The best meal that we ate in Sweden ( yes, even more amazing that the "best pasta ever") was our dinner at Fem Sma Hus. Fem Sma Hus translates to "Five Small Rooms" and is comprised of five houses that were joined together to form the restaurant. We dined in the oldest of the houses called Hans Hanssons Hus, which was built in 1651.
After reading the menu posted outside of the restaurant...
we entered through an enormous wood door.
Fem Sma Hus is a maze of staircases and small rooms. We were led through the restaurant, which was lit primarily by candlelight, downstairs to our table, in what felt like a cave or wine cellar. If you attempt to go to the restroom during your meal, you will definitely have trouble finding your table, especially after a few glasses of wine!
I wanted to taste a traditional Swedish meal, so we ordered the Meny Gamla Stan, a four course meal with wine pairings.
Before the first course, we were given amazing crusty bread with sweet butter that immediately melted.
Our first course was Vendace Bleak Row ( black caviar), served on toast with sour cream and chives. If this had been my only course, I could have died happy.
Our second course was a reindeer steak covered in a red wine sauce and served with mashed potatoes. Dan described the way reindeer tastes as a cross between beef and duck. The meat is incredibly tender and rich. Sorry Rudolph, this may just be my new favorite meat. I devoured my entire meal.
Our third course is where we went wrong. Having eyes bigger than our stomachs, we added on a cheese course. The cheese course was delicious, but in efforts to save what little room I had left for dessert, I only took a nibble of everything. If you eat at Fem Sma Hus, don't go for the cheese. It's simply too much food!
Dessert was a white chocolate brownie covered with a Scandinavian fruit called cloudberries. Cloudberries taste like a mild version of a raspberry. The picture below makes the berries appear to be pink, but they were pale yellow in color.
Our dinner at Fem Sma Hus was excellent in every way. It was a highlight of our vacation and one of the best meals that I have ever eaten.