With so much ado made of Nordic cuisine in recent years, Aquavit might have rested on its laurels as New York's steadfast home to contemporary Scandinavian cooking. To the contrary, everything here seems to have been enlivened and reconfigured, from the modern and elegantly functional dining rooms, to the precise presentations from Chef Marcus Jernmark on dishes that recall elements of nature through slabs of slate and deep grey ceramics. What was becoming perhaps a bit tired now feels incredibly cool and of the moment. Service remains warm and well-trained. Expect to be fascinated from the first delicious bite, which might be a small jam jar opened at the table to reveal a plume of enticing smoke infusing juniper-crusted tuna with a dollop of caviar. A fantastic composition of flavors and textures combine in the sweet-cured herring with American löjrom, steamed potatoes, västerbotten cheese, dill, rye crisps, pickled shallots, and citrusy foam. Lardo -baked halibut is so impossibly tender that it verges on the consistency of silky-salty custard, with deep, earthy beets. Desserts are equally inspired, as in the salmonberry trio with macadamia "snow" and sour cream panna cotta.