Koka: Modern Swedish Food in Gothenburg

I was jetlagged in Stockholm, and eating from campfires in Lapland, so it fell on Gothenburg, my last stop in Sweden, to provide a fine dining experience.

Lucky for me, Sweden's second-largest city is home to six Michelin-starred restaurants. Koka is one of them.

Opened in 2014 by chefs Johan Björkman and Jonas Larsson, Koka offers an affordable, casual fine dining atmosphere.

The menu provides diners with a choice of three, five, or seven-course meals made using local, organic ingredients.

The three-course dinner, which I ordered in the interest of time, is just 545 Swedish Krona, or about $57 based on the current exchange rate.

A five-course dinner costs $77, and the seven-course meal is $97.

Dishes feature traditional west Swedish ingredients, such as cod, clams, and oysters.

Table of Contents show

3-Course Dinner at Koka

Upon being seated, I immediately appreciated the small, modern light fixture built into the table.

Attention to good lighting makes me happy!

All the cutlery needed for dinner were stacked to my right in a custom wooden tray.

I was presented with a warm broth to drink, followed by a waffle and caviar cream snack, and two types of Swedish bread.

The butter was slathered on a rock, which served no other purpose than it was a cool way to present it.

I had become a big fan of Swedish butter during my two weeks in the country.

It's usually presented soft, at room temperature, with a few salt flakes on top. Swedish butter will spoil you.

1. Clams, broad beans, tomato, and Verbena

The first course was soup with clams and broad beans.

I don't usually eat clams; however, they tasted fine here. It felt and looked healthy, too.

Cod, parsley, mushrooms, and horseradish combine as an example of modern Swedish food at Koka — 2. Cod, parsley, mushrooms, and horseradish

My main course was a cod dish that came covered in ribbons of white something.

I don't recall what, though I did find it odd that they covered the whole dish, hiding the fish and mushrooms underneath.

3. Fermented plums, coffee ice cream, and hazelnuts

Dessert was my favorite course. Housemade coffee ice cream and hazelnuts were covered in colorful fermented plum shavings.

It was pretty to look at and fun to eat.

And last, but not least, a delicious snack was offered at the end of the meal.

Had I not needed to get to the closing party of the Adventure Travel World Summit my last evening in Gothenburg, I would've taken the time to eat the five or seven-course meal.

While I'm happy to have gotten a taste for the cuisine at Koka, three courses didn't feel like enough.