LISA'S, PORTOBELLO

Lisa's is a cute Swedish restaurant, full of high tables and stools, and lots of candles, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Portobello, just north of the flyover. I was invited down to try some of their food and write about it for Scandinavian travel website TranSun. The staff were warm and welcoming and happy to talk us through drinks options, while recommending a typical Swedish beer for the boy, and a lovely spicy cocktail for me. The "chilli fizz" was a perfectly balanced mix of white rum, chilli, lime, elderflower, egg white and soda. You could really taste (and see) the chilli, but it wasn’t that kind of spicy heat, more just the actual flavour of chilli. I could've drunk a few of these...

  

 

We shared the “Taste of Sweden” to start with – a beautiful looking plate of herrings, cured salmon and skagen (shrimps in a tart creamy sauce), each served on different homemade Swedish bread. It was an absolutely delicious plate of food, and each element had a very unique flavour. The breads that they were served on were also wonderful, my particular favourite being the crusty white bread that was slightly sweet which was served with the skagen.

 

 
For mains we went for more traditional Swedish fare. I chose the meatballs and the boy went for the Pannbiff served with onions - a kind of flat burger patty. The meatballs were juicy and delicious in their rich creamy sauce. Served with sharp loganberries they were the perfect winter warmer dish, though very filling. The boys pannbiff was also delicious - flat patties of beef with sweet onions and a side of excellent fried sweet potato cubes and their garlic mayonnaise dip. 

 

We skipped pudding as we had eaten a lot already but were pleasantly full from the wonderful Swedish food. Lisa's is a gorgeous restaurant that made us feel so at home. Everything tastes fresh and homemade and we sampled some really good Scandinavian food that we wouldn't have to got to try in a regular London restaurant. The prices are really reasonable as well, with the starter costing only £8.50 and the mains ranging from £11-16. Well worth a visit if you want to try some typical Scandinavian food and drinks, or just some really good food!

I also wanted to let you know about another Nordic foodie event - chef Valentine Warner is hosting a Nordic feast at Snaps & Rye in April, full info on which can be found here - I'm very tempted to go so may see you there if you're going!