Tre Kronor Restaurant | Chicago, IL

Celebrate the season Scandinavian-style at Tre Kronor

If nothing says "holidays" like ten varieties of herring, take note: Tre Kronor's annual jülbord feast has one week left, and only a handful of seats remain.

The Irving Park Swedish restaurant has prepared jülbord (Christmas table) feasts from Monday through Saturday ($55, Monday through Thursday; $60, Friday and Saturday) in the weeks leading up to Christmas. For more than a decade, the holiday smörgåsbord has had a cult following among those in the neighborhood and those in the know–and as an abundant Scandinavian spread, it has no rival.

Servers don the traditional seasonal garb of the Festival of Santa Lucia, white dress with a red sash and a crown of candles. They then guide guests along tables laden with cured meats, preserved fish, sausages, salads and more.

Bring your own aquavit or sip a glass of mulled glögg before hitting the buffet stocked with an abundance of house-made marinated herring, and other cold dishes like gravlax and goose-liver pâté. Jansson's Temptation, a cream-laden potato casserole, is a highlight from the hot table.

For a true taste of the region, there's reindeer meat and lutefisk, salted codfish preserved with lye. Finish off with a tier of festive pepparkakor (ginger cookies) and julgrot (Swedish rice pudding). Get the lucky almond and, legend has it, you'll be in for a good New Year.

Tre Kronor, 3258 W. Foster Ave.; 773-267-9888 or trekronorrestaurant.com. Seatings for the jülbord are at 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and reservations are required.