Food & Drink
A Taste of Fäviken
Magnus Nilsson’s Fäviken has been rated as one of the best restaurants in the world. (Check out our look at Nilsson and his success here.)
We tracked down an American who recently ate at Fäviken to hear about the dining experience.
Wanda Lee, a foodie from San Francisco who has dined at other Michelin-starred restaurants, such as Benu, Gary Danko, The French Laundry and Eleven Madison Park, said it was the best meal of her life.
After watching the Netflix series “Chef’s Table,” Lee and her boyfriend (who is of Swedish decent) decided to plan a trip around a meal at Fäviken, while also traveling throughout Sweden and Norway.
“There is no shortage of hoops to jump through when the starting point is in San Francisco,” Lee said of their long journey to Järpen, Sweden. “First you have to book the room at their inn, then make the reservation at the restaurant – in that order. Then you book your flights, trains, car rentals, to get to Fäviken.”
Upon their arrival to dinner, Nilsson and his culinary team greeted guests at the door.
“It was cozy, elegant, simple and very sophisticated all at the same time,” Lee said of the restaurant. “When I recalled the memories of my palate and the dinner that evening, I’d have to say each dish shined in its own way.”
Lee shared some of the dishes she tasted with us, along with her dining notes.
Scallops
“I’ve had quite a few scallops in my life living in San Francisco, and my travels to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Thailand and China. One of the things I really enjoyed was that it was an undressed scallop. It went into the fire and they had cleaned up all of the muscles, but this was the scallop’s purest taste and sweetness of the ocean.”
Crab Leg
“Similarly, the crab leg tasted amazing. The juiciness and the fullness of crab flavor was not expected by this simple plate. The burnt cream that was included to taste with gave the crab a more complex flavor. The crab was almost too sweet for its own good and had to be corralled by some of this burnt cream.”
Egg Rolled in Sheep’s Dung Dust
“I loved how they included some very traditional dishes prepared in similar to traditional ways. This is egg rolled in sheep’s dung dust? I think this was also on the Netflix episode.”
Ice Cream
“I’ve been to a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants and one of the reasons why I’d consider Fäviken one of my favorite is the fact that it was not just dinner, it was an experience. You learned about the culture, the history, they explained the land and the animals that contributed to the flavor that you would taste. This is one small scoop of ice cream. I could have had the whole bucket if they’d allow it. It was creamy, buttery, just sweet enough but not quite what you’d experience in a commercial ice cream, but more like a creamy palate cleanser. It was so delicious that my boyfriend couldn’t wait to have a full glass of milk at breakfast the next day.”
Seeds
“On the top circular container they served different seeds rolled in colored sugars. There were blueberry seeds, star anise seeds, mint seeds, etc. All the candies were delicious and interesting as I’ve never had something like this before.”
Breakfast
“The breakfast the next day was just as wonderful. It was much shorter and everything was already on the table. We love the ‘wet’ bread that they served and slobbered it with lots of the butter.”
