Chef's Thoughts on Tokyo:
Sharing Home-Style Scandinavian Cuisine in Tokyo

A Deep Dive into Scandinavian Cuisine

Opened in Tokyo in 1979, Scandinavian restaurant Lilla Dalarna takes its name from Sweden's Dalarna region, an area rich in natural beauty and cultural heritage. 

First-generation owner and chef Okubo Seiichi learned his trade over 15 years living in Sweden and Norway. As a young man, he was originally prompted to go abroad by Japan's protest movements in the 1960s. Okubo and his friends thought that perhaps Northern Europe could present a different vision of society, in contrast to the social unrest in Japan at the time, explains Endo Yoshio, Lilla Dalarna's current chef and Chief Executive Officer. 

Once in Europe, "Okubo needed a job, but of course he couldn't speak the language. However, one kind of work he could do was as kitchen staff in a restaurant," Endo says. 

By the time Okubo returned to Japan, the country had transformed: Major protests were a thing of the past, replaced by economic boom years. Increasingly cosmopolitan Tokyoites were ripe to receive Scandinavian cooking. 

Although originally located in the Nishi-Ogikubo neighborhood, Lilla Dalarna later moved to Roppongi, a flashy, upscale area in central Tokyo. Nestled in the second floor of a narrow building and decorated with red fabrics and wooden ornaments, the gently lit establishment is a quiet oasis amid the lively metropolis. Currently, about 30 percent of customers are expatriates hailing from various countries, not just Northern Europe.

Endo joined Lilla Dalarna at age 19 with zero experience working in a kitchen—to say nothing of Scandinavian cuisine. Serendipitously, it turned out to be the perfect fit. "I tend to get bored easily, but I have never become bored with this job. I am always meeting new people and making new discoveries," Endo says.

He explained that Lilla Dalarna has always focused on traditional Scandinavian home cooking, a genre known in Sweden as husmanskost. "I feel the role of this restaurant, here in Japan, is to introduce—to let customers enjoy—Northern Europe's long-cherished traditions, dishes, and food culture values," he says. 

Traditional Food Culture with Modern Flair

While Japan and Scandinavia may be located on opposite sides of the northern hemisphere, Endo says his work has helped him see various similarities between the two, particularly between Scandinavia and Japan's cold northern regions of Tohoku and Hokkaido.

"Scandinavian food culture is rooted in gathering fish, grains, vegetables, and other products during the good season, to prepare for and survive the long, cold winter. Fermenting, salting, and marinating are very prevalent," he notes, adding that fresh vegetables in summer are also cherished.

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Lilla Dalarna is conveniently located only a few minutes' walk from the Roppongi subway station.

The restaurant's interior displays various Scandinavian handicrafts, ornaments, and books.

Inside the restaurant.

Decorations inside the restaurant.

The restaurant offers food and drink from Sweden and other Scandinavian countries.

Chef Endo speaks about wanting to share husmanskost, Swedish traditional home cooking.

The restaurant's most popular dish, Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce.

A semla cardamom bun, traditionally eaten in Sweden in early spring.

Traditional Scandinavian staples include rye and potatoes, and people eat a balanced variety of meat. As for seafood, salmon, cod, and herring are frequently consumed. In particular, "herring is culturally important in coastal areas throughout Europe, and there is a long cultural tradition of catching herring, preserving it, and eating it in various ways," Endo explains.

Lilla Dalarna offers an appetizer that showcases three ways to enjoy herring: swathed in a gentle chili sauce, blanketed with creamy mustard and topped with fragrant dill, and lightly marinated in vinegar.

Scandinavian cuisine also features a number of dishes with unique names. For example, there are multiple origin stories for "Jansson's temptation," a casserole of creamy potatoes with anchovies and onions: It is said to be variously a gourmand opera singer's favorite snack, the name of an old movie, or the one pleasure of the flesh a religious leader could not resist.

While one can indulge in Jansson's temptation at Lilla Dalarna, it comes as no surprise that the restaurant's top-selling dish is Swedish meatballs, served with lingonberry sauce and mashed potatoes. "Swedish meatballs are popular with everyone, from children to the elderly, and can be used for everything from a casual snack to a main dish," Endo says. "Also, there are not many rules about how to make them. The meatballs can be chicken, beef, or a mixture of the two; nowadays, we can also use soy meat, so it is easy to accommodate vegetarians."

As for dessert, Lilla Dalarna offers semla, sweet cardamom buns with almond paste and whipped cream eaten in Sweden in the lead-up to Easter.

Rediscovering Sustainable Food Culture

In Endo's view, Tokyo offers great opportunities to experience diverse food cultures from around the world, introduced by both expats and Japan-born enthusiasts alike. Nevertheless, Scandinavian restaurants are still relatively rare in Japan, even in Tokyo. According to Endo, although several existed before the pandemic, many closed during that time, including Japan's oldest Scandinavian restaurant. 

Although he acknowledges that Tokyo-based restaurants, including his own, have played a leading role in introducing Scandinavian cuisine to Japan, Endo approaches his work with humility. 

"I want to respect restaurant culture," he says, describing restaurants as places for people to gather with family and friends, for dates, or other occasions. "I do not want Lilla Dalarna to become so famous that it is hard for guests to visit. If people simply come by and enjoy a normal night out, that is all that matters."

Endo also highlights another similarity linking Scandinavian and Japanese food cultures: traditional ways of sustainable consumption. Scandinavian communities learned to manage their food to survive long, harsh winters, while Japan too—even outside its cold, northern region—has learned to save and share food during times of shortage. "I feel a great affinity with the idea that 'sustainability' or 'circular production and consumption' are not new movements but have naturally been there all along," he adds.

Endo says he sees the end of an era for complex, luxury foods that do not take sustainability into account. "People are beginning to understand that, even if a dish is simple, if it is safe and environmentally friendly, then it will probably also be delicious. I think we will see the emergence of a different set of values toward food in the future," he says. 

As modern people look to traditional food cultures to rediscover sustainable, down-to-earth dining, Lilla Dalarna's cuisine and values will surely continue to resonate for years to come.

Endo Yoshio

Endo Yoshio is the second-generation chef and Chief Executive Officer of Scandinavian restaurant Lilla Dalarna. After joining the restaurant at age 19, Endo studied under first-generation chef Okubo Seiichi, who also sent him on study trips to Scandinavia.