The Best Restaurants with 3 Falstaff Fork(s) in Norway

One Michelin starred A L’aise is famous for offering the restaurant guests the classic French canard à la presse. It needs to be booked in advance and is of course a highlight. Danish Chef Ulrik Jepsen additionally presents a menu packed with tasty flavours, made from the best produce with classic (mostly French) techniques.

In 1993 Bent Stiansen was the first Norwegian chef ever to win Bocuse d`Or. Stiansen and head chef Torbjørn Forster serve a seasonal six-course gourmet menu using the best Norwegian produce. The restaurant is located in a beautiful 17th century house in Kvadraturen, the old part of Oslo’s city center, having kept its one Michelin star since 1998.

This one Michelin starred restaurant is located in the Hardanger fjord in the west of Norway. The silver “island” called Salmon Eye is an art installation floating in the water outside Rosendal and has become a hot spot for foodies. Danish chef Anika Madsen was recently awarded Michelin’s Young Chef Award, and has created a menu utilising unusual produce from the fjord and its surroundings.

Chef Espen Ramnestedt and his Swedish born wife Eva Linda Ramnestedt change the menu every second week at this 18-seat restaurant in Tromsø. The small and intimate restaurant serves a small or large set menu based on mainly local produce. The chefs pick seaweed for use in the restaurant. Smak is loved by locals and tourists for years.

The name K2 is not related to the famouse mountain, but the two K’s in the surnames of founders Ola Klepp and Elisabeth Kres. A 10-course tasting menu focusing on minimal food waste and the tiniest possible carbon print, featuring organic, local produce; the key factors in this restaurant located in Norway’s oil capital Stavanger. K2 has been awarded one Michelin star as well as the green star.

The beautiful archipelago of Vesterålen is home to centuries old Kvitnes Gård. Based on locally produced ingredients, foraging and old preservation techniques, the farm’s restaurant is run by Chef Halvar Ellingsen, with a menu “decided by the uncompromising nature”, as he puts it. You’ll get the full experience by having dinner, spending the night in one of the lovely rooms, then waking up to an unforgettable breakfast.

“Bad boy” and former punk Christopher Haatuft is head chef at the Michelin starred Lysverket in Bergen. He’s brought all the skills he learned at famous Chicago restaurant Alinea – and more – into a 10 course menu featuring local produce, especially highlighting the wonderful seafood in the waters surrounding the beautiful city, and always wonderful scallops supplied by a dear friend of Christopher.

In addition to three Michelin starred restaurant Re-Naa, husband and wife team Sven Erik and Torill Renaa run a French bistro, serving classics such as Escargots à la Bourguignonne, Tartare de boeuf and Crème Brûlée. The menu changes continuously depending on the seasons, but you’ll always leave smiling from the excellent dishes.

Palace Grill, an institution in Oslo for three decades, only seats 23 guests, and the set menu is decided each day, depending on the whims of the team and the produce they get their hands on. The atmosphere? Dictionary definition of the word “lively”. The namesake bar next door is a great place to finish off the evening.

With its location inside the beautiful Sommerro Hotel, Plah truly is a hidden gem. Chef Terje Ommundsen is THE authority of Thai food in Norway, and his innovative menu elevates classics into fine dining. The guests are seated by the counter alongside the open kitchen with a perfect view of the chefs at work.

Certain hotel restaurants are a cut above the rest. One Michelin starred Savage is located inside Hotel Revier with Executive Chef Andrea Selvaggini’s menu reflecting his many journeys around the world. It’s innovative, exciting and tasty, and comes in two sizes; the big one with 18-19 servings, the smaller, more compact one, featuring nine.

An unusual and idyllic experience is visiting the old Utskarpen Gård on the beautiful Helgeland coast in Norway’s north, spending the night in one of the rooms at “Til Elise” and dining in the restaurant “Fra Marius”. Food-wise it’s a “field to table” experience, focusing on the very best of local produce. The farm is named for its owners, married couple Elise Bratteng Rønning and Marius Martinsen, who opened for business in 2015.

Varemottaket is run by chefs Peder Støylen and Halaigh Whelan McManus who used to work at a number of Michelin starred restaurants, Maaemo amongst them. They recently opened their own place – recommended in the Guide – at the back of a butcher shop in order to serve reasonably priced fine dining with minimal fuss, and lots of good (and loud) music on the sound system.

Arne Brimi is a true living legend in culinary Norway. He created Vianvang as a gourmet destination situated in the mountains of Jotunheimen. As it’s not a proper road all the way, guests will need to walk the last 500 metres to the doorstep of this beautiful place. The four-course menu consists of appetisers, entrees and mainly one fish- and meat dish, served with Brimi’s famous sauce from 1984 and a dessert to finish. The wine selection is also quite impressive.

Bellies exclusively serve plant-based food, having humorously named their large menu “Full Bellies”. The menu changes considerably depending on the season and what’s available at any given time, and the restaurant is excellent at utilising Asian flavours, like Sichuan pepper and ssamjang, such delights having earned it a Michelin recommendation.

Idyllic Boen Gård lies a short distance from Kristiansand in the south of Norway. Only recently having opened for the public, the main house was built in 1813. The farm contains several hotel rooms and a wonderful restaurant with the surrounding park making a visit unforgettable. The food is locally produced, with lambs grazing on the farm and wild salmon caught in the river just outside.

Øystein Ellingsen and Kristan Bretten Vangen achieved a Michelin star for their restaurant Bare and have now opened Gaptrast in the area of Nøstet in Bergen. The Gaptrast experience is a set tasting menu featuring local, seasonal ingredients caught by local farmers, hunters, fishermen and divers who share the same holistic approach to sustainability.

While working for Chef Thomas Keller in New York and other renowned cooks, Sebastian Myhre nurtured his dream to one day open his own sustainably run restaurant. One Michelin starred Stallen is that place, also recently awarded the coveted green Michelin star. The menu revolves around the seasons and tells the restaurant’s story. Stallen is set in an old stable, hence the name.

If you want a once in a lifetime experience, Under is the place to visit. Located in the sea, actually below the sea surface, in the south of Norway, you dine while watching the wildlife in the ocean. The dishes served reflect the location of course, and you will be offered a 10- or 12-course dinner menu or a 6-course lunch menu. Under offers wine pairings or non-alcoholic pairings for each menu, and of course has an extensive list of wines if you prefer this option.

“Gourmet for the common people”. Friends and chefs Henrik Falkensten (formerly of Speilsalen) and Ola Kinserdal (formerly of Restaurant Frantzen) serve a 3- and 5-course menu as well as an à la carte menu in the cosy and relaxed fine dining restaurant in the coastal town Larvik. The à la carte dishes are perfect for sharing and the style is French with an Asian touch.