Stavanger - Norway - page 241

More formal and stylish is the gourmet restaurant upstairs, where a collection
of avant-garde art and a sweeping view over the pond adds to the dining allure.
Food in the bodega includes bacalao (Iberian-style cod), paella prepared for one
or more diners at a time, fish soup, paper-thin slices of Serrano ham, and a
highly appealing array of tapas. Upstairs, a roster of more elaborate dishes
includes cream of shellfish soup with crabmeat-stuffed ravioli; filet of halibut in
orange sauce; or scallops with red beets.
Kongsgate 41. & 51-53-33-00. Reservations recommended for the formal restaurant, not necessary in the
Spanish bodega. In gourmet restaurant, main courses 230NOK-255NOK ($33-$36), fixed-price menus
425NOK-485NOK ($60-$69); in Spanish bodega, servings of tapas 48NOK-175NOK ($6.80-$25), main
courses 135NOK-295NOK ($19-$42). AE, DC, MC, V. Mon-Sat 6-11pm (from 5pm for the bodega).
Gaffel & Karaffel NORWEGIAN/INTERNATIONAL The “Fork &
Carafe” is one of the hippest restaurants in Stavanger. The wooden tables have
no tablecloths, the red halls are hung with knives and forks, and there's a popu-
lar bar downstairs. The historic building, from 1871, was originally the private
home of a fisherman and his family. High-quality ingredients are skillfully han-
dled by a well-trained staff that might tempt you with its garlic-marinated fresh
shrimp as an appetizer. For a main course, a pasta specialty is likely to be fea-
tured along with such main-dish staples—each well prepared—as monkfish
with Parma ham and a well-seasoned seafood sauce, or delightful Norwegian
lamb with fresh vegetables in a savory sauce. Also try the popular tapas menu. A
dessert specialty is panna cotta, a pudding of milk and vanilla with fresh fruit.
Øvre Holmegate 20. & 51-86-41-58. Reservations recommended. Main courses 190NOK-240NOK
($27-$34); fixed-price tapas menu 269NOK ($38). AE, DC, MC, V. Daily 6-11pm. Closed Dec 22-Jan 8 and
1 week at Easter.
Straen Fiskerestaurant SEAFOOD This is one of the best seafood
restaurants in Stavanger, its windows opening onto a view of the harbor. It
amusingly bills itself as “world famous throughout Norway.” The old-fashioned
interior is straight from the 1950s with homelike decor and a grandmotherly
touch here and there. Begin, perhaps, with the grilled scallops and mushrooms
with a tantalizing Jerusalem artichoke purée. You might proceed to the finest
item on the menu: Norwegian grilled lobster with a peppery butter. The other
main courses maintain a balance between simplicity and elegance, as exempli-
fied by the crab legs with homemade saffron pasta, fresh garlic, and tomato oil,
or the poached halibut with pea lentils and a bacon cassoulet with beets—every-
thing served with orange butter. The food is perfectly cooked and appears in
generous portions. There is a nightclub upstairs and a sushi restaurant down-
stairs that's served by the same kitchen.
Nedre Strandgate 15. & 51-84-37-00. Reservations recommended. Main courses 245NOK-365NOK
($35-$52). AE, DC, MC, V. Mon-Sat 6-11pm. Closed Dec 22-Jan 7.
Timbuktu NORWEGIAN/AFRICAN Hip, stylish, and popular, this
restaurant is set beside a cobble-covered square that opens directly onto Sta-
vanger's Vågen (harborfront). Inside, within a decor of pale birch with ebonized
trim, there's a busy bar area (open Mon-Sat until between midnight and
1:30am) and somewhat crowded tables. Try the masterly salad of lime- and
olive-marinated skate or a platter of very fresh sushi as a main course. Drawing
upon the bounty of a rugged land, the chefs will delight you with the catch of
the day, such as roasted halibut with pickled fennel in an anise-flavored gravy.
You might also savor the roasted lamb with a Madeira-flavored gravy and a side