New York City boasts 71 Michelin Star restaurants, so when my wife and I traveled there for a wedding, it was tough to pick which one to go to for a nice night out. After scouring the list of restaurants, we came across Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant serving seasonal Nordic dishes. It sounded delicious so we decided to try it out and it did not disappoint. 

When we arrived, we immediately noticed the elegance of the dining room. The staff also added to this feeling with their attentiveness and expansive knowledge of the menu. After viewing the menu, we decided to add the wine pairing and the night began. After having a few snacks to begin, the first course came out which was yellowtail and green tomato. Served with flower petals and herbs on top, this was a colorful dish that highlighted the yellowtail nicely. For the next course, we had the rainbow trout and peas. This dish was visually stunning and the taste matched. Each element complemented nicely with the others and this turned out to be one of our favorite dishes of the night. We were then presented the caviar and potato with the wine pairing being champagne. As expected, this was a delicious dish and the saltiness of the caviar was a great touch to the potato and creamy sauce accompanying it. The final of the appetizer courses came out: langoustine and white asparagus. This was my first experience with langoustine, also called a Norway lobster, which had the sweet delicate flavor of lobster. 

We then moved to the main entrée courses. My wife’s favorite dish of the night was up next: cod and turnip. As with every plate before it, we were presented with another visually stunning dish with an array of flowers and colorful ingredients. The cod was perfectly cooked and the sauce paired with it was really well done. The final of the savory courses followed this which proved to be the most unique. The dish was lamb and morels (a type of mushroom) and the wine paired with it was great. If you have had lamb before, you know that it is gamey (wilder, earthy flavor) but you would not expect wine to taste like this. Well, think again. The wine pairing for this dish had a striking resemblance to the lamb in its gamey undertones and was the perfect complement. It truly was a one-of-a-kind course.

To continue the theme of beautiful food, for dessert we were given the arctic bird’s nest. The “eggs” were white chocolate filled with a mousse and the “nest” was made up of chocolate strings. On top they sprinkled “snow” and around the plate were colorful fruity elements. It was an amazing way to end the night.

Dining at Aquavit was a wonderful experience highlighted by the food, staff, and ambiance. The food was delicious and as noted throughout, visually stunning. The staff was knowledgeable about the food and wine pairings and made us feel at home. Finally, the ambiance was elegant yet not too stuffy. I highly recommend Aquavit and if you want to see pictures of the evening, check out the Restaurant Gallery section of the website!