The best burger in Stavanger

 It is hard work, but someone must do it! ;-) The "hard work" this time was to decide which place that has the best burger in Stavanger? I brought along a friend on a Saturday afternoon and we did a “mini burger marathon” in downtown Stavanger and we started at Hekkan Burger in Pedersgata. This place is very informal with almost an industry look to some of the elements. But they do have a good burger menu and also serve beer/wine. We were there for lunch and decided to have the BBQ burger. As we were stopping by many places, we had to skip the side orders. The burger was served fast and there was more vegetables on it compared to other times I have been there (or maybe I just remember wrong) and there was both lettuce and pickles on it together with a well defined slice of cheese and lovely bacon. The burger was juicy with a good grill taste and the BBQ sauce was both spicy and sweet. The bun was not that exciting and could have been toasted a bit more. But all in all – a very good burger!

 

 

 We moved on to DøgnvillBurger and we managed to get a table! My impression that it is usually quite crowded here so do book a table before you go there. We got a table on the upper floor and the place is more refined than Hekkan. The menu is extensive and includes burgers, side orders, menu for the kids, shakes etc. You can also make your burger vegetarian by switching the patty with Beyond Meat. We decided to have the Cheddar & Bacon burger as this was the closest we could get to the burger at Hekkan. There were not that many people when we came but it took about 25 minutes for the burger to be served. As you can see from the photos, the burger was tall with chunky vegetables and a pickle on the side. I would have enjoyed a more defined piece of cheese on the burger and I would have preferred pickled onion instead of the raw onion. The patty was also quite firm and due to this it also appears a bit chewier compared to the Hekkan burger.

 

 

Next stop was The Shack a few hundred meters away. The place has rustic interior with wooden benches and tables and funny sayings on the walls. We were met by a friendly waiter and got a table – ordering the food is done in a cellphone app and we decided to have Mr. Spicy BBQ. The Shack can also server the burgers with Beyond Meat patty. The burger was served fast and it was a bit smaller than the burger at Døgnvill bit it was beautifully presented with bacon, lettuce, pickles, and sauce oozing out from the top. We ordered a 200 g burger and I thought that it would give us a thicker patty, but we got two patties instead – but they were fried according to our specification. All in all: a juicy burger, beautifully presented and a great taste! Kudos to The Shack for making it possible to adjust the toppings to your preference in the app in an easy way!

 

 

So which place has the best burger in Stavanger? In this highly subjective test we concluded that we prefer Hekkan and The Shack over Døgnvill. First of all because the burger appeared more juicy but also because there was more of a grill taste. Which burger joint in Stavanger is your favorite? Other places that were on the list of places to visit was Burger & Beers and Groovy Diner. But there is only so much burger that one can eat in an afternoon, right?

Good food - at Garcia

We went to Garcia on Saturday night  - we have been there a few times before and it is always great to be back. It was nice to see that there was lots of people in the restaurant and luckily we had a reservation. At Garcia you order straight from you cellphone like you do at many other restaurants these days and it works. We decided to start with cod croquettes (or bolhinos as they are also known as), arancini (risotto balls) and a tartar of smoked salmon from Janas. I love good bolhinos as these were creamy and had a good taste of the cod. The aranici was also good and the smoked salmon tartar was lovely served with a carrot emulsion. Janas (a fish smoking store) is located just a few hundred meters from the restaurant so this is indeed local food!

 

I choose risotto verde as my main dish and it came with mushroom and pecorino. I love my risotto and this was good and I would have enjoyed a bit larger portion. This dish was quite light compared to the beef cheeks that some of the others chose. The beef cheeks was real comfort food served with a rich red wine sauce and a creamy celeriac pure. And yes – the meat was soooooo tender! As I had a light main dish, I had room for some dessert. The Basque cheesecake is a simple cheese cake – but it was damn good and had an awesome creamy texture!

 

I have said it before – Garcia does not get enough recognition on the Stavanger restaurant scene in my opinion. Their main focus to make good food and they did just that once again!

Facts:
Homepage: http://garcia.no/

Location: Ryfylkegata 33 - see Google map https://goo.gl/maps/c79jCd5cK9n 

Price for the food on this visit (two starters, two mains and one dessert): 1000 kroner (about 118 USD)

 

Secret menu at Hemmeleg Restaurant

 

We went to Hemmeleg restaurant on a Saturday night and luckily, we had a booking as it seemed completely full. The place looks like a funky coffee shop as you enter but then you go through a secret door and you find a cozy and more traditional restaurant. We had booked the secret 3 course meal and it did not seem like it was a problem when we mentioned that one of the participants are lactose intolerant. It was a bit confusing that we were asked to order some drinks from an app while I asked to get wine from the waiter. 

 

But it did not take long before we got the starter – a sort of terrine of pork topped with a carrot mash and served with vegetables and a crunchy bread. The pork was a good, but it was the carrot blend that stole the show in my opinion. The main dish turned out to be skrei (the north Atlantic cod that is in season now) and even if it was a bit on the dry side, it was still a delicious meal. The fish was topped with a potato and celeriac creamy mash and it came with a rich red wine sauce with some pieces of sausage in the sauce. Combined with a German red wine (a Spätburgunder or Pinot Noir) this was a tasty meal. As you can see from the photos, the portion was hearty, and it was rustic. But that fits the profile of the restaurant “honest and real food made from good ingredients from proud suppliers”.

 

The meal ended with a chocolate dessert that came with a tindved (or sea buckthorn) ice cream. The chocolate was creamy and intense but to start with, I was a bit disappointed by the ice cream. I’m more used to the sorbet from Siddis and Renaa GoIs that has more of a sour sting. But the ice cream at Hemmeleg did taste great together with the chocolate and the Kinn Vintervarmar - a Barley wine that was served with the dessert. We enjoyed the food at Hemmeleg and we would have loved one more dish as the meal ended too soon. Thanks for the 3-course secret dinner Hemmeleg restaurant. It is great to see that there are alternatives to restaurants in Sandnes and Stavanger.

Facts:

Homepage: https://www.hemmeleg.no/
Location: Storgata 12 at Bryne – see this Google map
Price: 650 kroner (77 USD) per person for the three course meal