Hekkan burger opens in Stavanger

I have been to Hekkan Burger in Sandnes a couple of times and it was great to see that they have also moved into the Stavanger scene. The Sandnes branch is more setup as a take away place while the Hekkan restaurant in Stavanger will be more of a burger restaurant where you can sit down and also have a beer or some wine. 

 

We went there as a group of 4 on a weekday and we managed to get a table. Despite being brand new, the restaurant has been made with the same informal interior as the Sandnes branch so it looks like it has been in business for years. The table that we got was a high table and the chairs were not that comfortable and there were not a lot of space and people had to squeeze by to e.g. get to the toilet. But this is just a setup issue and they will figure this out.

 

According to the menu, you should order your food at the counter, but the friendly staff came to our table to take our order. They have a few burgers on the menu and even a couple of fish/vegetarian options. I decided to go for the Dirty burger and fries. Within 30 minutes of our arrival, we had the burgers served to our table. My burger was good with lots of cheese and it was cooked to medium. Hekkan has a signature taste and the burger tasted like the ones I have had in Sandnes. I can’t decide if I really like the Hekkan burger or not. Usually I enjoy it when the burger comes with lots of vegetables so that you feel that you have a healthy alibi. But the Hekkan burgers focus more on the meat, cheese, butter and sauce – and they do that well. The rest of the group had mixed feelings about the burgers – one got the burger a bit rare and the food was lukewarm. I think it would be best to ask people if they want the burger medium or well done at least to avoid the first issue. Maybe this was just a startup issue as we were there right after the opening basically.

 

Conclusion: I think we will return to Hekkan for sure. There is a laidback atmosphere and they do sell beer/wine/cocktails if you want to have that with your burger. The question again is: is there room for another dedicated burger joint in town? I think the answer is yes as the Hekkan burger is quite different from The Shack, Døgnvill and Groovy. And if you can’t find a table to eat a burger you can always move downstairs and get a great pizza at Mano!

What is your favorite burger joint in Stavanger?

Facts:
Homepage : https://www.facebook.com/Hekkan-Burger-Stavanger-295262634473584/
Location : Pedersgata 8 - see Google map https://goo.gl/maps/73YLfdJTh8S2
Price of food: Burgers is 90 to 150 kroner (10 to 17 USD)  

 

1 year anniversary dinner for Restaurant SÖL

We stopped by Restaurant SÖL for the second time in February 2019 – this time to celebrate their 1 year anniversary! As you can see in my initial review, this place is run by three young chefs and they have done a great job with this restaurant as the reviews are great in general. Their focus is still amazing vegetables with fish, meat or poultry from sustainable sources and focus on Nordic flavors. In addition to this they serve natural wines! On this evening the restaurant was full and they had brought in extra help to keep up with all the customers. There is not much of a traditional a la carte menu at Restaurant SÖL – they have a set menu that is introduced (and dishes described with focus and passion when served) and you can choose to have wine pairing.

 

We went all in and it did not take long before we got wine and our first dish: oysters and a bite sized crispy chicken skin topped with crab. The oysters were served plain but there was some lemon to squeeze on top or some hot sauce from local vendor Midsummer Hot Sauce . I’m not that crazy about oysters but these were small and not too overwhelming and the chicken skin and crab was delicious. Quite a round up of textures to get the evening going. Next up was a small bowl of tomato soup! I guess the description can be deceiving as it was a fermented tomato soup with dried tomatoes, grilled squash and magnificent dollop of cream cheese. The soup was very rich with an overdose of umami – a great contrast to the more anonymous squash.

 

The last time we visited, I think we got some excellent homemade bread to start with. This time we got it after the soup. It was toasted sourdough bread topped with lardo – quite divine, if you enjoy a bit of fat. Lardo is an Italian cold cut where pork fat is cured with various herbs. When you put it like that, it does not sound that great but trust me – it can be excellent!
We were back to seafood on the next dish with a scallop served in the pretty and huge shell that it comes from – this time braised and topped with shredded roe! The scallop was divided into slices to enjoy it bit by bit. What a pretty dish this was with the colors of the shell, juices and roe!

 

I’m not sure how to describe the next dish but I think this was one of my favorites – potato “soup” with roe topped with caviar and fennel in lemongrass. The potatoes with roe was excellent and the fennel on top was a great add on. Truly a comfort food dish that I enjoyed.
It has been a long day – both for us and for the young chefs. We ended up getting the next dish twice and even if it was excellent, we decided to send the second serving back. It was a white fish served with a foam of mussels, if I’m not mistaken. As you can see, we had already had a bit of wine. But we were getting closer to the finale of the meal as duck was served topped with chopped apple in juice and with a beetroot side dish. I love my meat, but this duck did not quite hit the spot. By all means – this was certainly a wonderful dish but not as spectacular as many of the nights previous dishes. The sweet ending to this evening was a simple fresh cream cheese ice cream topped with fresh and dried berries.

 

Conclusion: this was an awesome anniversary dinner! Well done to Nayana, Claes and Magnus for serving up quite the culinary experience! Congratulations on the one year anniversary – with food like this I hope there will be many more to come!

Facts:
Homepage : https://www.restaurantsoel.com/
Location : Hetlandsgata 6 - see Google map https://goo.gl/maps/BtKEW3hWTQH2
Price of food: a menu is usually 525 kroner (61 USD)