Michael Bengtsson thinks that Japanese and Scandinavian cuisines aren’t all that dissimilar once you get past the well-known stuff like sushi and tempura.
“I’m not saying the cuisines are the same – they’re not,” he clarifies, “but geographically, the regions have a lot in common and they have a lot of recipes that have evolved in a similar way.”
At Swedish-born Bengtsson, who runs nearby restaurants Vino e Cucina and Eat Thai, is plating up Japanese food with some Scandi and modern Australian influences.
That’s not to say you’ll find roo meatballs or cinnamon buns laced with matcha (no complaints here if you could) but rather, Bengtsson doesn’t want to be tied down to a specific geo-region.
“At the moment, we’re definitely not fusing anything at all, really, but we’ve talked about it – we could easily make sashimi with some Scandinavian flavours, or gravlax with yuzu.
Agadashi tofu is topped with ginger floss at Sven-San. Source: Sven-San
“We’re a seafood restaurant borrowing from Japan and Scandinavia, meaning we can do what we want,” he says.
The menu crosses between the continents in a neat, complimentary way. Agedashi tofu crowned with ginger floss sits alongside lobster Skagen toast, sushi cakes (fresh seafood atop sushi rice) and poke bowls. Then there’s a Swedish roll (similar to a Swiss roll) topped with seasonal Aussie strawberries and a green, garlicky, smashed edamame hummus served with Vietnamese prawn crackers.
“That’s not Swedish or Japanese, except for the edamame,” Bengtsson laughs. “But it’s tasty and people like it.”
Edamame hummus arrives with prawn crackers. Source: Sven-San
Swedish sponge rolls get an injection of Aussie produce at Sven-San. Source: Scott Winter
Launching his food career as a teenager woking at his uncle’s German restaurant in Sweden, it wasn’t until he arrived in Australia that Bengtsson realised food meant more to him than a weekly pay cheque.
“I didn’t have too many options after high school, so I actually started cooking as a means to make some money. But then I was exposed to the abundance of fresh produce and freedom of cooking here [in Australia] and that changed,” he tells SBS.
At face value, Sven-San leans more Scandi than Japanese - more Swedish countryside than IKEA – with a stone dining room, open fireplace and timber accents throughout.
The restaurant further cements the renaissance of Oxford Street, with Danielle Alvarez’s , Josh Niland’s and Matt Moran’s menu at breathing new life into the once ghostly strip.
Open Daily 6:30am-3pm; Dinner Wed - Sun - 5:30pm - late, 495 Oxford Street, Paddington
