Stavanger - Norway - page 239

and also-recommended Commandør Hotel, which lies within a 2-minute walk.
Each room comes with a neat, midsize private bathroom with shower. “Havly,”
incidentally, translates as “shelter from the ocean.”
Valberggate 1, N-4006 Stavanger. & 51-89-67-00. Fax [phone]. www.havly-hotell.no. 42 units. Mid-
Aug to May Mon-Thurs 1,050NOK ($149) double, Fri-Sun 710NOK ($101) double; June to mid-Aug 680NOK
($97) double. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: Laundry service; dry cleaning. In room:TV,
dataport.
Commandør Hotel Inexpensive and matter-of-fact, this is a no-nonsense,
no-frills hotel located near other hotels that are more, and in some cases, much
more, expensive. It was established in the 1970s when five adjoining houses—
the oldest of which is 200 years old—were interconnected into one coherent
three-story hotel, and what had been an outdoor courtyard was covered with a
glass skylight, creating an atrium. Rooms, all simple, unadorned, and not overly
large, are accessible via a labyrinth of meandering hallways and winding stair-
cases. Most rooms have bathrooms with showers; a very limited number have
tub/shower combinations.
Valberggate 9, N-4006 Stavanger. & 51-89-53-00. Fax [phone] units. Mid-Aug to mid-June
Mon-Thurs 995NOK ($141) double, Fri-Sun 650NOK ($92) double; mid-June to mid-Aug daily 400NOK ($57)
double. Rates include breakfast. AE, DC, MC, V. Amenities: Laundry service/dry cleaning. In room:A/C, TV.
3 Where to Dine
EXPENSIVE
Bølgen & Moi CONTINENTAL This restaurant—a member of a high-
quality and elite dining chain that now stretches across Norway—lies on the
ground floor of the avant-garde premises of Stavanger's oil museum. Its interior
is as spare, angular, metallic, and minimalist as the museum itself. Part of its
drama derives from its position, straddling a pier and a rocky headland jutting
into Stavanger's harbor. Illuminated mostly by candles, the setting is a foil for
cuisine that's more elaborate and cutting-edge than what you'll find at many
nearby competitors. You know you're going to dine well when you're served such
starters as potato soup with sautéed foie gras and white truffle oil, or asparagus
with poached quail eggs and a chive-studded hollandaise. To see the heights that
the chef can reach, order the skate with fresh herbs from the garden and extra-
virgin olive oil, or the filet of veal with white asparagus and truffle jus. The
freshly made desserts are luscious and come in surprising combinations such as
a soup of rhubarb with a vanilla crème fraîche, or strawberries with balsamic
vinegar and pepper (don't knock it until you've tried it).
In the Norsk Oljemuseum (Norwegian Petroleum Museum), the harborfront, Kjeringholmen. & 51-93-93-
51. Reservations recommended. Sandwiches (lunch only) 75NOK-99NOK ($11-$14); small platters
115NOK-195NOK ($16-$28); main courses 245NOK-315NOK ($35-$45); fixed-price menus
575NOK-1,100NOK ($82-$156). AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 11am-4pm and 6-10pm. Bar open until midnight.
Café de France FRENCH Set in a pink-sided building immediately
uphill from the SAS Royal Hotel, this restaurant closely adheres to the tenets of
classic French cuisine. Elegant, upscale, and richly committed to presenting
French food with flair and sensitivity, it's often fully booked with business trav-
elers. “Trude” supervises the dining room, and her husband, Steinar, is the hard-
working chef. From the kitchens emerge dishes that change with the season but
that could conceivably grace some of the grandest tables in France. Some fine
examples include two different cuts (they call it “a duo”) of lamb arranged on a
platter with chanterelles and dauphinois-style potatoes; goose-liver terrine with