Scandinavia House

I went for the dessert. They are great! love it. I had the Swedish Princess Cake: Marzipan covered genoise, vanilla cream, raspberry filling and also the Chocolate Espresso Cake: Mocha butter cream, salted caramel, hazelnut ice cream — both succulent!

Most of the other comments are accurate– just want to add that Scandinavia House hosts wonderful concerts by world-​class musicians. There are 2 classical music series in particular, one being Music on Park Avenue, with Per Tengstrand as piano solosist. Per has played for the King of Sweden, and is a charming speaker as well as incredible performer. He does a 30-​minute pre-​concert talk to provide background on the composer and the works he will be playing. Occasionally he will showcase student musicians (Julliard-​type, not high school!) at a concert. The other series is by soloist Jeffrey Siegel and is called Keyboard Conversations. These concerts include commentary on the composer’s background and the work to be played as a prelude to the performance, but no need to arrive early for this one– it’s an integral part of the concert. From time to time, SH will host performances by other soloists and groups, not all of which are classical.

This is definitely not a museum. There is a tiny gallery where they have temporary exhibits. Came here to se the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershøi exhibit. It was OK, but had I known how small the exhibit would be, I would not have made the trek here.

Promoting the culture of the Scandinavian countries, this place is considered a museum but cultural center is the more appropriate term. I walked in one day just to see the art exhibit section and discovered that it is very small. However, they also have film screenings and concerts periodically and there is a gift shop with some unique items.
This place used to be home to a very authentic Scandinavian restaurant called Aquavit. It has since closed down and been replaced by a place called Smorgas Chef. Smorgas Chef is less high end but still gets fairly good reviews.

Great place for eveything nordic! We went there to check out an art exhibit by Iceland artists and were very impressed. The café, Smorgas café looked like a cool place too!

I’m not going to add much to the existing reviews, but only to agree with them. A great space for food, a seminar, a fundraiser, to view paintings, or to buy a nice item with a Scandinavian theme.
Everyone is super friendly and overall it is a very inexpensive stop to check things out.

I’ve been to the Scandinavian House twice now, just to check out the museum and the store. Most recently, I saw the collection of Danish paintings which was outstanding! The museum, located on the 3^rd floor, is FREE. There are only about 3 – 4 rooms and it took me less than an hour to view all the paintings. What I also loved was that instead of making you purchase a set of headphones to listen to the artwork, you can simply plug the code into your phone and listen to the descriptions for free on your phone. Super cool! I will definitely be back to see more exhibits.

We were here just to see the Danish painting exhibit. The collection were small. Free admission. The employee were polite. We did not see anything else when we were there. We’ll go back again someday.

My professional group, American Planners Association, recently had our Holiday party here. If there is one thing that planners love, its drinking and little appetizers to hold down the massive amount of alcoholic intake that we consume to wash away our sorrows. Ok, maybe we don’t drink on the level of a Bill Brasky coworker, but we like beer and wine and Scandinavia House provided not only the beer and apps, but also a great space with top notch service.
This place is split up into two different areas. The first floor has a general restaurant and a gift shop below. Which, on my way out, spotted Grulg in bottles. No Trophy Wife fans, I don’t think there was any Absenith in it. Meanwhile upstairs is reserved for a larger party area. The second floor was spacious, comfortable, modern, and provided excellent views of Park Ave. Based on my knowledge of spatial layout, I think it could accommodate over 200 people.
The catered affair offered the standard bar layout– Amstel, Heineken, Corona (high end Imbev) and some wine. There was a delightful vegetable spread. No new veggies from any other spread, but the presentation was really top notch. Finally, staff would walk around with apps. The best being the Swedish Meatballs. Only the Swedish Chef delivering them to you could make the experience better.
All in all, a great place to host a gathering, corporate affair, or your next high end child’s birthday party! In addition to all above, there is also a great patio but none of us dared used it because the temperatures more Swedish than NYC that evening.

My husband is Swedish, and his birthday is on Santa Lucia night, a big Swedish celebration. The Scandinavia House offers a special menu that night, so we thought it would be a perfect way to celebrate both event, and have Swedish Christmas food.
Sorry my story is long, so here is a sum up: Loved the food, thought the cafeteria-​looking space looked a little sad, although I loved the tree in the middle, adored the singing, those girls knew what they were doing and it was perfect (a group of girls sang Santa Lucia carols in Swedish), HATED the way we were treated by the staff all night. The birthday thing being the icing on the cake. Read the whole story:
We booked for that Santa Lucia night weeks in advance, because we were told the event is very popular. Our friends booked a table for 4 and they had a lot of trouble to get the booking right. Someone kept calling them to confirm the booking, and they were never right: 2 for 8pm? No, 4 at 7:30. It went back and forth until that person finally got it right.
When we arrived, although the room was half empty and we had booked weeks in advance, we ended up having to sit in a corner, barely enough space for our chairs. It was very uncomfortable, I had merchandise poking me in the back, but I decided not to say anything because it was my husband’s birthday and I wanted it to be special.
The Santa Lucia singers came and performed, it was lovely, my husband was emotional, the singing was heavenly. What a great start! I did not mind our waitress, Natalia, being a little stiff and not very warm to us.
That morning, I had called the restaurant to ensure our waiter would make a special Birthday something for my husband: a candle on the desert, or simply say «happy birthday» to him. It’s a tradition between us. Every year I get the staff of the restaurant we go to, to do a little something for him. I was not asking for much, and I have never had a problem with that kind of request before. Usually the staff in restaurants loves that kind of stuff. It’s fun, and makes their work fun, and they get a nice tip. The person on the phone said it would not be a problem, she offered that they could sing (or at least say) «Happy Birthday» in Swedish. I was over the Moon! What a great idea!
The diner went on, then the desert arrived, nothing. My husband left the table for a couple of minutes, so I asked our waiters what was going on, and if they were going to do anything at all. A young man said he would inquire about it. Then I witnessed all the waiters giggling and almost pointing at our table, looking uncomfortable. My husband came back. Nothing happened. The bill arrived. Nothing. We paid. Nothing. My husband went to grab our coats, and I decided that I would say something to Natalia. Our waitress. As I handed her a very nice tip, I said «I just want to let you know that I am shocked that you guys did not do anything, when I had made this small request about my husband’s birthday. I don’t think it was much to ask, and it would have made our evening perfect. I am really disappointed. I made a call this morning and was ensured it would happen». She got really pissy and answered, almost aggressively, that it was my fault, I did not tell them early enough. That kind of set me off. At least apologize for being silly, and let’s move on. I said «I called this morning! How early do you need it!» She answered, now really upset, that the girl on the phone did not tell the waiters, so I should have come at the beginning of the diner to ask them.
But wait, why would have to? I had talked to someone who promised it was taken care of!
Her bad faith about the whole thing pissed me off, and I said «well, it does not matter, I did not think it was much to ask, and when I talk to the young man before, it would have been easy for you to come, and say Happy Birthday in the name of the chef, or the restaurant’s staff, whatever. Being nice and human about it». She said «but I don’t know how to speak in Swedish!». I said «do it in English! Why do I care??? It would have been nice of you, no matter what».
At that point, my husband joined us, wondering what was happening. I told him, «nothing, let’s go», but Natalia, adding insult to the injury turned to him, and without even looking at him, from above her shoulder, she launched, in a thick Russian accent: «She vanted us to say Heppy Birzday to you».
I could have slapped her. How humiliating for me, for my husband and for the Scandinavian House. I could tell the whole staff was just like her though. What a sad disappointing staff.
It’s too bad that the staff turned such a great concept, a Santa Lucia celebration with delicious food, into a humiliating experience.
Chef Smorgas, get a better staff. Or teach them to show more humanity to their *paying* customers. It’s not like I had asked them to do something impossible or humiliating. I just wanted my husband to feel at home, and special, on his far-​away-​from-​home birthday night.

I’m teaching myself Icelandic, so when I heard about the Icelandic Saga Sites exhibition at the Scandinavian House, I knew I had to go. It was great! The exhibit features paintings and photographs that depict the locations in which the medieval Icelandic sagas were set. The pictures themselves are beautiful, and each one is accompanied by helpful text that explains where the location is and which sagas they are connected to. One feature that I really liked was the fact that you could dial a toll-​free number and actually hear the sagas recited (in English) by a famous Icelandic actor. It was a nice touch, and hearing the sagas while looking at the pictures made the stories much more vivid to me. I’d highly recommend this exhibit; it’s free and open until January.
This was my first visit to the Scandinavian House, but it won’t be my last. I didn’t eat at the café downstairs, but the food smelled heavenly. I don’t like the smell of fish at all, so much so that I usually can’t eat at primarily-​seafood restaurants. Since Nordic cuisine is big on fish, I would have expected to be put off by the smell, but that wasn’t the case at all. It smelled delicious, so they must be doing something right. I plan to go back and try the food soon! There’s a cute shop here as well and, although a lot of the items are on the expensive side, they look really nice. Plenty of cozy hats, scarves, and sweaters for the winter, various Scandinavian knick-​knacks and, of course, candy… actual Swedish fish!
There’s also a play center for children (I don’t have any so I didn’t check it out), and they periodically hold film screenings, lectures, and other events. I’ll definitely be going back. Although it’s called the Scandinavian House, they actually focus on the other Nordic countries (Iceland, Finland, et al.) in addition to the three Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark). Unfortunately for me, though, Icelandic is not one of the languages that they teach there.
Go visit the Scandinavian House if you’re in the area and want to try something new. It’s not huge, and if you’re not the «cultural» type then you probably won’t like it. But if you like learning new things and/​or like northern Europe, this is the place for you.

My dream light lives here.
It is practical and simple and beautiful but very expensive, which I feel like sums up most of the things that are sold at Scandinavia House.

Sample a true Smörgåsbord of Nordic Art from Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark & even Iceland by visiting the galleries on the 2^nd Floor.

I used to travel to Scandinavia a lot and really missed the Fazer chocolates. Their shop had reasonable prices on chocolates and spa products. I ended up buying a bag full of chocolates and Lingonberry body lotion, which is pretty awesome and on par with the high end spa lotions sold at Sephora. The ladies at the shop were very knowledgeable on products and extremely friendly.
I came back to try their café a couple days after and had a great brunch experience.
The service is prompt and the homemade lingonberry soda was great. The poached eggs with salmon was superb. Very reasonable prices and great customer service.

I just went for a visit today. I live in the neighborhood and decided it would be a nice easy way to spend a lovely afternoon. I wasn’t expecting much besides a few exhibits, a little bite at the café, and some browsing at the shop. Perhaps some culture. I was expecting a small-​ish museum though which it really is not. So I really got none of the above!
I found the facility seemed rundown, the shop not very inspiring, the café slightly overpriced so I didn’t stay, and worst of all there was barely an exhibit. The Eco Chic exhibit consisted of about 10 mannequins with some clothes on them. The clothes weren’t bad but there wasn’t much to look at. I walked through the small gallery in under 5 minutes. There was nothing else to see after that. There is no permanent exhibit! All that was left was a children’s floor and library also not much to look at. The café seemed drab and empty. The shop was more like a corner deli selling anything from chocolates to housewares. None were that appealing or nice actually.
There were 4 floors total of very small space. The first floor street level was the ‘shop’ and café. The 2^nd floor was closed but didn’t seem to have any exhibits for viewing anyway. The exhibit was on the 3^rd floor. The 4^th floor was the children’s floor. The basement is an auditorium but that was closed as well.
I do not recommend this venue. Perhaps it’s the events and film screenings that this gallery is known for.

I love it here! I’m a member of the American Scandinavian Foundation. It’s not that expensive to join, and they have really great events if you are interested in Nordic culture. Everything from concerts to art exhibits to my personal favorite, screenings of contemporary and classic Scandinavian films.
As you’d except from a place run by a bunch of Scanners, everyone is extremely polite and welcoming. I’m not Scandinavian but just like time spent in the Nordic countries, I feel at home at Scandinavia House too. I’ve never eaten at the restaurant or bought anything at the store though…
Check it out! There is really fun stuff that’s kind of under the radar. Because of that a lot of times they’ll have the artists or directors at the events. Carlsberg provides beverages for Society events. Fun stuff!

The holiday shop is on at Scandanavia House, a yearly fantasy of items imported from Scandanavia. Clogs and glögg as well as scarves and handmade decorations. The Scandanavians are famous for their designs and their are beautiful bowls and glasses and kitchen items. Chocolates and coffee are also available. This is not Target and items can be a little pricey, but this is such a treat with beautiful stuff. They are open everyday and will run some sales closer to Xmas day.

My first girlfriend was from Sweden. She had blue hair and blond eyes, but it was the early eighties and all sort of seemed to make sense. Until she left me to become a Greek Orthodox nun…
Flash forward 25 years to NYC and my love for all things Nordic is requited by the Scandinavia House. Check their website for the current goings on but there is something for everyone. Sure I can’t afford anything but the culture but I do like to watch. The exhibits change frequently. And you know it is authentic Scandinavian because there are lots of events for children and families. (I think currently they are supporting the Pippi Longstocking Puppet show in Central Park)
I think December is the busiest time. Go to the Jul Market during the Christmas season even if its just to look. There is the St. Lucia pageant but if you want to see it get your tickets early… And the Holiday smrgsbord. But you can just hang out… see the library then go to the Café and meet real Scandinavians. There is a lot more to Scandinavia than Ikea.

I never wanted to dye my hair blond. Then I went to the Scandinavia House for lunch, and suddenly I find myself eying boxes of L’Oreal in the Duane Reade.
The AQ Café is a really quirky find in south-​east midtown. Order at the counter and a happy blond will bring you your order and beer (I hope you order beer) to a clean, shiny table in the big, bright room. My Nordic Cuban ($ 7.50) with Swedish ham and Jarlsberg was a welcome change from the typical lunch-​hour sandwich fare. The potato salad? Admittedly weird. But sipping on a Carlsberg ($ 5) with my unusually tasty meal was fabulous.
This classier Ikea lunch really made my week. And my hair color? Still red. AQ isnt *that* good.

No permanent collection to speak of, but we saw a exhibit on Jewish Norwegians that was good, but consisted mostly of posters of information I could’ve read in a book. Scandinavia House would be listed as a museum, but the real reason you should come here is for the AQ Café on the main floor. It’s operated by the popular Aquavit restaurant, and serves Aquavit food for people on a budget. I had a smörgåsbord plate and my friend had salmon lasagna or something crazy like that. Great for lunch. And as long as you’re there for a the food, why not go upstairs for a bit? It’s free.