Koka in Göteborg

Before I headed to Göteborg, I coincidentally happened to order the latest edition of “Where Chefs Eat”. If you haven’t heard of it, it kind of does what the title suggests: it outlines restaurants where chefs eat. It claims to be “The Ultimate Insiders’ Guide” spanning “From Local Favourites To High End”. I benchmarked it based on the Chicago picks: thanks to a very good gastronomic education in the second city, I was able to deduce that this book has some good picks in it.

Buy the book. It’s great. £10.47 on Amazon.co.uk

Flicking to the Göteborg page it talks about a place called Koka:

“Having started life as a French bistro in 2000, Bjorn Persson’s Kock & Vin only started taking shape in 2006 when the restaurateur bought the cellar below, upgraded the kitchen and set his sights on creating a world class restaurant. Eight years later, the restaurant has a new name, a new food philosophy and its modern Swedish cuisine has a Michelin star. However, Koka remains very much a Gothenburg establishment: the menu brims with west-coast produce- salted herring, seaweed, nettles, lovage, langoustine, lingonberry. If you indulge in the seven-course taking menu, you’ll appreciate the comfortable pared-back dining room; opt for the three course dinner and you’ll grab yourself a bargain”

You can book online, and the first table available was at 9pm. Apparently, in trying to work my way through the Swedish, I had selected the 3 course menu. Fine by me- the book recommended it, after all.

When you arrive, the restaurant is beautiful; each table lit with its own simple black lamp. The cutlery is laid in its own little bed, and the waitress pulled out an envelope from underneath the wooden frame. In it, was a typed menu with our three courses (and the option for a cheese course), along with a correlating wine menu to go with the food. We opted for the wine menu (400 SEK per person). And the cheese. In for a penny, in for a pound. Or a Kroner…

There is a small bowl next to our left. The waitress pours a broth from a kettle into it, and we sip it from the bowl. She tells us it’s vegetable broth- I have no idea how they can make vegetables taste so good though!

So, the first dish comes- an Amuse Bouche. Delicate. Small. Raw shrimp with elderflower mayonnaise topped with carrots and roasted shrimp shells. Delicious. But small. Is this one of those amazing meals where you’re still hungry?

Just as that fear flickers across my face, beautiful sour dough and crisp bread arrives in a Scandinavian grey felt bowl. Next to the bowl for the broth there was a stone. The waitress comes with a bowl of hand churned butter with sea salt flakes. Seriously. This is the best butter I have EVER tasted. It comes with wooden butter knives. I loved them, and bought some in the airport to use up my last few Kroner!

The starter then arrives: raw cod with oysters and celery. I really don’t like celery, but this is delicious: it was like unwrapping a gift. Every bite was amazing and the dish was paired with a 2013 Riesling Trocken Weingut Wittmann Rheinhessen, Tyskland. It wasn’t that sickly sweet Riesling though, it was light. Refreshing. Lovely.

We then moved on to the main course: lamb, leeks and caraway cheese. This lamb was evenly pink and just melted. It was served with red wine, a 2005 San Guglielmo Magnum Malvira, Langhe. A perfect match- I know nothing about wine- but it matched!

We opted for the cheese- the Wrangebacksost which had been aged for 18 months and was served with poppy seed crispbread.

Then, we had the dessert. I am not an egg eater, but I ate this. There was a full, raw egg yolk in here, but it didn’t taste…eggy…it was sweet with the caramel and the buckwheat gave a biscuit crumb. This was served with a strong, sweet dessert wine: 2001 Moscatel de Setubal, JP Vinhos. Very strong. And, at this stage, glass of wine number five of the evening (and it wasn’t the last).

Finally, a pretty finale: cardamom cream with ligonberries.

Such a beautiful restaurant with impeccable service. Every dish was phenomenal: it forces you out of your normal selections to taste new ingredients served in new ways. Definitely highly recommended, and whilst expensive (not quite “grab yourself a bargain”, Where Chefs Eat!), is totally worth it for the experience alone!