Seafood with a view at Fisketorget

I had lunch at Fisketorget in Stavanger recently. Fisketorget is a seafood restaurant (and a small seafood market as well) and it is in the very center of the harbor in Stavanger known as Vågen. In the summertime they have tables outside so that you can enjoy the sea breeze on a nice summer day. I came there for lunch at about noon and there was hardly anyone there. The interior is modern, and the waiter soon came over with the menu on a big blackboard. They have a few items on the menu that is repeated on a daily basis such as shrimp sandwich (we love our shrimp), steamed mussels, fish soup etc but also a few things that are based on what they have access to that day. On this day the catch of the day was pollock (sei) and the “straight from the sea” was a seafood linguine. It was also interesting to see that they have a traditional Norwegian dish on the menu and that day it was something called plukkfisk – a dish were you boil fish, potatoes, leek etc and make a thick white sauce and mash it together.

 

I ordered the steamed mussels with green curry and coconut milk and my companion decided to have the shrimp sandwich. We got a small bread basket with three kinds of fresh bread to nibble on and some aioli as well but it did not take long before the food was served and that was great as you normally have limited time in a lunch break. The mussels were made and served fast as they were still very hot, and I really appreciate that! Even if it took me some time to get through the mussels, the fish “soup” at the bottom was still warm and it had a nice kick of the green curry, so this was almost like a tribute to some Thai soups. My companion was happy with the shrimp sandwich as well. It was served on a fresh piece of bread and it was topped with cucumber, salad and pickled onion and there was of course a wedge of lemon with it.

 

Well done Fisketorget! I was impressed by this and would love to try you out at night to check out the evening menu. It is great to see there is a restaurant that focus on seafood in Stavanger as this town is linked to fishing and the ocean. It is also great to see that you have a traditional meal on the menu and I hope that tourists that stops by Stavanger are adventurous enough to try it!

Facts:

Homepage: https://fisketorget-stavanger.no/

Location: Strandkaien 37 – see Google map https://goo.gl/maps/Z9Q6tvBpax8wLDTK9

Price: Mussels 170 kroner (18 USD), shrimp sandwich 190 kroner (20 USD)

 

Good selection of beer and burgers at burger&beers

We went to burger&beers on a Friday night and we got a table on the ground floor. This restaurant is located in a traditional 17^th century wooden harbor house and a lot of the interior seems to be original and that makes it quite charming (like Skagen Restaurant that we visited earlier). Just note that the wooden beams at burger&beers can be quite low so be careful to avoid knocking your head. But enough about HSE ;-)

 

The menu is basically just burgers and various sides and there is also an extensive beer menu – but I guess you would expect that when the place is called “burger&beers”. I decided to have Holy Smoke while Nikki had the spicy Fy f%¤” så sterk! It only took a few minutes to get the burgers and that was perfect as we were hungry. The burger was served on a small tray together with a portion of french fries and some dip. The burger was big, and the portion of fries was just right if you ask me. The burger was medium done and it is great that the meat comes from the local butcher Idsøe. I did hit a couple of spots in the burger that were very salty, but I guess that was just a problem with the meat blend. But I did enjoy that it was stacked with lettuce, tomato, bacon etc.

 

All in all a good burger and it is great to see that they have beer recommendations for each of the burgers (both with and without alcohol). I’m a bit surprised that there were not more people in the restaurant this evening. The location of the harbor is great, they have charming interior and there are seats outside that are covered and with heating. I’m sure we will go back to burger&beers again in the future.

Facts:

Homepage: https://www.burgerbeers.no/

Location: Skagenkaien 9 - see Google map https://goo.gl/maps/tzx7E8FKbox

Price for the food on this visit: (two burgers, 1 fries and 1 onion rings) 445 Norwegian kroner (47 USD)

 

Garcia during "Spis for 100"

We have been to Garcia before (see this review) and this time we visited during the “Spis for 100” food festival and they had an oxtail risotto to offer. We were there on a Saturday and decided to have a starter to begin with and ordered caprese salad and some cold cuts (charcuterie). The fun thing about this restaurant is that the owner is not that focused on what to label the food as – it doesn’t matter if it is Italian, Mediterranean etc. The main thing is that it should be good food. And I guess we have a similar palate as I enjoyed the caprese to start with and you can’t really go wrong with cold cuts. I would have enjoyed the cold cut portion to be a bit larger but the truffle salami, fennel salami and prosciutto was all delicious and the same goes for the pickled vegetables.

 

The wine menu is still not extensive, but it contains a few good options at a decent price. We decided to have a red from Côtes du Rhône and soon got the risotto served. As you know, I do love my risotto, and this was maybe not a typical risotto but nevertheless a very good dish. Usually in risotto it is the rice that should be the focus but, in this dish,, there was more focus on the oxtail. But it was a great dish with a risotto that tasted more like a ragu and it was rich and packed with flavors.

 

We were still a bit hungry after the risotto and we decided to have another dish to share instead of having dessert and ordered ratatouille with gnocchi. It is a bit of a strange combination but again it was a good dish with combination of vegetables and gnocchi (that could have been firmer). It also had a very distinct taste of smoked paprika and if you don’t like this taste, this dish is not for you.
All in all a very good meal once again. The food is rich in taste and I would say it is comfort food as these are dishes that I would love to make at home. Garcia is still worth a visit!

Facts:
Homepage: http://garcia.no/stavanger-ost-startside/
Location: Ryfylkegata 33 - see Google map

Gladfisk at Skagen Restaurant

We have been to Skagen Restaurant before but for some reason, we usually end up going to other places when we go out to eat. But we did visit Skagen again during the Gladfisk 2020 and as we came early, we got a table with a view of the harbor of Stavanger. Skagen Restaurant is an icon in the restaurant industry in Stavanger as it was one of the first proper restaurants in town. This combined with the fact that it is in an old sea house, makes it both charming and historic. I was also pleased to see that Skagen has hired chef Cato Ødemark, he used to run one of my favorite restaurants here in Stavanger a few years back (Nero).

 

We ordered a 4 course for 400 kroner (special menu for Gladfisk 2020) and soon we had fresh and warm bread on the table with a splash of good olive oil on the side. The first course was a cod brandade served with tapenade. This was served as two balls (like Bolinhos) and they were delicious. Served fresh and hot, they were fluffy and smooth, and it was perfect with the tapenade as a dip. We continued with a lightly cured salmon served on crispy skin from arctic cod (skrei). The contrasts in this dish was awesome – the fish was a bit salty but there was also a sweet mango sauce and the skin kept its crispness.

 

The next dish was not a part of the menu but still delicious. A small piece of waffle made with potato topped with fried mushrooms – so simple, yet so tasty. We continued with a lobster soup served with scallops (kamskjell) and it also contained pieces of carrot and fennel. This soup was delicious as well and there was a great taste of the cognac as well. To end the meal, we got a piece of arctic cod with nuts served on top of a pea risotto. I am a big fan of risotto and I loved this dish. A great piece of fish on risotto which had a great taste and the risotto was cooked to perfection.

 

All in all: Skagen Restaurant delivered a great meal during this food festival. The waiter was friendly and professional and had knowledge about the food. And all the dishes were great. So, if you want a night out with a good meal in a traditional restaurant and historic atmosphere, you now know where to go.

Facts:
Homepage: see https://www.skagenrestaurant.no/
Location: Skagenkaien 13 - see this Google map