Testing Bellies - the only vegan restaurant in Stavanger?

Bellies opened just a week ago – a great new addition to Stavanger by the same guy behind café Resept in Østervåg a few years back, Øystein Lunde Ohna. Bellies is a vegan (plant based) restaurant and if I’m not mistaken, it is the only vegan restaurant in Stavanger. We went there on a Thursday night and finding our way in proved to be a bit of a challenge – the area is under development and there is lots of construction going on. Øystein reassured us this will improve over the next few months. This part of town used to have a lot of industry and this building was a canning factory. They have managed to keep some of the old elements of the factory, combined with a modern interior, featuring some pickling jars and local art and an open kitchen – that is dominated by a huge pizza oven.

 

The menu is not extensive but includes mezze (classics and seasonal), Jamaican stew and pizza. We decided to have the tasting menu called Full Bellies which included a bit of everything. There is also some wine on the menu and some beer on tap. The wine prices are not that bad (compared to some other restaurants). If you haven’t dared to before, try the orange wine – it’s a mild intro to the revived world of orange wine. It’s bit surprising that the wine list didn’t feature more organic wines.

It did not take long before we got the starter – the classic mezze. We got fresh pita bread straight from the pizza oven and the mezze consisted of hummus, baba ganoush (roasted eggplant mash) and tabbouleh (fresh herb and bulgur salad). The hummus and baba ganoush were both excellent and was a perfect accompaniment to the warm pita. Admittedly we may be victims of own travel experiences so the tabbouleh was not a favorite for us. – it seemed to have more bulgur and less herbs than we are used to.

 

We continued with the seasonal mezze - Romanesco broccoli, stuffed vine leaf rolls, squash with kimchi and carrots. The rolls were delicious and exotic with flavors of apricot and mint and a stark tartness that was difficult to identify; the baked carrots (fermented, if I’m not mistaken) were great;  and the squash with kimchi was also an explosion of flavors. Of the four, the Romanesco broccoli was a bit plain in comparison.

 

 

Next up was a bowl of Jamaican stew – apparently this was a dish that was popular at Resept and they have brought it along as a tribute. And it was a good dish indeed – sweet potato and eggplant stew with spices that reminded me of Indian dishes served on rice. But there was more to come – Bellies also have pizza on the menu, and we got a white pizza with shredded vegetables in a bundle in the middle. As this was a sharing menu, one was assigned to untie the Gordian Knot and to spread the vegetables evenly. The pizza was excellent, and it was also a bit spicy as it contained Midsummer hot sauce (made in the neighborhood).

To round off the meal, we got a piece of pecan pie each served with a whipped “cream” made from coconut cream.

  

 

Conclusion: first of all, none of us in the group that night are vegan and we all enjoy both meat and fish. But I do have an open mind and enjoy food (vegan or not), as long as it tastes good and leaves a lasting culinary impression. Nikki is also lactose intolerant so it was quite refreshing not to have to mention food “allergies”. This was a solid and very satisfying restaurant experience.  We shall definitely return to try some of the other dishes on the menu and will keep an eye out for seasonal dishes - especially if the other pickled goodies in jars get served too (the kimchi was splendid).

I especially enjoyed the starter mezze, Jamaican stew and the pizza  (I’m a bread lover so fresh, warm bread is always something that I enjoy). On this day, I had done a pretty hard workout and for me it would have been good with larger portions but on a regular day, I think this would have been sufficient. I hope that Bellies will make it in the restaurant market in Stavanger. There is more focus on vegan and vegetarian options these days and Bellies is a fantastic addition to the Stavanger restaurant scene – great vibe, passionate owners / chefs, and good food. So a little encouragement to the average Joe, you’ll be missing out on a great new experience if you let labels aka vegan / plant based (or the current construction site) get in your way!

Facts:Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/bellies.no/

Location: Støperigata 6 - see this Google map.

Price of food: 540 kroner (59 USD) for Full Bellies for 1 person.

   

Mondo is closing!

It is sad to read that the restaurant Mondo is closing down! I was there in January (see this review) and we had a great evening with great food, good wine and the service was both playful and good. The restaurant had a great location on the harbor front in Sandnes but the area has been under development and that has made it a bit tricky I guess to attract customers. It seems like quite a lot of the restaurants in Sandnes are struggling and it is a shame to see when good restaurant (like Mondo) can't make it.

Where to eat Christmas food in Stavanger!

It is not that easy to get Norwegian food in Stavanger restaurants but when we get closer to Christmas, you can get a taste of some of the traditional Norwegian Christmas dishes. Here is a short list of the traditional dishes and restaurants where you can find this!

A lot of people in Norway eat ribbe. This a pork belly dish where the focus is on the meat and on the crispy crackling. To get the crispy crackling, you need to serve it quite fresh and that is why I prefer to make this at home. Traditionally it is served with meatballs, small sausages, sauerkraut (or the sweeter red cabbage), potatoes and sauce. There are also various vegetables that can be served with this.

 

The western parts of Norway has more of a tradition for pinnekjøtt – salted and dried lamb ribs. It is served with a good meat sausage, mash of rutabaga and some potatoes.

In some parts of Norway, juletorsk is the preference. This is fresh cod served with boiled with vegetables and a butter sauce. Leading up to Christmas, quite a few people also enjoy eating lutefisk. Lutefisk is usually made from skrei (arctic cod) that has been dried (tørrfisk) and then treated in lye. The fish is then put in fresh water for a few days and then it is ready to be prepared. It can be baked or boiled and is usually served with bacon pieces, mash of green peas, potatoes and maybe even some brown goat cheese.

 

The most special dish is also the hardest to get at restaurant. Smalahove is half a head of lamb that is salted/smoked/dried and then steamed to prepare it again. It tastes like Pinnekjøtt and is served with some of the same condiments (like good meat sausage, mash of rutabaga and potatoes). Remember to enjoy the eye of the lamb as well 😉 After a good (and heavy) Christmas meal, don’t forget to taste the typical dessert. Riskrem is made from rice porridge and mixed with whipped cream. It comes topped with a berry sauce and it is delicious but stay away from it if you have problems with lactose.

 

So where do you go to taste Christmas food in Stavanger? Here are some of the places – and note that I have not tried the Christmas food at all of these places.

Skagen Restaurant: a charming restaurant at the harbor of Stavanger. Located in a very old house, this place has a lot of character. Skagen can serve ribbe, pinnekjøtt, lutefisk and juletorsk so here you get a full spread of the traditional food. Location is Skagenkaien 13

NB Sørensen is also on the harbor and can also serve the same as Skagen – ribbe, pinnekjøtt, lutefisk and juletorsk. Location is Skagen 26.

Bevaremegvel is also located in the Skagen area. Again, a cozy restaurant with character and they can serve ribbe, pinnekjøtt and lutefisk. Location is Skagen 12.

City Bistro is one of the most popular places for lutefisk in Stavanger but it seems like it is more targeted at groups. Here you can also get pinnekjøtt and I have also had smalahove there – but to get this you must get in touch with them in advance and pre-book this! Location is Madlaveien 18.

Where do you go to get your fix for Christmas food? And what do you prefer to eat?