It's very difficult to reach Fäviken, as it's situated literally in the middle of nowhere, in Northern Sweden, far from any airport. And because of the Scandinavian prices, it's not even affordable to take a taxi, nor to rent a car to get there. But luckily it's so difficult to book, that you probably won't have to deal with this problem. But if you are lucky enough to get one of the few rooms in the building, you'll get probably the best breakfast in the world. This is it:
Funnily enough, the legendary chef, Magnus Nilsson joined the team as a sommelier at first. But they couldn't find anyone to run the kitchen in this remote place, so eventually he decided to become the chef himself. It wasn't a bad idea at all...
They say sometimes the sun comes out, but even in rain and fog, it's very cosy and has a nice atmosphere. Rumour has it, it's even nicer in the deep snow during wintertime.
There are 6 rooms in total on the estate, all of them double, with a Spartan furnishing, but with good design and atmosphere. And there's a common sauna as well, where some drinks of the house and homemade charcuterie help the regeneration.
Breakfast is at least as ceremonial and military-like as the dinner. It starts at 9am sharp, and follows a preset order. (Apparently someone actually once managed to convince the breakfast staff to make the table earlier - some begging was involved.)
Obviously, the ingredients are of the best quality and local. Mostly everything is prepared by the restaurant. And everything is fabulous.
This is what I'm talking about:
liver pâté made of wild birds (a bit of aspic on the top), smoked trout with caramelised (brown) butter, fresh cheese and of course, butter...but oh what a butter...
Aged ham and smoked reindeer heart, and Oviken cheese:
Porridge, from the leftovers of the on-site brewery, with cloudberry and homemade yoghurt:
and compote on the side:
Rhubarb nectar:
Caviar (pureed trout roe) and lovage salt (to go with the soft boiled egg):
Soft boiled egg:
Two types of sourdough bread:
Warm hallongrotta, fresh from the oven. Swedish biscuits with raspberry jam (literally called raspberry cave), served on hot stone:
And some pictures.
There's not a huge choice but everything on the table is wonderful, real and local, of course.
If you want to give it a try, be ready on 1 April (it's not a joke!) for the reservations for the summer and autumn period. And if you manage to get a table, don't wait with the room reservation either!
What was your best breakfast experience so far?
