Vyn lies on the eastern coast of Skåne, Sweden, about an hour and a half’s drive from Copenhagen. The last stretch of the journey, through quiet villages and winding country roads, reminds you just how remote this place is — and how exceptional it must be to draw diners all the way out here. The restaurant itself is set in an old barn, surrounded by open farmland overlooking the Baltic Sea.
You enter through a heavy wooden door carved with vegetables where if it wasn’t for the excitement of what lies behind it you would for sure study it and take in the full wonder that it is. Behind it opens the heart of the barn — a vast, vaulted space with more than ten meters to the ceiling, its ancient beams stretching above like the ribs of a ship. A surprising and magnificent space to house the lounge where our meal would start.
The Welcome
Snacks arrive almost immediately, but Daniel Berlin doesn’t follow the usual script. The first one is no tiny amuse-bouche; it’s a proper dish, eaten with utensils. A bowl of cold scallop, slightly dried and served with elderflower and horseradish gel — delicate, fresh, and disarmingly direct. The tone is set and the bar set high..
A steamed brown crab with crown dill follows, and then a small quail pie — its richness offset by the sweetness of cooked apple, a surprising note that would reappear throughout the menu. Next, generous spoonfuls of Swedish caviar — Kalix löjrom — arrive atop a refined celeriac and pineappleweed gel. The interplay of sweetness, salinity, and creaminess is nothing short of brilliant.
Our final bite in the lounge is perhaps the most indulgent: cauliflower with brown butter and cured egg yolk. The sauce is so good that, despite the Michelin setting, I couldn’t resist using my fingers to get every last drop.
The Dining Room and the View
We would then move into the main dining room, and finally, the view that gives name to the restaurant as Vyn is Swedish for view, would unveils itself. The Baltic glimmers through wide windows, framed by a small garden of wildflowers. On this sunny afternoon, the light fills the room with a calm and innocent at the same time as the light penetrated every angle of the dining room.
A mackerel arrives cool to the touch but with its skin warm and crisp, served with a sweet, nuanced sauce that plays beautifully with texture and temperature. Then, Danish blue lobster in a beetroot sauce with a sliver of wild boar guanciale adding a discreet umami depth and subtle notes of genius.
The Dance of Flavors
Next comes the only purely vegetable-driven dish, and it’s a revelation. Baby broccoli and string beans — an unpretentious pairing, almost humble — dressed with gooseberries for acidity, egg yolk for richness, and fermented oats for a touch of umami. It’s both grounded, refined and very distinct in its flavor.
A gentle pause arrives in the form of a sea urchin dish served raw, with a sauce scented by just a hint of horseradish. It’s delicate and restrained, a whisper rather than a loud roar as often seen when horseradish is used.
Then the menu crescendos in umami. An ocean perch with the tiniest chanterelles I’ve ever seen and a sauce based on monkfish liver — lush, earthy, and marine all at once. The final savory dish, aged pigeon with fresh Swedish ceps, feels like an ode to autumn itself: warm, deep, and utterly comforting. Both dishes demonstrate Berlin’s mastery of sauce-making — that elusive Nordic-French craft of complexity wrapped in great craftsmanship.
Desserts — and Reflection
It’s always bittersweet when dessert arrives — the signal that a meal you don’t want to end is nearing its close. But at Vyn, restraint is part of the rhythm. The pacing is perfect, the narrative complete.
First, cherries with crème fraîche cream and woodruff oil — a familiar combination transformed by the aromatic twist of the woodruff. Then, a complex dessert of blackcurrant, pork fat, and baked cream — hot and cold, savory and sweet, each bite unfolding like a story within a story.
A marigold sorbet with fig leaf oil and honey follows. It’s meant to refresh, though to my taste the balance tips slightly — the strong fig leaf and honey just overpower the delicacy of the marigold. Remarkable that we would wait this long to experience a dish that missed the mark just a little bit.
Finally, the meal ends with brown butter and roasted chicken caramel — a dish clearly designed to accompany coffee and a final smile. It’s savory, unexpected, and the perfect note to end on.
The Meaning of Vyn
It’s increasingly rare to find a restaurant that feels entirely its own. Vyn is one of them. From the carved door to the rustic elegance of the barn, from the food to the service, everything here feels deeply personal and one of a kind. Personal is also a good description of the winemenu that both consisted of big established names of great vintages but also exocitic choices such as an American sour beer. My wife went for the non alcoholic menu – an important component of the meal and was as impressed by the flavors as we had been of the food. Drinks that used the entire spectrum from tea to kombucha, juices to build complexity and flavors to match the same of the wines.
Our primary waiter was only 25, yet carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone far older — professional, attentive, and always ready with a joke. There’s a calm authenticity in the air, the kind that comes from a team that knows exactly what it stands for.
Daniel Berlin’s cooking feels unforced, assured, and distinctly his own version of Nordic cooking — without leaning on the usual Japanese influences that define so many of his peers. His dishes are warm, comforting and brings flavor together in new and unexpected ways. When I asked which season he prefers, he didn’t hesitate: “Fall — hunting season.” It fits as there he gets to play with the deeper Nordic flavors that I think fits is style perfect.
Vyn earned two Michelin stars straight away, but to me, it already embodies the precision, elegance of a three star restaurant and with the added emotional its a wonder why the third star hasn’t been given. Even despite its extremely young age. With sixteen rooms on site, it’s more than a dinner — it’s a destination, one that lingers long after the last sip of coffee.
Practical information
Location: Skåne, Sweden
Head Chef: Daniel Berlin
Menu: 15 course tasing (4000 SEK = $425)
Booking: www.vynrestaurant.se
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