Review: Karelia Kitchen, a cheerful new Scandinavian café

The owners make nearly everything in-house and proudly guide guests through the menu. The smokehouse platter brings a feast for just $16: succulent chicken, pork loin, trout and salmon, and a collection of tiny pickled things, like briny brussels sprouts, beet slices, chunks of pumpkin and grapes that pop with fermented tartness. Of the smørrebrød (open-faced rye sandwiches), the sweet, lemony baby shrimp salad with fresh dill is a delicate standout. The Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam are moist and flavourful enough to erase memories of IKEA’s cafeteria version. A honey-cardamom cake with rich cream cheese icing is blissfully reminiscent of Indian burfi.