Spangen is a Good Restaurant Choice for a Taste of Sweden

Part of my big 5-0 celebration weekend in Sweden was dinner at Spangens Restaurang. This restaurant is part of the Spangen Gastgivaregard hotel in Ljungbyhed, just a short drive from both the Soderasen National Forest and the zoo (Skanes Djurpark) in Hoor. The Swedish word for restaurant is restaurang, just so ya know that wasn't a typo back there...

Spangens has been around since 1846 and has a wonderfully historic feel to it with huge copper cookware pots and kettles hanging around the very inviting buffet (smorgasbord) table. That smorgasbord is available only for lunch, but I am told by other patrons that it is to die for. We came for dinner and breakfast, and based on those meals I have to believe what they say about that lunch.

Spangens doesn't have a regular menu. They serve one thing, which changes daily. The Saturday evening we went we were started off with a most excellent appetizer called Toast Edvard, named after Swedish actor Edvard Persson who filmed his movie "Kalle Pa Spangen" here around 40 years ago. This dish was a piece of toast just covered with the most delicious dill sauce ever, which was filled with tiny little shrimp. Cucumber, lemon, and various herbs surrounded the dish. It was so incredibly pretty when it arrived that almost didn't want to disturb the plate, but I did. Be careful with this one, though, as the serving is huge and almost a meal in itself and you do not want to fill your belly up just yet.