Elske (*) – Chicago

Tried the tasting menu at Elske earlier this week (Apr 2026) and was blown away.

Dishes, in order as pictured:

Æbleskiver with shrimp, horseradish, and nasturtium: One of the three amuse-bouches; an æbleskiver is a Danish pancake ball. This one was stuffed with a savory shrimp filling, and my dining partner and my unanimous response was that it was vaguely reminiscent of a Japanese takoyaki. I couldn't really taste much of the horseradish, however.

Red snapper with crispy rice, buttermilk, and Gunde's pickles: Gunde is the name of the chef's mum, which is such a sweet and heartfelt homage. This, and the æbleskiver, were served alongside a tea of lightly smoked fruits and vegetables (unpictured), which our servers said is a mainstay of the menu, except the ingredients that go into it changes depending on what fruit and vegetable scraps the kitchen has—a great way of reducing food waste—and a delicious one, too. The "tea" was smoky, umami and complex in depth and flavor.

Sepia with kohlrabi, dill, and rye bread: I'm not a huge fan of sepia (cuttlefish) because to me, it's relatively flavorless and if cooked poorly, rubbery and chewy. The version here at Elske is very well-executed—soft yet with just the right amount of bounce, giving a great textural element to the dish. One not-so-good texture in this dish, however, was the rye bread. You can't really see it in this picture, but there were little rye bread croutons sprinkled on the dish. I'm not sure if it was intended, but the bread was so hard that I swear I almost broke a tooth the first time I took an unsuspecting bite. I know that rye bread is typically harder, and I appreciate having a crunchy element to the dish for textural contrast, but this was just a tad too hard.

Fennel-dill crumpet: The sepia was also served with a plate of crumpets (great for mopping up the dill-infused oil). These were served toasty warm, soft and pillowy on the inside, topped and dusted with a wonderfully aromatic and flavorful spice mix.

Grilled swordfish with carrot, almond, and cranberry: My favorite dish of the night. Swordfish was well-seared, paired beautifully with carrot foam, marcona almond slivers, and the most gorgeously and deliciously cooked carrot I have ever eaten in my entire life. The dish (both the fish and carrot) was on the saltier side, but on the whole, still very delicious.

(There was also a duck liver tart served after this dish but I'm not the biggest fan of foie gras, so I'm skipping that.)

Petite tender with mustard greens, salsify, and chestnut mushrooms: My second-favorite dish, after the swordfish. The à la carte menu has a similar version of this dish, except with beef cheek instead of petite tender, but no complaints since the petite tender was cooked to a perfect medium rare, still ruby red in the center, and definitely lives up to its name—tender and flavorful. I really loved the chestnut mushroom and mushroom puree, which imparted a very umami depth to the dish.

(A frozen anise jelly with mint—unpictured—was also served in between the savory and sweet courses as a transition and palate cleanser. It was like a small little frozen jelly cube flavored with the refreshing notes of anise and mint.)

Øllebrød with puffed grains, strawberry prunes, and hazelnut ice cream: The huge surprise of the night. I've never been much of a porridge/oatmeal person, but I was pleasantly surprised (even stunned) by this dish. The øllebrød (Danish rye porridge) was rich, flavorful, creamy and warm, and nicely complemented by the sweet tartness of the strawberry prunes and jam swirled throughout the dish. The hazelnut ice cream was also divine (tastes exactly like Nutella in ice cream form).

Overall, great food, great service, great ambience and decor, great value. This was my first visit to Elske, but it definitely won't be my last.