August 15, 2010

Björns Bar

Björn Bar is one of my favourite places in town to get top notch food in a very laid back and relaxed environment. Placed in the basement of Kock & Vin, one of Gothenburg's Michelin star restaurants owned by Björn Persson, hence the name Björn's Bar.

A friend of mine and I usually go there once or twice a year to indulge on culinary delights such as duck liver, oysters, cheeses, sausages and hams. All paired with of course excellent wines.

On Friday my friend and I had both survived first week back at work after the holidays and of course a celebration was needed. Since you can't make a reservation you need to arrive early and that especially on a Friday night. We arrived around 6 pm and the place was already almost full. Neither of us was really hungry yet so we started with an Australian Riesling and catching up on things. Quickly we realised we hadn't talked properly since early May when we went to rosé wine tasting in pouring rain.

Sitting next to the bar I watched the chef prepare plates with foie gras, bleak roe, smoked deer, truffle salami, chorizo and pecorino cheese along with home made bread. After having seen four or five plates go out I just told my friend that's what I'm having tonight. My friend had been watching the chef as well and just like me her mouth was watering. Two gourmet platters please.

To drink our waiter recommended a full bodied golden Bourgogne with lots of oak. Pure heaven according to my taste buds, whereas my friend found it too oaky and went with a Portuguese wine that was more fruity and light.

I don't think I have had foie gras since my last trip to Paris almost 5 years ago. Nevertheless it tasted just like I remembered and more or less melted in my mouth. I'm pretty sure I uttered some Oh My God and heavy sighs. The roe was perfect too and even though I tried to savour every piece it was gone in two or three bites. The different cured meats and pecorino was absolutely amazing too. Talking a lot it probably took us an hour to finish. That's the nice thing with cold food. It never goes cold if you talk too much.

Deciding on desert was easy – Crème brûlée. On previous visits it had been perfect and this time was no exception. To match the vanilla and sugary top our waiter recommended us to try a South African desert wine. Golden brown with strong notes of raisins. Again it was a match made in heaven and we both sighed with delight.

When it was time to leave we both agreed that Björns Bar still is an epicurean heaven, and we'll come back for more, as always.