Food:  modern creative fish- and seafood
Address: Lilla Torget 1, 411 18 Gothenburg, Sweden
Phone Number:  +46 (0)31 10 10 05
Website:  www.fiskekrogen.se
What I paid:   170 € (tasting menu per person including wine-pairing)
Visited:  April 22, 2015

Gothenburg, located on the Swedish West Coast, is the main hub for Fish- and Seafood in Sweden.  The city is also home to the biggest fish auction in the country (e.g. almost all fish sold in the Stockholm restaurants are bought on this auction) and virtually all fish coming from Norway (for the Swedish market) is sold here.

Restaurant Fiskekrogen translates to the “Fish tavern” but it’s a pretty formal restaurant rather than a tavern. As the name indicates it’s a place specializing in Fish- and Seafood and its motto is “the best the sea has to offer”.

The historic property where Fiskekrogen is located dates back to the middle of the 17th century. The place has been a restaurant since 1929 and has had the name Fiskekrogen since 1972.

HOZE (nickname of  José Cerdá but also the name of his restaurant) on the other hand is the new kid on the block and is running his Neo-Japanese fish- and sushi restaurant in another part of the city since a couple of years back. Hoze embodies a style of dining where fish- and seafood from the Scandinavian coast meets Japanese cooking traditions. HOZE practice the Edomae sushi style using fish- and seafood from the Scandinavian waters.

Restaurant Bifångst (which translates to by-catch in English), which this post is about, is a collaboration between Fiskekrogen and Hoze. Bifångst is located in the middle of restaurant Fiskekrogen, so it’s a restaurant in the restaurant.

At Bifångst, old-school (or should we say classical…) traditions meets modern innovations. However, don´t expect any traditional fish dishes on the menu, though New Nordic Cuisine with influences from both Japan and the Mediterranean is what dominates (if you want to go with the classical stuff; change table and eat at Fiskekrogen instead…). José Cerdá (aka Hoze) is the “creative” leader but he still runs his own restaurant (which I think is one, if not the, best restaurant in Gothenburg. You can read about my latest visit to Hoze here. You can also check out my last visit to Fiskekrogen here)

There are no à la carte or set menus at Bifångst. Instead you choose the size of the menu wanted in accordance to;

1. A small one with about eight dishes for 595 SEK.
2. A larger menu with about 15 servings a 995 SEK

The individual dishes varies with season and availability. We opted for the larger menu and this is what we had:

Amusements:

Klova herring (left) and Savoy cabbage with caviar (right)

The dinner started with two small nibbles. First a nip of Savoy cabbage with caviar and then a small bite of Klova herring on a brioche with a black pepper crème and some bits of reindeer. A good start!

Oyster 62C:

Oyster 62C

Oyster (prepared at 62 C) with a purée of peas topped with some kind of granité. I liked it but I would say that this dish was “Oysters for beginners” though the peas dominated this dish and you could hardly sense the oyster taste.

Rose fish:

Rose fish and trout roe

A pleasant dish consisting of rose fish (Sebastes norvegicus), trout roe and scallion that got its tartness from a juice of Granny Smith apples.

Tart scallop

I like tart food and this good oyster from Hitra in Norway had its tartness originating from lemon (surprisingly though I could not trace any hints of sourness). Even the grated fungus, which topped the meal, gave a slight acidity. A very good dish that I maybe wanted to be even tarter. Acidity on the other hand should never dominate a fine raw material (i.e. the scallop in this case)…

Swedish turnip muille fuille

Swedish turnip with some kind of roe and cream.

Norwegian lobster:

Norway lobster

Norwegian lobster with a powder of burnt lobster shells and chips on Foie Gras and oats. Good!

Sirloin steak:

Sirloin steak

Sirloin steak with roasted savoy cabbage and an emulsion of miso and yuzu.

Bread a la Bifångst:

Bread a la Bifångst

Bladderwrack seaweed crisp bread, almost burned cream and vendace roe (Kalix löjrom).

Chawanmushi

Chawanmushi (“steamed in a tea bowl”) is a kind of egg custard found in Japan. This dish was very salty and smoky and was in a much need of a matching wine (or other beverage), which we also got… I suspect that some may not adore this dish but I like it when certain things stand out a bit, especially in a menu with about 15 servings.

Koshihikari:

Risotto

Risotto of Koshihikari (a type of sushi rice) with ramsons (Allium ursinum).

Koshihikari was first created in 1956, by combining two different strains of Nourin No.1 and Nourin No.22 at the Fukui Prefectural Agricultural Research Facility. It has become very popular in Japan, in part thanks to its good appearance.

Whiting fish:

Whiting fish

Whiting, heavily roasted onion (leek?) …

Fried cream:

Fried cream

Fried cream and red beets.

Yeast ice cream:

Yeast ice cream

Yeast ice cream, salted yogurt, honey and sour dough flakes. The yeasty part of this dish really supplemented the sweetness present in a really nice way.

Dessert and coffee:

Dessert with coffee

French toast with cream of artichoke with vanilla and cinnamon together with coffee from Per Nordby Coffee Roastery ended this dinner.

Wine pairing for this menu (a 595 SEK):

• Pol Roger – Brut Vintage – 2004
• Pazo Barrantes – Albariño – 2012?
• Markus Molitor – Haus Klosterberg – 2013
• Domaine Pinson – Chablis Premier Cru Mont-de-Milieu – 2012
• I Vignaioli di S. Stefano – Moscato d’Asti

Summary: I really enjoyed Bifångst and you can definitely trace the presence of Hoze in many dishes (which I think is positive). Even though I liked most of the things served, there is still room for further improvements. I consider restaurant Bifångst a much-welcomed alternative on the Gothenburg food scene. Well worth a visit!