Home to some of the world’s most innovative restaurants, the Nordic regions are a foodie’s heaven. Karen Bowerman picks her perfect dishes on a whistle-stop tour through Sweden, Norway and Denmark...

For the guy that’s the equivalent of Gordon Ramsay in the Danish version of Hell’s Kitchen, chef Wassim Hallal seems a surprisingly agreeable chap.

He arrives at his new deli, sporting the broadest of grins, and welcomes us, wholeheartedly, to Denmark.

Maybe my delight in his smorrebrod (Danish open sandwiches) has something to do with this, but even when my foodie companion, Bill, begins drilling him on sarnie specifics he’s still patient and polite.

Bill and I are on a whistle-stop Scandi food tour. We’ve got three days to visit three cities in three countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

“Scandinavia is more than meatballs, pickled herring and Carlsberg,” Bill says, defensively.

We meet Hallal in Aarhus, on the country’s east coast. His deli, F-Hoj, has a classy cosiness.

Our open sandwiches are heaped with toppings: smoked salmon with avocado puree, smoked cheese and fresh horseradish; potato and pear with mustard and honey; and eggs and crayfish with grapes and salsify.

“I think texture is as important as taste,” Hallal tells us. “I aim for crispy, creamy, salty and sweet, all in one mouthful.”

He also runs the city’s upmarket Restaurant Frederikshoj.

“At first, I just wanted to create high-end dishes,” he says. “But now I want to show that simple food can also taste great, as long as it’s made with good ingredients.”

Focusing on fresh, seasonal produce is at the heart of New Nordic Cuisine. It’s led to a renaissance of Scandinavian classics.

Using organic, regional ingredients is also the aim of Nordisk Spisehus, where Bill and I have dinner. The restaurant serves signature dishes from Michelin-starred establishments.

The restaurant manager and sommelier, Ditte Susgaard, clarifies: “We don’t just copy; we try to turn every dish into a tribute to the chef who created it.”

Our eight-course dinner (DKK 899; £90) with wine pairing (DKK 749; £75) features dishes from five Copenhagen restaurants.

Among them is Clou’s salt and sugar cured scallop, topped with tiny discs of crispy rye bread and dried seaweed, and Kadeau’s squid in shrimp emulsion.

Each time, Susgaard arrives quietly at our table to present the wines. For roasted turbot (Nordisk’s own dish), she pours an oaked chardonnay. For beef tartar, it’s the light berry taste of an elegant Baden wine.

Pudding is Nordisk’s own: salty hazelnut ice cream with crystallized white chocolate. It’s outrageously rich and insanely indulgent.

The next morning Bill and I catch a ferry to Sweden’s west coast city of Gothenburg. It’s known for its coffee culture but we’re heading to the “Fish Church”.

It’s actually a 19th century fish market in a building inspired by Norway’s wooden stave churches. The “aisle” is laden with fresh lobster, shrimp and salmon. But it’s the variety of pickled herring that catches my eye.

I try herring and redcurrant, expecting the sour taste of vinegar, but instead, the fish is soft and almost creamy, with the fruit giving it a fabulous kick.

On a mezzanine at the far end of the market is Gabriel, where we’re having lunch. It’s run by chef Johan Malm, who won the World Oyster Opening Championships in 2010.

We eat sumptuously; fresh oysters, the thickest of fish soups with sweet prawns and fish, and grilled plaice with browned butter and potatoes.

It’s quality again at the city’s new Koka restaurant, the latest venture from Michelin-starred chef Bjorn Persson.

Our five course dinner (SEK 680; £54) with wine pairing (SEK 600; £48) includes Swedish crab on a mound of leek puree, and pork belly with Brussels sprouts and grated walnut.

The pork is served with a 2005 San Guglielmo Magnum. Its acidity cuts through the fat of the pork and there’s a hint of spice and black cherries.

By the time we reach Tromso, in North Norway, we’re glad of a “lighter” supper. We have “just three” courses from the a la carte menu at Fiskekompaniet, a restaurant overlooking the harbour, but then get carried away with the wine.

I enjoy ravioli filled with scallops served in a blue mussel sauce (NOK 215, £18), steamed salted cod with bacon, carrots and mushrooms (NOK 325, £27), and an apple doughnut (NOK 145, £12).

But it’s the wine that excels: Macon-Villages 2014 (NOK 462, £40) with our starter, Madeira Boal 1984 (NOK 127, £11 a glass) with our pudding, but it’s the Meursault 1er cru Genevrieres 2011 (NOK 705; £60).

On our final day, we forego fine dining for fishing. At Ersfjordbotn, a small hamlet 15km west of Tromso, we meet Trond Lorentzen, whose family runs a fish processing plant at nearby Brensholmen.

We clamber onto his boat and chug through the fjord.

We drop a line and almost immediately I’m pulling it up again - along with a 7kg cod.

In a small flat above the fish processing plant, Trond’s wife is peeling potatoes. We sit down to the freshest cod I’ve ever tasted.

As the day grows dark, talk turns to our foodie adventure.

“It’s been so much better than meatballs,” I joke, as Bill and I help ourselves to more.

• For more information, visit www.visitdenmark.co.uk, www.visitsweden.com and www.visitnorway.com.