SWEDEN. NORWAY. DENMARK
Stockholm restaurants--Malmö--Storvik--Gothenburg--Christiana--
Copenhagen--Elsinore.
Stockholm
Of all the restaurants in the capital of Sweden the Hasselbacken, in the
Royal Djurgarten Park, is the most interesting to visit should it be
open, which it is from the beginning of March till the end of September.
During the early part of the season Tziganes play in one of the small
rooms, whereas in summer a somewhat noisy orchestra plays in the garden.
The price of dinner, _à prix fixe_, is 3 kronor 50 öre; this includes
soup, fish, meat, _relevé_ (generally a Swedish guinea-fowl called
_hjärpe_) and ice. Wine and coffee are of course extra.
The Hasselbacken is often used for the giving of banquets of ceremony,
but the dinner at 3 kr. 50 öre is more likely to interest the stranger
within the gates than the more extensive feasts, so I give a typical
menu of this very reasonably priced repast:--
Purée à la Reine.
Saumon fumé aux Epinards.
Selle de Mouton aux Légumes.
Gelinottes rôties. Salade.
Soufflée au Citron.
Quite one of the best restaurants is in the Hôtel Continental opposite
the Railway Station. The food here is excellent, _tornedos_ (1 kr. 50
öre) and _nässelkalsoppa_, an excellent soup made from a sort of young
nettle, being specialities. The prices are slightly cheaper than those
of the Hasselbacken.
Operakällaren is a very good restaurant and one of the most popular.
They serve here a _déjeuner_ at 1 kr. 50 öre consisting of an excellent
dish of eggs (a speciality of the place) and meat and cheese or
so-called "sweet" (generally a very unwholesome stale cake with cream).
The _table-d'hôte_ dinners are excellent, one being at 3 kr. 50 öre and
the other at 2 kr. 50 öre; the first consisting of soup (thick soups
being a speciality of the place), fish, entrée, meat, and _relevé_
(generally _hjärpe_), with a _compote_ of Swedish berries called lingon
(a sort of cranberry) and an indifferent sweet or ice. Here, as in most
Swedish eating-places, objection is taken to coffee being served in the
restaurants, people being requested to take it in the café, which is
generally the next room. Supper is served at the Operakällaren, and the
restaurant is crowded for this meal. It costs 2 kronor and consists of a
_smörgasbord_ or copious _hors-d'oeuvre_, an entrée, and meat.
The Grand Hotel is fairly popular, owing to the smartness of the
dining-room and the "swagger" way in which meals are served. The food is
not as good as the decorations. The lunch costs 2 kr. 50 öre and the
dinner 3 kr. 50 öre.
The Hôtel Rydberg is also most popular, and the food is good. A great
feature is made here, as everywhere, of the _smörgasbord_ (literally
"bread and butter") table, which has a room to itself and on which are a
score or more of dishes, there being some wonderful combinations of
smoked eels and other fish and eggs amongst them. There are from five to
thirty of these dishes, all delicate and appetising. The guests eat them
standing. In the same room is a huge plated spirit-stand containing a
number of different spirits, white brandy called "Branvin," and other
drinks resembling Vodka. The crayfish, _krâftor_, a little larger than
the French ones, excellent in flavour and served in a terrine, the
_bisque_ soup, _caviar_ served, as of course it should be, on a bed of
ice are good at the Rydberg and the cook manages to make even a
ptarmigan toothsome. It is a favourite place for people to sup at after
the theatre. The _table-d'hôte_ dinner costs 3 kr. 50 öre and the lunch
2 kr. 50 öre. Caloric punch is a favourite drink here, as elsewhere in
Sweden, and two men think nothing of drinking a bottle between them
after dinner or supper.
The Café du Nord is very crowded and very popular, although more
bourgeois than the others. The food is good, meals being served mostly
_à la carte_. A good _filet de boeuf_ costs about 90 öre. The business
men who mostly patronise this café dine from 3 to 4 P.M. Many people
sup there in the evening. There are some excellently painted pictures in
black and gold, rather daring and French in subject, on the walls.
There are also the Café Anglais (fairly good) and the Hamburger Börs.
The Berns' Salonger, the Blanch Café and Strömparterren are cafés where
coffee, punch, liqueurs, and sandwiches may be had. The former is the
only one open in summer and winter, the two latter being opened on 1st
May without regard to the temperature, and closed on 30th September.
Malmö
At Malmö, which is the landing place from Kiel, there is a good dinner
or lunch obtainable at the big hotel with twin turrets which faces the
statue to Gustavus Adolphus.
Storvik
At Storvik, a station on the Storlieu line, there is a restaurant which
is celebrated throughout Sweden. You are charged 2 kronor, which is the
price of a meal at all railway refreshment rooms, and help yourself at a
big central table, crayfish soup, fish, meat, poultry, game, and sweets
all being included in the meal, and a glass of light beer.
Gothenburg
The restaurant of the Haglund is a good one, and I give one of the menus
of its dinner at 3 kronor:--
SOPPA.
Potage à la Parmentier.
FISK.
Saumon grillée à la maître d'hôtel.
KÖTTRÄTT.
Langue de Boeuf Garni. Sauce aux Olives, ou Fricandeau de veau aux
pois.
STEK.
Poulet à la Printanier. Compotes.
EFTERRÄTT.
Bavaroise hollandaise ou Framboises.
National Dishes
There are very few Swedish national dishes, milk, cream, butter, and
fish being, however, excellent. The _Smörgasbord_ is the great
institution of the country. _Plättar_, or Swedish pancakes, are also
good.
Norway
Norway is by no means a happy hunting ground for the gourmet. Salmon,
halibut, and ptarmigan are the usual luxuries, and they pall on the
palate after a time. The Hôtel Victoria at Christiana is well spoken of
in the matter of cooking, and the Brittania at Throndhjem is said to
cater well considering the latitude it is situated in.
Denmark
From the gourmet's point of view there is little to write as to the
Copenhagen restaurants. That of the Hôtel d'Angleterre is good, and a
good word can also be said for the cooking at the Hôtel Phoenix.
The Tivoli Gardens are the summer resort of Copenhagen, and all classes
patronise them, rich and poor both being catered for. They are a
magnified Earl's Court, with the Queen's Hall and the booths from a
French fair added. There are restaurants of all kinds at the Tivoli,
some being very popular and surprisingly cheap. One of these
restaurants, the Danish one, is of interest and gives a very good
national meal for 3 kronor.
The Café National is an excellent place at which to sup, cold poached
eggs in aspic being one of the delicacies of the house.
All the world makes expeditions to Elsinore, or as the Danes, regardless
of Shakespeare, call it, Helingsör. There in the Marienlyst you may see
Hamlet's grave, which is so excellently built up that one would believe
it to be really the burial place of a Viking, and you can lunch at the
Kursaal, whence there is a delightful view across the Sound to Sweden.
There is a second park at Elsinore where Ophelia's pool is shown.
The meals in Denmark are preceded by a feast of little delicacies,
"sandwiches with the roof off" as they have been aptly described, which
both men and ladies eat as they stand and chat before going into lunch
or dinner, as is the custom in Sweden and Russia also.
N.N.-D.