Leva Kungslador is probably in the top five reasons why we five Angelenos came back to Gotland all the way for another summer vacation.
This food is exquisite. The bread is exactly what homemade round loaves should taste like; the butter; the cheese; the meats; the preparation for sandwiches is a combination of delicate and filling. The sweets are artfully prepared and come in nice small servings.
The buffet at 95 swedish kroner is a steal because the food is beautiful, delicate, tasty, and all balanced to create a full palette. No, it is not 40 hodge-podge choices, but a much smaller selection that works in part or as a whole. There is one cooked meat dish--one day roasted lamb (which I passed on but even the son who was sweetly baa-baa'ing out the car window at all of Gotland's adorable fluffballs said it was scrumptious); another day just about the best pulled pork I've ever had, a little tang and sweetness, but mostly just rich and melting. (One of the service people said they cook it overnight), etc. There's a cooked potato dish, a hearty soup, a plain green salad, and then a variety of sides for the salad and side cold dishes (bulgur and beets, chickpea salad, etc.), plus an array of pickled vegetables, slabs of that delicious bread, butter, and cream cheese. There's also usually a special fruit or sweet concoction--one day small little glasses of wild-strawberry puree.... What more could a person want?
Inside and outside are fun Berkeley-esque spaces. Old books inside, gardens and several tree houses and rustic adventures for the kids outside, a couple excellent shops, and lots of gardens where the beautiful organic greens and veggies are grown.
The service is very friendly and efficient. We've been here in the off-season and the peak of crazy of medieval week, making so far about five visits, and never found it chaotic or less than superb. read more