the actual dessert, like a scoop of ice cream or a chocolate cake… But no, the vanilla sauce swoosh was the dessert. It was made with some luxurious liqueur, apparently xD
Wow, if the food tells anything, that sure was a really fancy restaurant. Peter and I aren’t very adventurous like that either. We prefer something a little less fancy. But at least you went out and tried it. I hope you enjoyed your selves. It sucks about your card too. I would be so embarrassed! At least you had lots of cash LOL.
Åh vilka underbara upplägg! Jag har aldrig ätit på en fin restaurang men det är definitivt något jag vill göra någon dag.
I’m plenty adventurous, but usually our budget won’t allow us to to fancy places! I’m glad you shared this because it all looks very delicious and like little works of art on a plate. I probably would have embarrassed myself and got all excited about the “muffins and ice cream”. XD
that venison dish looks amazing. growing up in the country, i’m a big fan of venison. one of the best meats out there, imo.
coming from the family i do, i’d been to nice restaurants growing up and such. special occasion dinners, but since i’ve started dating my now boyfriend, we definitely do a lot more fine dining. he’s a diva when it comes to restaurants some times and always appreciates gourmet food. i can’t say i complain. we’re both pretty big foodies and love trying new things. it’s definitely something fun to do together. :)
i still feel kind of awkward at nicer establishments though, and always worrying about my manners and such. i can be somewhat brash and unladylike at times. i’m getting better at holding my shit together sometimes though. :P
I feel the same way about growing up eating at places like this, but still being out of place at times. Although, I love to go out to fancy dinners & enjoy the show they put on for you anyways. The food looks amazing and the presentation is fun too! Mushrooms are my favorite so I would have loved to try the soup.
Ever since my card didn’t work, I’ve always run to an ATM before I go out because I’m paranoid. :blush: They way you write about it seems like you just brushed it off though, so props to you!