“it’s never as good as the first time” - dinner at Egget

We first went to Egget in 2015 and we were extremely impressed by the concept and the food (see the review from 2015 here). It seems after a while, the chef Anthony Orjollet left and headed back to France to start a restaurant there. We’ve been to Egget (the restaurant and a pop up) a few times after he left and I guess “it’s never as good as the first time” comes into play. In July 2020, to celebrate a special birthday, we decided to give Egget a chance again. 

 

The concept is still more or less the same: a very informal restaurant with not very comfortable seating, the place can be quite crowded and quite noisy – and, as the sign says, there is no menu. This was a family dinner and when we arrived, there was a table set up for 8 of us. There were also two open bottles of Cava on the table and this shows a bit of the concept of Egget – no questions about what we really wanted to have instead they just put it on the table. 

 

We got some questions to start with about allergies and it did not take long before we got some starters. The warm bread had been grilled and it was lovely (I love fresh bread) and there was a nice taste of cumin. It was served together with something that seemed like just a green salad but when we moved the green leaves at the top, there was a very good crab and tomato salad underneath.  It took a bit of time to get the next dish: a pan-fried cod in a mussel sauce. The cod was great, but I would have preferred if the piece were a bit bigger as it was excellent. The waiter came with two open bottles of white wine and we did get to taste it, but again it seemed like that was more of a formality and I would have appreciated it if we had gotten some questions about what we wanted.

 

It took almost an hour to get the next dish: a pork neck dish with strips of pickled vegetables on the side. There was a distinct taste of the horseradish (where less is definitely more)  in this dish, so it was not really my favorite. We got a cake as a dessert and it seemed like a cold baked cheesecake. I prefer the cheesecake baked and most of the family members did not seem very impressed with this cake. We rounded off the meal with some cheese and it was a varied selection. 

 

All in all it was a good meal and we had a wonderful evening but I still think there could have been more food - maybe a beef / bird dish before dessert? I am hard pressed to get excited about Egget the way it’s been the last few times we have been there. The informal setting is fun and all that but I would have liked an introduction or short verbal summary of the menu to begin with. It builds up the excitement of the dining experience. One of the joys of dining for us, is choosing a new wine to accompany the dish or have a sommelier share their passion for wine with us. So some sort of wine list or options for us to consider would’ve been a plus. Dining out in Stavanger generally has an average median price - it’s tricky to compare as there is no priced menu or indication of cost until you get the bill. We shall definitely be looking up chef Anthony in Biarritz once the corona virus is a faint memory. 

Facts:

Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/eggetstavanger/

Location: Steinkargata 23 - see this Google map

Food: 730 kr (77 USD) per person for the food including the cheese)