Are Japanese-Scandinavian restaurants the new trend in Sydney? Following Edition Coffee Roasters in Darlinghurst comes Sven-San, at the top of Oxford Street in Paddington, just across from an entrance to Centennial Park. It looks rather casual from the outside (and has outdoors seating and a casual cafe) but we found the interior very classy and contemporary.
What I didn’t know at the time was that Sven-San isn’t really trying to do a fusion of Japanese and Nordic cuisines; there just happens to be both cuisines on the menu. And why not?
We ordered a few dishes to try. Their version of Japanese fried chicken was light and crisp and savoury with a tasty mayo.
The paté was moreish; served with perfectly crisp homemade crackers, I couldn’t get enough of it.
We thought we should try something recognisably Scando and why not the meatballs? With dill, lingonberry sauce, some cucumbers, and gravy, this was (thankfully) a step up from the IKEA version (which I admit I love).
We had a casual meal with only these dishes, but there’s the option if coming with more friends to try more dishes, and I think to make a more formal occasion of it. In the end, we sort of forgot about what cuisine the dishes were supposed to be and just enjoyed the flavours. I’d go back!