The Buoyant Cheer of Björk Café & Bistro

In the Scandinavia House gift shop, among miniature-woollen-sweater Christmas-tree ornaments and Pippi Longstocking dolls, there’s a book that purports to teach you how to achieve hygge, the Danish concept of coziness, in your home. If that sounds like too much work, Björk’s rotating menu of dagens (Swedish for “dishes of the day”) provides a potent dose. A seeded roll, with a saucer of dimpled butter balls, precedes a wooden tray holding a cup of black coffee, a tiny mug of sweet-and-sour borscht, a bowl of mixed lettuces dressed lightly in lemon and olive oil, and something wonderful as the centerpiece: on Tuesdays, it’s a neat square of laxpudding, a gratin layered with sliced potato, onion, and gravlax, finished with brown butter and shaved horseradish. The smorgasbord plate is hygge, too, an array of treats including Swedish meatballs, two types of herring, a triangle of Priest XO cheese, and a ramekin of “Jansson’s temptation,” a casserole of shredded potato and marinated sprats, sealed with crispy bread crumbs.

For dessert, the waffle-maker is employed again: a sweet version made with milk and vanilla is topped with whipped cream and raspberry jam. There are cakes, pastries, and cookies, too, such as kolakakor, a snappy shortbread that tastes of salted caramel, plus, in the gift shop, the next generation of Swedish fish, in flavors like elderflower and sour blueberry and in shapes like turbot and pike. Kolsvart, the brand that makes them, in Malmö, donates part of the proceeds to promote healthy waters and fish stocks. (Dishes $9-$29.) ♦