Imagine this to get your taste buds salivating….an amuse-bouche of crab with avocado and yellow tomato gelee, brochette of squid, scampi and bacon. Followed by seared scallops with smoked tuna and a gazpacho of tomato and lemon creme. Finally, the entree arrives. A filet of deer with jerusalem artichokes and carrots, orange and red (again!), and glazed pumpkin. Finally, a chocolate decadence with 4 differents types of chocolate presentations: mousse, gateaux, creme brulee and ice cream. All washed down with a sumptuous, unctious Brodeaux from Margaux.

This is Gastro, probably Helsingborg’s best. Indeed, much of Sweden would have to compete with this famous SLOW food style of cooking. Using only fresh ingredients with a nouvelle cuisine imitation of presentation, Gastro is a reflection of its name: a total committment to food at the highest level.

Niklas, also in Helsingborg, is a close second, but Gastro has the right instinct to understand what makes the patron happy. Service, decor and quality of food were in balance, and they did not have to work out any of the kinks in their fixed menu, as Niklas still had to do for its Winter menu. But while Helsingborg is a quiet city just over the bay from Copenhagen, its culture and its dining are on a first class cosmopolitan level. So when you decide to hop over the bay from Continental Europe to Scandinavia, stop in Helsingborg, drink some of the local Ramlosa water, hear a concert by its wonderful orchestra, and dine in the luxurious splendor of Gastro. There is proof finally of hot cuisine in a cold country.