Bastard, Malmo

In an attempt to work off all of the food I’d consumed earlier that day, I hit the streets of Malmo hard, walking swiftly for two hours and seeing most of the old town and castle. There was a three course lunch and all that food from Helsingborg to burn off.

You see, I was trying to make space in stomach for dinner that evening at one of Malmo’s hottest restaurants, Bastard. Yes, the restaurant is called Bastard and yes, it means the same thing in Swedish as in English and no, I’m not going to bother contemplating why you’d want to name a restaurant that. Anna was dining with us and we walked over to the restaurant together; she had booked a table for our party and I’d highly recommend doing the same should you visit.

I had read previously that the restaurant specialised in nose-to-tail eating but there was nothing on the menu to indicate that. However, I suspect this may have been in the past as at present, their website says that they specialise in Modern European Homestyle Cooking.

A Bastardplanka, their speciality, had to be ordered. It was a very generously loaded plank of delicious charcuterie – chorizo, salami, jamon, rillettes, headcheese – served with plenty of cornichons.

But what was running through my mind as I ate it all (it was delicious by the way) was why not feature Swedish or Swedish-style charcuterie? I know there’s definitely some good stuff about as we tasted some amazing hard smoked sausage the next day (that’s the next blog post!).

Denise’s Confit Chicken Wings with Shrimps, Mushrooms and Potato Puree was fantastic – tender chicken wings and creamy puree. What a great combination of ingredients.

Anna’s Chicken Liver Parfait with Capers and Anchovies was, to my surprise, already spread onto toast. It was very good though with the creamy richness of the parfait and the salty tang of the toppings on the perfectly crisp toast.

Anna and I split two main courses between us (out of a list of only three options on the menu). Cod with a Fricasee of Chanterelles and Parsnips and Dill was excellent. I loved the use of parsnips here; they added an unexpected sweetness to the dish.

The Pulled Pork with Cabbage and Apple Slaw, Mustard and Potato Bread was the epitome of comfort food. I used the bread to create an impromptu pulled pork sandwich and when that was finished, I just shoveled it all into my mouth. Fantastic.

There’s always space for dessert, right? Denise chose the Meringue with Blueberries, Lemon Curd and Cream for dessert and while I love this combination of flavours, I found the meringue a bit too crisp without any of that lovely marshmallowy gooeyness in a well cooked meringue. Can’t fault those blueberries though.

The rest of us opted to sample all their ice cream flavours for that day. A Lemon and Elderflower Sorbet was bright and zesty, Turron Ice Cream creamy and nutty and Dulce de Leche Stracciatella sweet and unctuous. The weakest was their Banana and Burnt Butter Ice Cream which tasted mainly of banana bread and nothing of burnt butter.

On our way out, I noticed a DJ sitting in a corner. I really don’t know what to say about that; I suspect I must have looked a bit gobsmacked.

The cooking is all very accomplished at Bastard and I do like how they’ve clearly used seasonal (and local according to our waiter) ingredients on their menu each day. I just feel like some dishes could be a bit more different (like that delicious chicken wing starter)…just a bit. But still, it’s a great place to dine in Malmo.

Jeanne has also written her post on the same meal. Thank you very much to Malmö Turism for the great dinner!

Bastard
Mäster Johansgatan 11
Malmö, Sweden