Food: food with a starting point in the Swedish food and taste tradition
Address: Johannebergsgatan 24, 412 55 Gothenburg, Sweden
Phone Number: +46 (0)31 81 25 80
Website: http://www.skmat.se/
E-mail: info@skmat.se
Guide Michelin: 1 star
What I paid: 180 € (8 course Tasting Menu, including water and wine pairing)
Visited: May 23, 2016

The chef and restaurateur Stefan Karlsson has changed the prestige luxury restaurant Fond against the heat of SK Mat & Människor (translates to SK Food & People were SK is the initials of Stefan Karlsson). Simple, joyful and personal is the motto and the tastefully designed restaurant is clinically clean of strained storytelling and novelties and has also received the architecture prize Golden Chair.

The restaurant consists of two sections; to the right of the entrance is the wine bar and to the left is the dining room. The dining room contains both regular tables and bar tables together with an open kitchen. The environment is snug and the chefs are integrated in the service work.

The restaurant has one star in the Guide Michelin (2016 edition) and is also rated as the number one restaurant in Gothenburg in regards to TripAdvisor (the latter is usually not a guarantee of anything, at least not anything positive…).

The restaurant has three different Tasting Menus (referred to as Sample Menus):

• 4 course (a 595 SEK)
• 6 course (715 SEK)
• 8 course (845 SEK)

All dishes in the menus could also be ordered a la carte.

We opted for the biggest menu (i.e. the 8 course sample menu) with an accompanying wine package (a 795 SEK, extra…).

Surprisingly and also disappointedly, there were no amuse-bouches starting this menu. Instead we just got some (home made) bread together with the first dish listed on the menu.

Home made bread

The Swedish crackers were really good and the two (soft) breads were also worthy.

GREEN ASPARAGUS

Green asparagus with cream of roasted artichoke and lemon, crispy chicken skin and crisps of artichoke.

GREEN ASPARAGUS

The chicken taste was pretty prominent, but not in a bad way, quite the contrary. This dish was especially tasty when all ingredients were mixed together.

The asparagus dish was welled paired with a Grüner Veltliner from Schloss Gobelsburg (Kamptal, Austria).

SLIGHTLY SMOKED HADDOCK

We could replace one of the original dishes on the menu (i.e. a salmon dish) against a slightly smoked haddock with golden beets, parsley, trout roe, oyster bullion and dried seaweed.

SLIGHTLY SMOKED HADDOCK

The ingredients in this dish complemented each other well and were also a good match with the Champagne from Tarlant (Epernay).

WHITE ASPARAGUS AAA

White asparagus AAA with beurre blanc, vendace roe from Piteå, chives and watercress.

WHITE ASPARAGUS

Even though I liked the dish, I do not think that the white asparagus was of the best possible quality. Also, I think this dish was a little bit generic.

Just a week prior to this dinner, I was served a very good dish of white Swedish (more specifically from Gotland) asparagus of uttermost quality and taste. I am therefore a little bit puzzled that a Swedish restaurant, which markets itself as “we serve dishes and menus with ingredients of the season and our Swedish food heritage”, serves German asparagus and not Swedish.

Paired with a Riesling from Mayer in Wien (Austria). I appreciated the wine pairing during virtually the entire dinner, but unfortunately not regarding this dish. I think a Riesling from Alsace with some residual sweetness would have been a better match.

LANGOUSTINE

Langoustine with crayfish mayonnaise, fried spinach and compressed celery and sunflower seeds.

LANGOUSTINE

Once again a good flavor combination, but I was a bit disappointed in regards to the quality of the langoustine itself.

Served with a Tement, Styria, Morllion, from Austria.

PORK BELLY

Pork belly with feta cheese, roasted cauliflower, ramson and grill jus.

PORK BELLY

I like pork and I particularly enjoyed the jus in this dish, but as a whole I think the plate was a bit bland. Good match with a Chianti Classico, Isole e Olena (Tuscany, Italy).

VARIATION OF LOCAL LAMB

Variation of local lamb with carrots, spring cabbage, black pepper, thyme and tangy lamb jus.

VARIATION OF LOCAL LAMB

I liked this dish of lamb, but it was on the other hand probably not a dish I will remember. That said, I appreciate the different textures used in the dish.

Matched with a Syrah (‘Le Pousseur‘) from Bonny Doon Vineyard (Santa Cruz, US).

SELECTION OF SWEDISH CHEESES

A selection of Swedish cheeses (from Vilhelmsdals gårdsmejeri) with marmalade and crisp bread.

SELECTION OF SWEDISH CHEESES

I was a little bit ambivalent about the composition of this dish, which for me resembles more of a dessert than anything else.

Good match with the wine Baumard, Coteaux de Layon, Loire (France).

SWEDISH STRAWBERRIES

Swedish strawberries with pine spruce, meringue, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and grated walnuts.

SWEDISH STRAWBERRIES

The pine spruce shoots are in season now in Sweden and they contributed to a good acidity to this dessert that finalized this dinner.

A good wine match with a Moscato di Asti from the producer G.D.Vajra (Piemonte, Italy).

Again, surprised and disappointed that no petits fours (as no amuse-bouches in the beginning) were served in this menu (which is their biggest one).

Summary: The wines are predominantly focused on Europe but with the impact of some of USA’s and South Africa’s best producers. Our specific dinner had a focus mainly on Austrian wines, which I personally think was both interesting and good.

This is a restaurant that managed to combine luxury with comfort, quality and warmth. I think a majority of the people would appreciate most things served here and even though that is sympathetic, it also make the restaurant in some instances a little bit “generic”. My main criticism is that I would have preferred to experience some more surprises and at least occasionally some more daring combinations.

A visit to the SK Mat & Människor offers ambience and a friendly reception and the nice atmosphere make us happy to visit the pub again.