Good company, ambient lighting, soft music, comfortable seating and above all great food combine to create what the Danish call hygge loosely translated as a "warm, fuzzy, comfortable feeling of well-being".

Traditional Danish food strongly reflects pre-industrial Denmark when people lived a very self-sufficient existence and made do with food that they could grow themselves or purchase locally. Thus the Gourmet Viking menu is a meat of fish lover's heaven.

We started with three small dishes of herring served the traditional way with rye bread spread with a thin layer of lard, and two shots of Aquavit. The herring, Marinerede Sild – herring fillet in a sweet and sour marinade, Karry Sild – herring fillet in a homemade curry mayonnaise, and Kryddersild – herring fillet in a spicy marinade were delicious and tender and totally unlike the rubbery rollmops my Finnish stepmother tortured me with one Christmas.

The herring was swiftly followed by Hjemmelavet Leverpostej, a homemade rustic style liver pate served with crispy bacon and pan-fried champignon on Danish rye bread. This was greedily consumed by dining companion who despite an earlier assertion of liver-phobia was seen running her finger around a now empty bowl and begging for more.

Eating at The Gourmet Viking is an adventure as one encounters traditional Danish dishes not often found on Sydney menus. One such pleasant surprise was the Æble Flæsk, strips of pan-fried rich succulent and crispy pork belly, with the saltiness of the pork belly perfectly complemented by sweetly aromatic apple sauce.

The Æble Flæsk was followed by Hakkebøf, minced prime beef, pan-fried served with soft glazed fried onions, potatoes, cucumber salad and what has been previously described by my dining companion as the "world's best gravy" and Medister Pølse, a Danish country style pan-fried pork sausage served with potatoes, red cabbage and sage sauce.

Bursting at the seams by now my valiant dining companion and I finished our Nordic adventure with Rødgrød Med Flød, a red berry compote with cream, and Æblekage, a delightful concoction of layered sweet apple with butter-fried breadcrumbs topped with whipped cream and redcurrant jelly.

Prices at The Gourmet Viking are very reasonable with entrees starting from $6.50 and mains starting from $14.50.

The Gourmet Viking is at 33 Enmore Road, Newtown and bookings can be made on 9557 8999.

Reviewed by Kate Morris for The Newtown Times, 2005

Early on a Wednesday evening, the weather gods are spinning and spitting distaste, a river courses along the gutter, splicing off the kerb, and the sliding, oily mess of traffic makes me feel slightly queasy.Any port in a

storm would provide welcome relief and the warmth and festivity of the Gourmet Viking beckons, a brightly burning candle to a slightly waterlogged moth. With a slightly edgy vibe, reminiscent of Viking warlords, pillaging war parties, and Valhalla, the great hall of Odin where warriors who die as heroes in battle dwell eternally, a tall-berthed bar entices us in to sample traditional Nordic mulled wine, served here with vodka-laced sultanas and chopped almonds, and imported European beers and spirits. The Gourmet Viking offers a unique gastronomic experience to anyone who has yet to sample Nordic cuisine, straddling the heartland of Northern European fare, with strong tastes, and combinations that challenge and test your palate. Never before have I been so encouraged to try dishes that I would normally steer clear of, resulting in an advanced lesson in open-mindedness! Specialising in traditional Nordic open sandwiches, with fillings that originate from the sea or the farm, Ulrik, our affable host invited us to try Karry Sild, herring fillet in a homemade curry mayonnaise, served with homemade rye and onion rings, and Kryddersild, spiced herring fillets in a tasty spiced marinade, again served with onion rings and rye. Both were delicious, and so far from preconceived ideas of pickled herring there were more than a couple of heartfelt exclamations, and my fellow Viking realised that he had always loved curried herring, it had just never occurred to him to try it. In addition, we tried an unnamed brand of Schnapps, to be slammed with the herring, and Toske Rogn, cod roe lightly pan-fried and served with a remoulade sauce on rye, which surpassed much of the rest of the meal as it was exquisite, and well outside of my gastronomic comfort zone, which hovers lethargically around dahl, and toast and marmite. The farmyard fillings included mention of meat in aspic, freshly made liver pate, and roasted meats, as well as Viking Hot Dogs. The mains ventured further into Viking territory, and we sampled delicately flavoured pork sausages, and fresh, herb-filled frikadels, served with sweetly spiced red cabbage, pickled cucumber and potatoes slathered in the god's-own gravy, a sweetly aromatic sauce that incited battling fingers intent on scooping out the corners of the plate, and we aren't talking the gentle robed and bearded god here, we're talking Thor in all his valiant glory.

Ulrik flits between diners, ensuring everything is perfect, and that you know exactly what it is that you are sampling, manning the bar, and overseeing the kitchen. If the recent trend that has seen an increasing number of Belgian and Dutch bars providing contemporary European food alongside foamy beakers of beer is anything to go by then the Gourmet Viking looks set to become one of Newtown's newest hot spots, complete with sumptuous deserts, and the hearty alcoholic tinge of late European nights around a roaring fire. Modestly described as plain home-cooking, the Gourmet Viking is Odin's hall, heaving feast tables laid out for the warriors, the rich, proud tastes of a Viking past.

Reviewed by H Morgan-Harris for newmetrotimes, 2004

I'd driven past the Gourmet Viking Nordic Restaurant many times. My only living grandfather, a Dane if not a Viking, provided me with some of my earliest food memories: goose and red cabbage at Christmas; marzipan; and brussels sprouts fried in sugar and butter, how I cook them for my children today. So, even though those two words - "gourmet" and "Viking" -did not sit together comfortably, I had to give it a go. We arrive on a Saturday night after spending roughly $30 worth of petrol looking for a parking space (advice: do not drive to Newtown on a Saturday night) and are shown to a table by a tall, quietly spoken man with a gentle Danish accent and a moustache, who offers us drinks (Tuborg, please) and three menu cards headed "From the sea", "From the farm" and "Mains".

It's a warm room with a wooden bar and bar stools, heavy pine tables and a rust-coloured wall at the far end. A curious mixture of Danish memorabilia -including, inevitably, framed photographs of Frederik and Mary and Queen Margrethe II and the Prince Consort Henrik, (who, like our Mary, is not Danish - he was a French diplomat), abstract paintings, landscapes and four horned Viking helmets. Combined the wine bottles on the table, the effect is like a Danish country inn -or how I imagine a Danish country inn.

The first starter to arrive, the warm Viking pate, served in a porcelain pot with thin slices of buttered light rye studded with caraway seeds, is the pick of the bunch. Rich, dense and livery, perfect on the excellent bread. Pleasant, but not as outstanding, is curried herring, chopped briny fillets with onion rings in a curry mayo and more of that bread.

The crowd is curious: a lot of dating couples, and, as you'd expect, more blonde heads than usually seen in Newtown on a Saturday night. There's a table of what looks like expat Danes with their children, generally a quieter and less cool crowd than usual for the gritty inner city.

(If you like) authentically Danish food.you'll love the Gourmet Viking.

Reviewed by John Newton Sydney Morning Herald, 2005