ÄNG at Ästad Vingård – four hours in a greenhouse, and probably our best dining experience ever

+42 +40

The way in and the bar

Dinner is booked in fixed slots, and ours started at 5.15pm. You walk down along a stunning avenue lined with wild meadow flowers, beautiful lighting and speakers hidden in the grass – so even on the way in, you get that exclusive feeling. A waiter is waiting at the door to welcome you, and after a short introduction to the place you are seated in the bar or the lounge. We sat in the bar.

Here you choose between three champagnes, and then the first snacks start arriving. A small note: the champagne is not part of the wine pairing, it comes on top – but they do tell you this. Personally I think it should have been included in the wine pairing, because with the delicious snacks being served, it would have felt wrong to skip the champagne.

Snacks in the bar

I'm not that keen on completely raw shellfish, and although the website points out that the menu is normally difficult to change, they were really kind and flexible. Several of my courses were adapted while Jes had the original versions – and that was genuinely great.

Jes started with a mussel from Norway, beautifully served in its shell on seaweed, while I had a crisp tartlet with vendace roe. Then came a small crisp cabbage bite with cabbage from Tångagård and a mushroom tartlet with, among other things, Gammel Knas and a cheese foam. And then the caviar – Jes had caviar from Rossini with raw prawn underneath, and my version was adapted with pickled pumpkin and caviar on top. Very beautiful and quite wonderful. From the very start it was a true Michelin experience.

The wine cellar

After the snacks you are taken down one floor by lift, where the sommelier welcomes you. You walk through an impressive wine cellar and hear the story of the cellar and the bottles, and this is where you choose between the wine pairing, the juice pairing or a pairing of sparkling wines. We chose the classic wine pairing. Note that the pairings are not included in the price of the dinner.

At the end of the wine cellar the doors open onto the main restaurant – and it simply feels magical. The restaurant sits right down at lake level with views over the lake and the birdlife, and there is plenty of space between the tables.

The food in the main restaurant

We started with a glass of ÄNG's own sparkling wine – the grapes are grown about 100 metres from the restaurant. Then the courses began. First something with stinging nettle from Ästad, then Arctic char from Lake Lando with a kimchi-like element – it ate almost like salmon. Each course came with a wine, and the empty bottle was placed on the table so you could see the label. A small detail that worked really well.

Jes had scallop from Frøya with brioche and a sour/sweet, creamy element. My version was made with rolled, seared kohlrabi with the same cream – and goodness, it actually became one of my favourites. Then deep-sea prawns from Norway – raw with a light sauce for Jes, lightly cooked for me. Then a bread course with very crisp sourdough baked with rye and wheat from Berte Qvarn, meaning flour from local farmers, and later grilled langoustine from Bua with a wonderful sauce and a kind of broken gel.

The main course was duck from Söderslätt: a red, juicy and rich piece of duck with semi-crisp skin, plus small snacks with a duck mousse that tasted somewhere in the direction of foie gras.

Cheese in the wine bar

Next we were led into the wine bar, where heavier red wines came out – two glasses for this part. The house cheese course looked like a strawberry cheesecake but was savoury – Den Hvide Dame on a biscuit base. Alongside it, a crisp bite of crispbread with white-mould cheese cream and grated Arla Unika cheese, plus a small caviar bite with Jerusalem artichoke. Absolutely delicious.

The sweets and the coffee

Finally we came back up from the cellar, and then came the sweets – koji ice cream with a special sauce, a small waffle with salted caramel, and with the coffee a gummy-like confection with honey from Ätradalen and a rich chocolate bite made with chocolate from Malmö. By the time we got up, roughly four hours had passed, and the timing had been spot on the whole way through.

Service

The service was incredibly competent, kind and attentive. The staff created a wonderful flow throughout the evening, and although the standard is very high, there isn't an ounce of snobbery. The fact that they also adapted the menu for me without making a fuss about it says something about the place.

Price and level

We had bought the dinner as a package together with an overnight stay at Ästad Vingård. If you just book a table, the tasting menu costs 2,900 SEK and the wine pairing 2,000 SEK per person – and the champagne in the bar comes on top. It's a lot of money, yes, but with that level of food, service and surroundings we honestly think it's worth it. (Not sponsored)