Three Doors Deli, Gothenburg

Zan and I used Yelp to find Noba on our first night in Gothenburg, and we loved it so much that the next night we turned again to that magical food-finding tool. It guided us to a Swedish restaurant only a few blocks from our hostel, but when we got there, it looked a bit dreary and the people eating there didn’t look enthused. The sound of live jazz wafted into our ears from across the street; we turned to find the incongruously named “Three Doors Deli.” With fire-hoses as stanchions and excited people sitting on throw pillows at tables outside, laughing, eating and drinking with friends, we knew we had to cross over.

Our waitress turned out to be the chefs’ daughter, which we weren’t expecting because the place seemed fairly trendy and not too small; definitely not your typical “mom and pop” kind of place.

She said to us, “mom and dad are in the kitchen,”  and promised they’d bring us something good (we couldn’t read the menu since it was in Swedish, and her English wasn’t perfect). Spoiler alert: she was right, it was good.

We were also surprised to find that the restaurant had only been open for less than a year (this was the beginning of September). Their family, Persian immigrants, flew to Gothenburg from Iran in 1989 to escape their oldest teenage sons having to go to the military for the Iran/Iraq war. The restaurant is firefighter-themed because the oldest son is now a firefighter and be opened it on the side, “as a hobby” – who has time for such things?! Apparently people in Sweden. Their second son has a barber shop – right across the street. We could see it from where we were sitting.

Zan and I both ordered a Meze Plate, the chef’s choice of six different meze served with Persian bread. We figured it was best to let the chef choose for us, and we were both so glad we did. The plate included stuffed grape leaves, bacon-wrapped dates, an omelette made with herbs and spinach, creamy chicken salad made with potatoes and pickles, hummus (made with garlic and tahini) and an eggplant dip made with mint and garlic. It doesn’t look impressive since my camera kept washing out the image, but this meal was the perfect size and was so incredibly delicious. I still remember, over two months later, that it was the best stuffed grape leaves I have ever eaten. The chicken salad, hummus and eggplant dips were also highlights. I even enjoyed the crunchy radishes, which were perhaps meant for garnish but were a welcome addition to the plate. We blissfully basked under the red heat lamps, sipping our wine and mopping up the dips with the fresh Persian bread. The only item I didn’t love was the omelette, but I’ve never liked omelettes much.

This place is not a deli by any means, but it serves authentic food in a warm and inviting atmosphere and will make you wonder why you haven’t been eating Persian food forever. It was one of our favorite meals of the trip, and I’m so glad we found it.

Three Doors Deli

Location: Prinsgatan 5, 413 05 Göteborg