Bogong High Plains Road, Mount Beauty, Australia
Opens 8:00am – 4:00pm
Bike-friendly/ Kid-friendly
Visit their website here
A slice of Scandi cool in North-east Victoria, and meatballs to write home about!
I am sure it’s been written many times over, but Svärmisk really is like a taste of Nordic life nestled in Mt Beauty.
Meaning visionary, dreamy, romantic or fanciful in Swedish, Svärmisk is the brainchild of wife and husband team Lena (originally from Sweden) and Andy Mero.
Located in the former Mt Beauty Chalet at the base of Falls Creek, in Victoria's north-east alpine region, Svärmisk is every bit the classic Scandi. The building has won ecological awards for its design, but it gets a big tick from us for just looking so damn Nordic cool.
Some of Andy’s motorbike collection is on display the moment you enter the café. Walk through the foyer and it’s a bit of an ode to the Scandi look that seems to be the flavour of the decade on all those home style blogs... Simple, fresh, clean living and style – how can you go wrong there?
Fantastic big windows give you great views of beautiful Mt Beauty before you walk into the main room, which is essentially a delicatessen and a hive of activity as Lena and her team keep visitors well fed and full of really great coffee (Illy). Lena draws on the area being a rich foodbowl – where possible she uses the abundance of local produce to create classic Swedish dishes.
We couldn’t resist the köttbullar, or Swedish meatballs, which came on a bed of beetroot and butter lettuce. Along with Skagenröra, a creamy mix of local smoked trout on bread with avocado, these dishes were taste sensations.
There’s a super expansive deck for when the weather is on your side – it makes for a pretty magical experience to be sitting out there enjoying the sun, the stillness in nature around you, and the thought you’ve just punished yourself to max either climbing Falls or out in the Mountain Bike park, which is literally a big stone’s throw from Svärmisk’s front door.
And that’s the thing about this place, and Mt Beauty/ Bright in general. The locals just make it so easy for us visitors to do everything we want all in the one spot. Eat great food, enjoy fantastic wine, socialise in the great outdoors, take the bike out for a session, and just mix it all in the one, easy day.
I can’t get enough of getaways like this…
And everyone’s just so friendly. We arrived really early before the cafe opened so we could get ready for our climb up Falls. One of the staff members came out to see if we needed the loos before we took off. Can’t imagine that happening in the big smoke…
We are and always have been fans of this fabulous find. You really won’t put a foot wrong.
