Midweek madness at Ostehuset

We went to Ostehuset on a Wednesday afternoon  - it is always a bit special walking in here as it is a historic building. It used to belong to the Bank of Norway and they have kept quite a bit of the old structure inside. In the summertime there are tables outside and when they first opened, there was a restaurant, a café and a wine bar here. These days, Ostehuset focus on the café and close at 6 pm.

 
When we walked in, we were delighted to see that it was decorated for Christmas – that lights up the space! As before, they have a deli that sells cheese, hams, juice, pasta, bread and so on. We found a table and as it was 5 PM there were not that many people there so easy to find a table and easy to keep distance to other in these covid-19 times. The booking of food and drinks is done by scanning a QR code and then selecting from a menu and you also pay there. 

 

We decided to go for the weekly special and it was served quite fast! The weekly special was baked salmon on risotto. I love my risotto and this was quite well made – creamy and with rice that were still a bit firm. It was also good with some firm peas in the risotto itself. The risotto was topped with a salmon that was supposed to be baked but it appeared quite raw – that is not much of a problem and it seemed to get some heat treatment just by being on top of the risotto. All in all a good meal and it was good to go out and support a local business on a regular Wednesday. 

 

It is a bit sad to see that Ostehuset is just running the café now. As I mentioned, when they first opened there was a restaurant, wine bar and a café. With this stunning location and the beautiful and historic interior, it feels like there is potential for much more than just the cafe. I hope that business will pick up again and that we will see a proper restaurant in this place again in the future!

Facts:
Homepage: https://ostehuset.no/
Location: Domkirkeplassen 3 – see this Google map

Renaa Matbaren - a French bistro in the middle of Stavanger

 I went to Renaa Matbaren on a Saturday night in November. It has been a while since I have been there, and it was great to see that they have used the corona lockdown period to refurbish the place a bit. Now even more stylish and more dedicated to being a French bistro. Next door is Lou-Lou – the wine bar that belongs to Renaa and that is also worth a visit. In Matbaren the setting is relaxed and informal – and the room is still dominated by the neon sign and the sculpture by Antony Gormley.

 

We got the menus and it was in French and Norwegian – just to emphasize on the French bistro setting I guess. There are a few small snack dishes to nibble on, some starters and a few mains. Most of it contains local fish and meats so there is not that much focus on vegans and vegetarians. We decided to share some starters, and some had fresh oysters, we shared some croquettes, some charcuterie and some cheese. The croquettes were fresh and was just a bit spiced up with chili and were great. And you can’t really go wrong with cold cuts! The wine list is not that extensive in Matbaren but if you ask, they bring out a more extensive list - which has a lot of focus on French wines of course ;-)

 

My main was quail from the area and it was deep fried and topped with herb butter and French fries on the side. The butter melted on top of the quail and it was excellent and satisfying! There was a small salad on the side, but I would have loved to have a few baked vegetables on the side as well. 

I rounded on the meal with some espresso gelato topped with salted caramel and some sort of sabayon sauce. As you have seen from the blog, I like my gelato and I would have liked to see an even stronger coffee taste in the gelato. But apart from that it was delicious. 

 

All in all, a great and informal dinner in a relaxed setting. I would like to go back soon as there are lots of things on the menu that I would like to try – and that is always a good sign. Remember to book a table as this place is quite popular!

Facts:
Homepage: http://www.restaurantrenaa.no/matbaren/
Location: Steinkargata 10 – see this Google map 
Price: a starter is from 100 to 200 kroner, mains are from 200 to 450 kroner

Under - A beautiful experience

Under is located about 2 ½ hours from Stavanger so it is not really a part of the Stavanger restaurant scene. But having said that, it is so amazing that I think it is worth a posting here on the blog. 

When we checked into the hotel next door, we got a view to the ocean and a view to the restaurant. It sticks out like an alien spaceship that has landed in a bay in a small village in the south of Norway. Designed by Norwegian architects Snøhetta (they also made Oslo Opera, library of Alexandria etc) it is truly beautiful outside and inside. 

 

The restaurant is only a 5 minute walk from the hotel and when you get there, you walk into the “vessel” and are greeted by staff from the restaurant. After we got rid of the jackets, we were led down the staircase – first of the mezzanine level that contains a bar and a window and then further down to the restaurant. As you have probably seen from lots of photos, the restaurant is dominated by a HUGE window facing the ocean. This window lights up the restaurant with a beautiful light and it also creates a relaxed atmosphere in the room. You can see the movement of the ocean, jelly fish that are moving in the current, fish swim by and star fish that are hanging on the window.

The restaurant operates with a set menu and you can also get wine pairing with the food. As the menu changes according to season and what products that are available, I will not go into much detail, but I think the photos can give you an indication of what to expect. As this place is on the coast, there is of course focus on seafood and we had squat lobster, crab cake, carpet clam, mahogany clam, scallop, eel, fish pudding, langoustine, lamb and so on. My favorites were the eel, the fish pudding and the langoustine. Can you spot the ants in one of the desserts? You can see descriptions of the food by moving the cursor on top of the photos.

 

 

All in all, an experience that I will remember for a long time. The combination of the spectacular setting, the beautiful interior, the light from the ocean and marine life and the food and wine, makes this a place that should be on your bucket list if you enjoy fine dining. Under was rewarded with one star in the Michelin guide this year – and they have only been open since 2019! Make sure to plan your visit and book a table in advance – or get in touch with the restaurant to see if there is any last-minute cancellations.

Facts:
Homepage: https://under.no/
Location: Bålyveien 48 – see this Google map 
Price: Immersion menu is 2250 Kroner per person – 245 USD

 

 

 

 

 

 

Olivia is easy to like

We went to Olivia recently and it has been a while since we have been there. This is a chain restaurant, and they have nice facilities in Vågen in Stavanger and in the summer they also have great outdoor facilities. This is an Italian restaurant and hence menu and wine list contain Italian food and Italian wines. 

 

The starters are not that exciting in my honest opinion, but it is great to see that they have burrata on the starter menu. The food options are dominated by pizza and pasta and if you want to go for pizza, I recommend the 'Nduja and burrata – if you like it a bit spicy of course. The 'Nduja is quite spicy and can be quite intense so be warned. I had ravioli filled with porcini mushroom and it was quite a good dish.

 

All in all I would say that Olivia is easy to like and most people will find something on the menu that they would like to eat. The restaurant is quite big and it seems to be popular for larger groups as the can cater for that. But if you want more authentic Italian food I would still recommend that you take a short walk to Casa Gio or Italo.

Facts:
Homepage: https://oliviarestauranter.no/#!/restaurant/torget
Location: Kongsgårdbakken 1 - see this Google map
Price: burrata starter is 168 kr (18 USD), 'Nduja and burrata pizza is 207 kr (22 USD) and ravioli was 210 kr (23 USD)

 

Siddis Gelato opens store in Pedersgata!

 

I love ice cream and over the last couple of years, it has finally been possible to buy good quality gelato and sorbet in Stavanger. With places like Renaa Xpress (GoIs) and Siddis Gelato, we have been able to taste awesome flavors and combination. My favorite is Siddis Gelato and for the last year they have been producing at a location and Eiganes and selling on Facebook and at local farmers markets. But last weekend, Siddis Gelato also opened a store in Pedersgata - the food street of Stavanger. Now you can stop by to taste some of the great gelati and sorbet that they make! 

My favorites are tindved sorbet (sea buckthorn or is it hippophae?), salt caramel gelato and espresso gelato. The tindved sorbet is in the final of Det Norske måltid (food award of Norway). Make sure to stop by Siddis Gelato and support the great local producer of gelato and sorbet – so that we can continue to enjoy the great quality flavors that are produced there! The gelato store in Pedersgata is located no. 46 (right next to Casa Gio and across the street from Panzanella).

 

 

 

Limited menu at NB Sørensen

We have been to NB Sørensen a few times – it is an icon in many ways in the restaurant lineup at Skagen. We went there on a Friday evening recently and were pleasantly surprised to see that they have done some renovation. It now looks “cleaner” and more stylish (less knickknacks basically). We got the menu and were a bit surprised to see that there was a lot of focus on Christmas food already in the end of October! I think it is great that there are options of getting Norwegian Christmas food at Stavanger restaurants, but I would also like to see a good range of other things on the menu. We decided to go for a tarte flambee to start with and burger as the main. We got the tarte flambee after 15-20 minutes and this is a French version of a pizza. It was fun to see that they had decided to be playful and have fenalår (traditional cured meat) on it and this was a good combination. I’m not sure how a tarte flambee should be like but I think I prefer an Italian pizza with a bit more crust as this version got a bit dry.

 
We soon got the burger, and it was served on a wooden platter with some ketchup and some fries. The burger was oozing cheese and was topped with both bacon and onion rings! The burger was very tasty, but I would have loved to see some more vegetables on there! (e.g. a good slice of pickled cucumber). The brioche bun was also good, and the fries were fresh and warm.

 

All in all, there is not much to complain about as the burger was good! But we were a bit disappointed by the menu options and I think that killed our vibe a bit. So we look forward to returning in the new year to try out the regular menu.

Facts:

Homepage: https://www.nbsorensen.no/

Location: Skagen 26 – see this Google map

Price: 169 kroner (18 USD) for the starter, 225 kroner (24 USD) for the burger