Sandnes Brygge–small portions and rare chicken
We went to Sandnes Brygge on a Friday night with friends. The Sandnes harbor area has gotten a bit of a makeover in the last few years and the place now looks modern and hip and there is also a choice of restaurant ranging from Mondo to Dolly Dimple pizza.
The table was ready when we arrived and we received a hearty welcome. The place was bigger than it looks from the outside and the interior has modern decoration. There were also a lot of people and a great atmosphere. The tables were maybe a bit too close to each other at least compared to what we are used to here in Norway. We got the menus right away from our surprisingly attentive waitress and we were a bit disappointed when we noticed that the menu was different from the one that is shown on their homepage. According to the web site the menu changes 4 times a year. I decided to go for a salt baked celeriac served with a mash of sweet potato to start with and Nikki went for Crudo – I guess their version of ceviche. As we enjoy our risotto we both decided to have chicken risotto as the main meal.
It only took about 15 minutes to get the starter and the salt baked celeriac was presented in a delicate way. The taste was also good but the celeriac was quite salty so I think it would have been better to use a larger celeriac and bake it longer. The sweet potato puree had a great consistency and certainly stole the show. Nikki got her Crudo and that also looked like a good portion and again it was beautifully presented as the fish was decorated with edible flowers. But Nikki didn’t eat much of it – commenting that it smelt more than she would have preferred and was not quite the fresh fish taste she expected but the dressing was a good accompaniment. Usually the waiter will ask if something was wrong if a dish has basically been untouched but we did not get any questions.
The main meal was served 20 minutes later and it was a risotto with peas and chanterelles served with chicken breast on top. I think we were all a bit surprised as the portion was quite small. The risotto was good in taste but I would have enjoyed to see it more creamy and with less peas. There were large pieces of chanterelles which is good as they are in season now. My chicken was also quite good and I loved the chicken chips that were served on the side. I think the chicken chips were just chicken skin that was salted and fried. Nikki got a bit larger chunks of chicken and they seemed to be rare in the middle and due to this she sent it back to the kitchen. She got it back after a few minutes but it was still quite rare from the looks of it so again she ended up just enjoying the rest of her risotto. We were also quite amused to see the generous helpings of wine – not very usual in Norway.
We decided to skip dessert as we were going to the movies. My starter was pretty good and the main dish was not bad either – even if the portion could have been a bit more sizable. Nikki didn’t seem that lucky as she only tasted the starter and she chose not to take a chance with the chicken. I think it would have been great if the waitress had shown some interest when she saw that we basically sent back the entire starter and didn’t eat the chicken that was served with the main meal. We have mixed feelings about this place. The atmosphere and service in general were commendable. We would certainly consider giving it another try and it’s great to see that Sandnes has a variety of restaurants to offer. Check out the restaurant homepage on http://sandnes-brygge.no/
Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com
The table was ready when we arrived and we received a hearty welcome. The place was bigger than it looks from the outside and the interior has modern decoration. There were also a lot of people and a great atmosphere. The tables were maybe a bit too close to each other at least compared to what we are used to here in Norway. We got the menus right away from our surprisingly attentive waitress and we were a bit disappointed when we noticed that the menu was different from the one that is shown on their homepage. According to the web site the menu changes 4 times a year. I decided to go for a salt baked celeriac served with a mash of sweet potato to start with and Nikki went for Crudo – I guess their version of ceviche. As we enjoy our risotto we both decided to have chicken risotto as the main meal.
It only took about 15 minutes to get the starter and the salt baked celeriac was presented in a delicate way. The taste was also good but the celeriac was quite salty so I think it would have been better to use a larger celeriac and bake it longer. The sweet potato puree had a great consistency and certainly stole the show. Nikki got her Crudo and that also looked like a good portion and again it was beautifully presented as the fish was decorated with edible flowers. But Nikki didn’t eat much of it – commenting that it smelt more than she would have preferred and was not quite the fresh fish taste she expected but the dressing was a good accompaniment. Usually the waiter will ask if something was wrong if a dish has basically been untouched but we did not get any questions.
The main meal was served 20 minutes later and it was a risotto with peas and chanterelles served with chicken breast on top. I think we were all a bit surprised as the portion was quite small. The risotto was good in taste but I would have enjoyed to see it more creamy and with less peas. There were large pieces of chanterelles which is good as they are in season now. My chicken was also quite good and I loved the chicken chips that were served on the side. I think the chicken chips were just chicken skin that was salted and fried. Nikki got a bit larger chunks of chicken and they seemed to be rare in the middle and due to this she sent it back to the kitchen. She got it back after a few minutes but it was still quite rare from the looks of it so again she ended up just enjoying the rest of her risotto. We were also quite amused to see the generous helpings of wine – not very usual in Norway.
We decided to skip dessert as we were going to the movies. My starter was pretty good and the main dish was not bad either – even if the portion could have been a bit more sizable. Nikki didn’t seem that lucky as she only tasted the starter and she chose not to take a chance with the chicken. I think it would have been great if the waitress had shown some interest when she saw that we basically sent back the entire starter and didn’t eat the chicken that was served with the main meal. We have mixed feelings about this place. The atmosphere and service in general were commendable. We would certainly consider giving it another try and it’s great to see that Sandnes has a variety of restaurants to offer. Check out the restaurant homepage on http://sandnes-brygge.no/
Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com
Eek! Undercooked chicken is an absolute no-no, and shame on them for not being more attentive, apologetic and at least giving you a discount. I would have been quite embarrassed if I was the chef on duty.
ReplyDelete