Restaurang VRÅ — Restaurant in Göteborgs Stad

Absolutely incredible fine dining experience.

I hadn't personally heard of this place, so was completely unaware of its reputation as a seafood restaurant. My wife took me here as a surprise so I had no expectations at all. We had the vegan tasting menu and if you told me this had a reputation as a vegan restaurant, I would not have been surprised. These people know their way around a vegetable.

We have 7 courses, plus desert, with the alcohol-free drink package. There were definitely some courses that were highlights, but that's just because they were even better than others. None were even close to bad, and I would gladly eat all of them again. A particular highlight was the mushroom soup with tofu and soy, I could eat that every day.

The old trope about tasting menus is that there's not enough food, but this definitely doesn't apply here. Specifically the final course before the desert was almost a full-size portion.

Having a waiter who was clearly passionate about the food elevated the whole experience to the next level. He was informative and knowledgeable and displayed a deep understanding of the flavour pairings and choices made. He seemed to be particularly enthusiastic about the drink package we chose, telling us the background of some of the ingredients and the reason for the specific blends.

I have zero reluctance in recommending this place to others, but this is fine dining and so the prices reflect this.

Can't...

I've got a very mixed experience in this restaurant. I needed to grab a bit in the city and walked in without reservation.

Positives: Very tasty food. I mean it. One of the best I've ever tried. Great ingredients. I really appreciated that. Central location (it's in the Clarion Post hotel, to the left from the main entrance after you go inside). I got a complimentary starter, really small but delicious.

Negatives: The place is extremely small. REALLY small. Don't even mention any privacy. I was seated really close to a couple who looked like they were having a date/special occasion, they were drinking champagne. I could almost touch the woman of the couple. It was very uncomfortable. I ended up moving to the far side of my table but then a pair of friends were seated there. I don't think I've ever sat so close to other people in a restaurant before. The fantastic tasting sushi were about 3x3 cm in size (square shape). I paid 250 sek for 10 bits and left almost as hungry as I was before. I would have understood that it was an upscale restaurant if it wasn't for the seating arrangement and the size of the place. I didn't particularly like my waiter, who was professional but I felt like a nuisance. Although another waiter, a woman who served a nearby table...

Don't go there expecting Japanese food. It's more like Nordic food inspired by Japan.

Excellent techniques, poor taste. For example: perfectly smooth chawanmushi and good texture gyoza, just couldn't taste the expensive seafood ingredients at all. In fact, the gyoza tasted exactly like a frozen gyoza. These plus an unmemorable plate of sashimi were the only ones out of 7 courses that were actually Japanese, the rest were all imaginative Nordic food that tasted of pickled onion.

They had no baby chairs and offered no child-friendly food or drinks. As suggested by the waiter we ordered okonomiyaki, which is supposed to be soft and easy to chew, but got hard sticks of deep fried batters instead that were very salty and without any of the usual sauce or seasoning.

They didn't have any juice but had non-alcoholic wine that tasted like apple juice. It was good but they might as well serve juice and spare me the cost then.

I don't say it was too overpriced, they certainly put in the effort, but you'll be disappointed if you expect to taste Japanese cuisine, or lots of good seafood for...