Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Huset
NORWEGIAN
( 79 02 50 02;
www.huset.com
;
cafe mains Nkr138-238, restaurant mains Nkr295-369, 4-/5-/
6-course Arctic menus Nkr695/765/895; cafe 4-10pm Sun-Fri, 2-10pm Sat, restaurant 7-10pm)
It's something of a walk up here but it's worth it. Dining in the cafe-bar is casual, with
well-priced pasta, pizza and reindeer stew on the menu. Its signature dish is
hamburger
med alt
(Nkr105) - a meaty burger with all the trimmings, so juicy, a researcher told us,
that lonely scientists in their tents dream of it. The daily specials (Nkr109) are wonderful.
In the same building, the highly regarded restaurant serves up dishes such as terrine of
Svalbard reindeer, fillet of reindeer and quail. Its wine cellar has over 20,000 bottles.
Kroa
NORWEGIAN
( 79 02 13 00;
www.kroa-svalbard.no
;
lunch mains Nkr85-138, dinner mains Nkr206-245;
11.30am-2am)
This pub-restaurant was reconstructed from the elements of a building brought in from
Russian Barentsburg (the giant white bust of Lenin peeking from behind the bar gives a
clue), and it feels like a supremely comfortable and spacious trapper's cabin. Service is
friendly and mains verge on the gargantuan.
Decent soups, hearty mains (steak and fish) and starters such as smoked minke whale
and cured tenderloin of reindeer were on the menu when we passed through. Less formal
dishes such as pizza and hamburgers are also possible. In high season, it's worth booking a
table if you don't want to wait. The kitchen closes at 11pm.
Mary-Ann's Polarrigg
THAI, NORWEGIAN
( 79 02 37 02;
www.polarriggen.com
;
Skjæringa; mains Nkr145-285; 4-10pm)
This excellent restaurant offers up spicy Thai rice dishes in a wonderful glasshouse setting,
festooned with living plants that, unlike their native Svalbard counterparts, entwine and
climb much more than 2cm high. They also serve some local Norwegian specialities, in-
cluding Svalbard reindeer or seal steak.
Brasseri Nansen
HOTEL RESTAURANT
( 79 02 37 02;
www.radissonblu.com
; mains Nkr259-299, 4-course Svalbard set menus Nkr465;
noon-10.30pm)
