Hidden gems in Tokyo – Swedish Restaurant in Kichijoji
I really have to shape up and cut loose from this “one post a month” routine I’ve got going here… I can only blame one thing – work. And lazyness. I can blame work and lazyness. And lack of ideas. I can blame three things: work, lazyness, and lack of ideas….
Anyway, recently we went to Kichijoji to visit a Swedish restaurant called “Allt Gott” (which means “Everything Good”). We had tried one time before to go there for lunch on a Saturday without a reservation, but then we were denied! Apparantly it is really really popular. So, this time around we made a reservation for dinner, and went. And boy, were we up for a positive surprise!
First of all, it’s not a very big restaurant – it seats about 20 people or so. The atmosphere is hard tro describe, but it feels very Scandinavian “At-Home”. Not overly done with logging and pine furniture, but actually very cozy and it felt kind of Swedish. Sure, there were some Scandinavian touristy things spread around the place, but not at all to the level of that other Swedish restaurant in Tokyo, Lilla Dalarna.
I chose one of the special courses (they have courses between 3,000 – 5,000 yen – quite reasonable if you ask me) which featured herring (naturally), salmon (of course), reindeer (a must!), deer meat with lingonberry sauce and for dessert, cloudberry sherbet. It sounds a bit cheesy and “too” Scandinavian perhaps, but the food really showed the best of Swedish/Scandinavian cuisine. Honestly, and being Swedish I can say this, the food is NOT what Sweden is famous for out in the world (except IKEA’s meat balls) but here is a restaurant that manages to scrape together the few things in Swedish culinary tradition that is really good and make something really great out of it.
To top it off, as we were celebrating the birthday of my wife’s best friend, we had ordered a birthday cake – which they happily baked for us in the restaurant (with one day’s notice! Amazing!) – and it was a delightful and delicious ending to a wonderful dinner.
I can highly recommend this restaurant. It is in my opinion the best of the three Swedish restaurants in Tokyo.
Unfortunately, the restaurant does not have their own web page, but do a search for “Allt Gott” or 「アルト ゴット」 and you will find restaurant reviews which gives you more details about the restaurant. I also attach a scan of their business card which shows a map and their address/phone number.
By the way, Kichijoji is something of a hidden gem in itself if you haven’t been there before. (To get there, take the JR Chuo-line towards Tachikawa.) It’s sort of like a slightly more laid back Shimo-Kitazawa or Sengenjaya. It’s has lots of small coffee shops, restaurants and speciality boutiques etc. Just a warning – don’t go by car on the weekend, because the traffic into the town center is a nightmare!
This is excellent. I have never tried Swedish food before. What was the service like? Are Swedes employed there? Thanks a lot for the information. I will check it out.
The service was good, nothing to remark on there.
No, there were no Swedes working there at all. The chef was Japanese, too – but he must have either travelled to Sweden a lot or lived there, because it tasted genuine.
Johan,
I have a question for you about one of your blog entries from earlier in the year. Could you please e-mail me at dallasfoodevents at yahoo,com ? I would really appreciate it.
Thanks.
Scott
What happened to cutting loose from the ‘one post a month’ routine? =P
Not going too well, Sara, not going too well…
I’ve totally lost all inspiration… Darn I need some strange culture shock to get me started again!
Looks like an interesting place to visit. I’ve just started a map of cool places to visit in Tokyo:
http://www.mapme.com/map/tokyoneighbourhoods
Maybe you’d like to add some of your own spots and photos to the map?
i read your article..the things you have written sound very sincere and nice topics i am looking forward to its continuation.
Hello!
I am a 45 yeo man living in Sweden.
, I have more and more then
Have been in Tokyo 2 times as a turist.
Since we all only live 1 time
been thinking about working and living in Tokyo, or japan in general for 1-3 years?!. Really find that this country has much to give me!
Can any one ge me a tip on how to apply for work in Tokyo/Japan
as an Swedish citizen?!
I am educated in mainly technical areas such as cars, boats and 20years within the airline industrie (engine shop 18+2 years in an airlines tech.dep), but I also like to cook food.
Please give clues and tip´s if you have any!
Thanks in advance
Krister Karlehem
Stockholm Sweden
voderick@hotmail.com
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