Name a northern-waters fish or shellfish and it’s a fair bet that you’ll find it on the Bohuslän coast north of Gothenburg. Here, in the cool, clean waters that run between the coast and its beautiful offshore archipelago, you’ll find crayfish, oysters, langoustines, mussels, lobsters, crab, prawns, mackerel and herring.
Want to enjoy them like a local? Head to Smögen for a walk along the boardwalk with a bag of smoked prawns, and be sure to order your langoustines with a shot of schnapps. Even better, visit during the early autumn, at the peak of shellfish season, and join a traditional crayfish party, where you’ll eat copious crayfish and toast each one, customarily, with a large glass of schnapps. Time your visit for the lobster premiere, which marks the start of lobster season on the first Monday following 20 September each year, and you’ll be able to watch the local fisherman heading out to sea from the harbour en masse to lay down their pots.
Consider sailing out yourself, into the Bohuslän archipelago, where some 8000 small islands and uninhabited islets dot the waters and an abundance of superior shellfish can be found. This is home to Bohuslän’s “big five” (oysters, langoustines, lobsters, prawns and mussels) and no visit to this region is complete without sampling them all. Try Åstol Rökeri in Åstol for plump prawns smoked in their very own smokery, or Salt & Sill in Klädesholmen for a five-course lobster-themed menu, which includes clear mushroom soup with fried raw prawns, lobster and chives, sautéed lobster claw and baked lobster tail with lobster hollandaise.
Fancy catching your own shellfish? There’s a seafood safari in South Kosterhavet where, after checking in to your accommodation on the island of Resö, you’ll spend an afternoon aboard M/S Ariadne pulling up the lobster pots before returning to Resö harbour to cook them up, along with fresh crab claws. Alternatively, until the beginning of November join the lobster fishing package at Stora Hotellet Bryggan in Fjällbacka, inspiration and home to Swedish crime novel author Camilla Läckberg. From here you’ll head out into deep waters with Captain Ingemar on his fishing boat, the M/S Mira. You can be as involved in the fishing as you like and will learn plenty about lobsters and how to catch them as well as enjoying a four-course lobster dinner on your return to shore. Fjällbacka was Ingrid Bergman’s favourite fishing village so be sure to take a stroll around town before you leave, or perhaps even join a “cosy crime walk” in the literary footsteps of Läckberg, which takes in murder scenes from her books as well as true tales of the archipelago over 45 minutes.
If you prefer oysters, then head to Grebbestad, the fishing village that provides Sweden with 90% of its oysters and host of the Nordic Oyster opening Championships. Join an oyster tasting experience at Everts Sjöbod to learn how to open them yourself, as well as getting to taste a selection with a Carnegie Porter.
It’s not just on the coast that gourmet delicacies can be found. Venture inland to Lake Vänern, home to Northern Europe’s largest freshwater fishing port, Spiken, and a true Swedish delicacy, bleak roe. Known as Swedish caviar, this is the roe of the freshwater whitefish Coregonus albula and you can squeeze it from the fish by hand yourself on the roe package, available over just three dates in November. This starts with a taster, naturally, with lunch at Restaurant Sjöboden overlooking the harbour, before you head out by boat onto the lake to catch the fish. Returning to shore you will try your hand – literally – at squeezing the roe at the Ullis Fish Delicacies fish stalls, before dinner at Pirum, a restaurant and wine bar that specialises in local seafood, including roe, scallops and salmon.
Book your trip to Bohuslän with Taber Holidays
