Star-studded culinary experiences in Fjord Norway

The fish, shellfish, lamb, fruit, berries, cider and kveik yeast beer worth the trip for those looking for the best food and drink around.

In 2016, the restaurant RE-NAA was finally crowned with its first magical Michelin star, while a second star followed in 2017, awarded to the acclaimed Sabi Omakase. In 2024, RE-NAA was awarded its third star, and in company with Maaemo in Oslo, they are now the highest-ranking restaurants in Norway.

It may not come as a surprise that the first Michelin stars to be awarded outside the capital went to Stavanger. Restaurants and produce in this part of Norway are highly rated by both national food critics and the Michelin Guide.

Another star in Fjord Norway went to BARE restaurant in 2020, bringing the first Michelin star to Bergen. Ten years of hard work finally paid off, and there was great joy and relief in Bergen when BARE restaurant was awarded one star. In 2023, however, Bare launched a new concept and thus automatically lost its star.

The second star for Bergen went to Lysverket, when it received this prestigious accolade in 2022.

Bergen became a member of the UNESCO Creative City Network in 2015. Bergen is one of 36 cities working together on food, creativity and gastronomy, and these cities have been designated ‘Cities of Gastronomy’.

RE-NAA

Sven Erik Renaa is an award-winning Norwegian chef, who was born in the Trøndelag region and has an Italian father. Renaa owns several restaurants in Stavanger, but only RE-NAA, which is located in the Eilert Smith Hotel in Holmen, currently has three Michelin stars. The menu changes every day based on the best produce available. There will normally be around 22 servings. The focus is on the best produce from the sea, the fjord and the mountains in the Stavanger region.

Sabi-Omakase

In the small, exclusive restaurant in Pedersgata street in Stavanger, head chef Roger Asakil Joya serves sushi that has been awarded one star in the Michelin Guide. Normally, there is a seven-month waiting list to get a seat among the ten lucky guests the restaurant serves each evening, but it is worth looking into whether you could be one of the lucky ones this summer.

Lysverket

Lysverket is housed in the ground floor premises of KODE 4 art museum. The restaurant received its first star in 2022, and serves modern Scandinavian food focusing on seafood and local produce. Following a period in New York, chef Christopher Haatuft headed home to bring out the best of the ingredients found in his backyard. He coined his own name for the food he makes: Neo-Fjordic cuisine, a cuisine that could only exist in Bergen. Lysverket gets its seafood and shellfish from local divers, produce from nearby farms and game from local hunters, and presents its dishes in a laid-back, informal manner.

The Michelin evaluation criteria

• Quality of the ingredients
• ‘Craft’, i.e. the taste and preparation
• ‘Personality’, i.e. the chef has succeeded in developing his/her own style
• Value for money
• Quality over time – the experience must be equally fantastic regardless of when you visit the restaurant.

Source: Michelin

Many exciting culinary experiences await when you travel around Fjord Norway. Take your time to get to know both specialities and new versions of familiar and high-quality products. The best restaurants share an ability to breathe new life into many of the familiar and traditional dishes and produce, thereby creating something unexpected and exciting.