A winter weekend in Gothenburg, Sweden – Podcast 20

This podcast takes us on a winter weekend in Gothenburg on the West Coast of Sweden. Between visiting Christmas markets and popping into the odd museum, we tasted our way through plenty of delicious food. Cosy cafes around town were the perfect place to enjoy our fika, the Swedish for coffee break, and tried the Gothenburg truffle topped with sea salt.

We met the chef in one of the 5 Michelin star restaurants in the city and in the Fish Market learned how to eat the local oysters. And to prove that eating out in Sweden needn’t break the bank, we took a budget lunch at Sjöbaren – the Sea Bar in Haga.

You’ll hear the drinking song that encourages you to knock back the snaps with a Swedish toast – Skol!

This is Episode 20 in my Podcast series – find all my podcasts here.

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Arriving in Gothenburg

We flew with SAS to Gothenburg from Heathrow and arrived to find snow at the airport, although by the next day it had all melted. Over the long weekend we were staying at the Elite Plaza Hotel, a lovely 5 star hotel.

The Elite Plaza features an elegant, classical style, built in the 1880s as the headquarters of the Svea fire and life insurance company. It was converted in the 1990s into a hotel. Our bedroom was on the 5th floor under the eves, allowing us a view over the copper topped roofs of Gothenburg towards the canal nearby.

We spent our first morning exploring some of the cafes and food venues in the Inom Vallgraven neighbourhood near our hotel. In the courtyard at Magasinsgatan we came across the Strömmingsluckan food cart.

The cart just opens for lunch to sell fried herring and mashed potato with lingonberry sauce. Owner Thomas told us that there are many of these food carts across East Sweden but not so many in West Sweden so they decided to open one in Gothenburg.

In the same courtyard we found a small branch of the Da Matteo coffee shop. Across the courtyard is the bakery or Panetteria, where they make sourdough bread. You can see the coffee being ground with huge bags on the floor in a separate room to one side.

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Chef Camilla Parkner and Basement restaurant

Later that day I chatted with Camilla Parkner, the head chef at Basement.

Note: Since we visited Basement has now closed. Camilla Parkner now runs a catering business in Gothenberg and restaurant just south of the city at Mölndal – check out Parkner.se for more information.

At the time of our visit, Basement was one of the 5 Michelin Star restaurants in the city and the only one run by a woman. In fact, Camilla was the only female head chef at a Michelin star restaurant in the whole of Sweden.

Camilla felt that the seafood is one reason why Gothenburg has such a great reputation for great food. The chefs here are down-to-earth and unpretentious in their approach to food, sticking to what they know and love with really good results.

The food style of Basement

Camilla described the food at Basement as a little bit ‘rough’- but stylish-rough. Meaning that they take the kind of food that you might eat for Sunday lunch at your grandparents but then give it a stylish twist.

The restaurant is especially known for their slowly cooked roast meats. For the 10 years that the restaurant has been open there has always been a slowly cooked meat dish on the menu. It is cooked in the oven overnight at 85 degrees Celsius so that the meat gets very tender and is presented with a flavoured glaze.

The menu changes every 2 weeks and is based on whatever is in season, which is why they call it the Seasonal Selection. Camilla loves the changing seasons and tries to use the best from each season. She grows a lot of vegetables herself at home from March to November. This brings her inspiration and also her colleagues bring her ideas for the menu.

When asked whether being the only female head chef in a Swedish Michelin star restaurant should make her an inspiration for other female chefs, Camilla wasn’t so sure. She doesn’t really think of it as being a woman and a head chef – her focus is on just being a head chef. Although maybe other women might look at her achievements and think – “Why Not?” – they could achieve this level too.

Seafood in Gothenburg

Camilla’s recommendation to visitors to Gothenburg would be to try the fish and the shellfish which she considers the best in the world. While she has eaten seafood all over the world, Camilla finds that it doesn’t taste the same as here in Gothenburg.

Perhaps chefs in Sweden use more salt to cook their shellfish or it could be that the water is so much colder off the coast of West Sweden, giving the seafood a unique flavour.

At Christmas Camilla will be serving seafood of course, with different kinds of herring and salmon. It will be washed down with Christmas beer and perhaps a snaps with the herring.

The Menu at Basement

Later that evening at Basement we tried the 4 course tasting menu. We were impressed by the attention to detail and the passion with which the combinations were put together. You can add on a couple more courses to make a 6 course tasting menu.

If you just want some simple dishes there is a different menu available in the bar area where you can’t book in advance. We also tried the tasting wine menu which is carefully selected to complement to food in the tasting menu and changes each time a new food menu appears.

Although it isn’t cheap for the 4 course or 6 course plus wine tasting menu, we felt it was good value if you are looking for a gastronomic experience, with complete harmony of food and wine.

We enjoyed the slowly cooked meats for which Basement is known with neck of suckling pig and reindeer tongue marinated in honey. Each course of food and wine being described in great detail to us as it was served.

Gothenburg Christmas Markets

The next morning we visited Kronhuset which is one of the oldest buildings in Gothenburg. It was originally an artillery store, with the buildings arranged around a courtyard. In the Kronhuset or Crown House we looked around the Christmas Market with many different craft and charity stalls.

We bought some Christmas decorations before coming into the Café Kronhuset to have a fika break with coffee and a cake. The atmosphere was very jolly and traditional with red tablecloths and a fire burning at one end.

At lunchtime we ate at restaurant Gabriel in the Feskekörka fish market – literally the Fish Church. The owner, Johan Malm, chatted with us about the seafood in Gothenburg.

Note: Restaurant Gabriel has now closed but there are a number of other restaurants and fish counters within Feskekörka, so check the website for businesses to visit. Johan Malm now runs Wine Mechanics, a winery and restaurant in the Gamlestaden neighbourhood of Gothenberg.

Gothenburg’s seafood tradition

We started with the famous Gothenburg oysters that had been caught the day before, accompanied by a glass of champagne. Then we tried different styles of marinaded herring followed by some fish soup. We washed it down with the local Ocean lager and snaps with the herring.

After lunch I learned from Johan that the seafood is a long tradition in Gothenburg. There’s water all around and fish has always been a major part of the diet in West Sweden.

The water is highly salted and very cold here and in winter it’s dark most of the time. So, the fish grow slowly in deep, cold water and that makes them very fresh and tasty.

At Gabriel they serve mainly locally caught fish and shellfish. Anything that is in the fish market can be served in the restaurant. There is a menu but it is just a guide for what you could eat. If you find something in the fish market that you’d like to try that’s not a problem.

They serve oysters, mussels, herring and the fish served changes with the season depending on when the fish are at their best. The month of December when we were there is the perfect time for oysters before it gets too cold.

The oyster opening champion

Johan was the oyster opening champion in the Galway championships in 2010 and told me how he came to be competing there. In Gothenburg they had a contest between all the different restaurants that serve oysters, to promote the fish restaurants in Gothenburg.

Johan won that competition which qualified him for the Swedish championships. There he came second enabling him to go to Ireland to attend the Galway contest. He had such fun over the 3 days that he decided to keep going back until he could become the world champion which happened in 2010.

At the contest in Galway each contestant opens 30 oysters per heat. Although in the Nordic championships they would open three times that so their hands are pretty sore at the end of the contest.

Oysters in Gothenburg

Johan prefers to serve the oysters very cold and fresh and as natural as possible with just a splash of lemon. The ones he served us were hand caught the day before. You can cook them as they do in the US and serve them with Tabasco, but Johan’s preference is to taste the natural flavours.

His recommendation is that you must chew the oyster and not just swallow it down if you want to get the full taste and flavour.

Liseburg Amusement Park

After our meal at Gabriel we hopped on an old fashioned wooden tram to take us to the entrance at Liseburg. This is biggest amusement park in Sweden which at Christmas becomes the biggest Christmas market.

We used our Gothenburg city card to get into Liseberg and found the whole park lit up with lights covering every branch of every tree. Fifty million of them and counting!

There were lots of stalls and rides and we just caught the end of the ice show. As it was the end of the day we were rather tired and the park was very crowded so we didn’t stay too long.

We took the tram back to Haga where there are cafes and shops and cobbled streets. But at 6pm on a Saturday night it was dead with hardly anyone there – they were all at Liseburg instead!

Eating out in Gothenburg

On our first day we had tried the good value lunchtime menu at the cosy restaurant, Sjobaren (The Sea Bar) in Haga which is typically served in many local restaurants for office workers. This normally comprises a choice of salad which you help yourself to from the bar, bread and a main dish.

Served with water and coffee, it’s a good way to try different local dishes if you’re on a budget. For £8-10 you can get a hot lunch with salad.

We also learned about the Swedish customs around snaps. This is spirit that’s drunk during all the main Swedish holidays at Easter, Christmas or in the summer at the crayfish parties. It works especially well with herring to cut through the slightly oily taste.

You can sip it or drink it down and there are many snaps drinking songs that encourage you to knock it back with the Swedish toast of Skol!

Haga working class district

On our last morning we returned to Haga, the old working class district of Gothenburg with pretty houses and narrow cobbled streets. There are many interesting shops and cosy cafes that are the ideal place to have a fika – the Swedish for coffee break.

This is where you might meet with friends for a coffee and a chat. Perhaps you’ll eat one of the enormous cinnamon buns or the saffron buns that are served at Christmas.

We found a space in Cafe Kringlan on the main street of Haga. Here we tried a huge cinnamon bun and found a Christmas market of stalls selling interesting food. There were choirs singing and a marching band parading along the main street of Haga Nygata.

After eating our way through some fantastic food, enjoying the atmosphere of the Christmas markets and seeing some of the sites of Gothenburg we’d highly recommend the city for a short break or for a longer visit to see something of the beautiful coast of West Sweden.

Places mentioned in the Podcast

Elite Plaza Hotel in Gothenburg – An elegant and stylish 5 star hotel. It’s housed in a 19th century building that was once the headquarters of a Swedish insurance company. Address; Västra Hamngatan 3 404 22 Göteborg. Check for the best hotel prices in Gothenburg and book here.

Strömmingsluckan – A food stand selling traditional fried herring with mashed potato and lingonberry sauce. It’s only open at lunchtime on weekdays. Address: Magasinsgaten 17, 411 18 Göteborg

Da Matteo – recommended for excellent coffee with two branches in the Magasingaten courtyard. One is a Panneteria where they make sourdough bread and I’ve heard they do excellent pizzas. There is another small branch in Viktoriapassagen.

Basement – this Michelin star restaurant is now closed, but chef Camilla Parkner now has another catering business and restaurant in Gothenburg.

Gabriel – now closed, but there are other restaurants and food stalls in the Feskekörka fish market.

Sjobaren– The Sea Bar situated on the main street at Haga which served excellent fish and seafood with good value lunch dishes. They also have a second restaurant at Lorensberg Address; Haga Nygata 25, 413 01 Göteborg

Liseberg – The biggest amusement park and Christmas market in Sweden with many rides and attractions for all ages – ideal for families.

Visitor Information for Gothenburg or Göteborg

• The local tourism site Göteborg.com is full of information on the best things to see and do
• For information on West Sweden visit the West Sweden Tourism site
• If you plan to do a lot of sightseeing it’s worth getting the Gothenburg City Card. This will allow you entrance to all the major attractions as well as public transport. Look out for the deals that some hotels offer that include a Gothenburg Card with the hotel booking.
• We stayed at the elegant 5 star hotel, Elite Plaza Hotel. It’s right in the centre of Gothenburg in the Inom Vallgraven district and walking distance from most things.
• We flew to Gothenburg from London Heathrow with Scandinavian airlines.

Music Credits: The entry music on the podcast is Venus as a girl by Andy McGee on Musicalley.com and other music was recorded on location in Gothenburg.

Thanks to West Sweden Tourism Board who hosted* our weekend break in Gothenburg

* More info on my policies page

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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