RE-NAA - Stavanger
The quiet before the storm
Rating: 18/20
Where: Stavanger, Norway
When: Dinner for 2 on 27 June 2024
Cost per Person: Tasting menu 4200 NOK, Wine pairing 2500-6500 NOK
Accolades: 3 Michelin Stars
Why: Delicious dishes made from local seafood
Stavanger is a harbor town in southwestern Norway. When we visited in late June, the weather was unusually warm and sunny. Locals and visitors alike thronged the streets for Gladmat, an annual food festival. The long days, with the sun setting around 11pm, made for a relaxed atmosphere. Our destination was “RE-NAA”, Norway's latest three-Michelin-starred restaurant, which was located near the northern end of Stavanger's downtown, on the ground floor of the fancy Eilert Smith hotel. The restaurant is named after chef Sven Erik Renaa, who was unfortunately not in the kitchen during our dinner.
When we arrived, we were offered seats in the lounge for aperitifs and appetizers. Since the lounge only had room for maybe six people, later arrivals went directly to their tables in the adjacent main dining room. The lounge was decorated in warm brown and beige tones, while the main dining room was dominated by black - ceilings, chairs and the kitchen floor. The brightly lit open kitchen provided a noticeable contrast to the area occupied by the nine dining tables. Overall, the design exhibited a modern Scandinavian simplicity, the tables had wooden tops with no table cloths in sight.
Since RE-NAA only served a single tasting menu, the only choice to be made was regarding beverages. There were two wine pairings available, for 2500 and 6500 NOK, and I went for the cheaper one. The wines were decent, not too exciting, but they went fine with the food, and were generously topped off whenever one ran low.
Our meal started with five small bites that arrived in quick succession. The first was a rye flour taco, filled with buckling (a fish), potatoes, sour cream and whitefish roe. The taco had a soft crunch, and its filling was creamy (thanks to the sour cream) with a strong fish flavor - quite good 18.
Only slightly less successful was a tartlet filled with crab meat and a ginger/yuzu mayonnaise. The slightly Asian flavors were nice, and the crab meat seemed fresh 17.
The next bite was vegetarian: a tartlet filled with roasted turnips and white asparagus, seasoned with tarragon and topped with fried leeks. The flavors came together nicely 17.
Lamb tartare had been seasoned with red pimientos and a ponzu gel, and it was served in a crunchy cigar-shaped cracker. The result had a berry flavor (possibly from the elderberries mentioned on the menu), and some earthiness. It didn't taste as bright as meat tartare often does, maybe some acidity would have helped here 16.
Our final bite in the lounge was a chocolate praline filled with a chicken liver mousse and topped with a baby pine cone. Creamy and chocolaty, this was not bad at all. Oddly enough, I again sensed a hint of berry - no idea from what, though 16.
Finally seated in the main dining room, we were treated to a series of local raw (or almost raw) seafood, as well as the beginning of the wine pairing. First up was a sea urchin served in its own half-shell. It shared the cramped space with some shrimp, finger limes, and a juice made from green strawberries and lemon verbena. The almost raw shrimp were nicely creamy, the sea urchin decent but not amazing - at least as far as one could tell among all the other flavors. The sauce was very nice: salty and acidic, it made the dish reminiscent of a ceviche 17.
Four bivalves arrived on a bed of crushed ice. A poached flat oyster was served with buttermilk, plum water, jalapeño oil and oxalis. The buttermilk and herbs dominated the taste, the oyster itself had only a subtle flavor 17. A clam was served with yuzu, salted black currants and a black currant vinaigrette. The clam had a nicely firm texture, and the sauce was delicious, just a bit salty 19. A mussel was served with a yeast sauce, whose strong flavor was vaguely reminiscent of sesame 17. Finally, a thinly sliced clam was seasoned with tomato water and wild garlic oil. This clam also had a firm texture, I presume it was sliced to make it easier to eat. The tomato water was lovely 18.
This brought us to the main courses. A cured mackerel was served with a sauce made from horseradish milk, kaffir limes and lumpfish roe. The taste of this fish was intensely flavorful, and the sauce was mostly creamy (and a bit fatty) rather than spicy - the horseradish was very subtle, unfortunately. Some herbs added a nice aroma. A great start 18.
One of the restaurant’s signature dishes was made with cured squid that had been steamed for one minute and then cut into tagliatelle-shaped strips. It came with seaweed, black fermented garlic, allspice, espelette pepper and breadcrumbs. The result was a very tender “pasta”. Its seasoning was buttery and the breadcrumbs added some welcome texture. Very, very good 18.
A grilled scallop had been glazed with koji and seasoned with rosehip vinegar and seaweed salt. Some rosehip flower leaves sat on top. On the side was a scallop butter and a fermented barley emulsion mixed with fennel. The scallop had been pre-sliced, possibly to allow the sauce to infuse its meat. I wasn't sold on the flower leaves, but the rest of the dish was wonderful. The scallop's glaze had an intense flavor - a well-balanced combination of sweet and savory. The sauce was excellent as well; I savored every bit of it (at least 19 for the sauce itself). Another winner 18.
Slices of sourdough bread were served warm, and came with a traditionally churned butter. The bread had a medium crunch, and went very well with the nicely salty butter 17.
A butter-poached salmon filet came with a dollop of caviar, a turnip sauce and some anchovy butter. The caviar was great, the salmon buttery and the (also) buttery sauce had a small hint of acidity. If I had to nitpick, the dish was verging on actually being too buttery, but the sauces went great with the previously served bread 18.
The final fish dish of the night was a grilled monkfish, covered with a mushroom glaze and served with peas, chanterelles, chicken butter and a birch vinaigrette. This fish was thoroughly cooked and quite meaty in texture. The peas were only lightly prepared and still had a firm texture. The mushrooms were flavorful, but a bit salty, and the sauce was again excellent. Another lovely dish 18.
The single meat dish was a grilled lamb, which was served with a lamb jus, the fat resulting from the cooking process, some lemon thyme and capers. A wild garlic sabayon with edible herbs and a warm cider-glazed bun came on two more plates. The lamb was tender and flavorful, its sauce nicely acidic and salty. The herb dip was truly exceptional - flavorful and creamy (20 by itself). The only question mark here was the sticky bun - its sweetness didn't quite gel with the rest of this course 18.
The first dessert course featured strawberries, topped with a shiso ice cream and a meringue. Additional ingredients included bergamot, black tea, and a shiso vinegar sauce. Altogether, this dish was not too sweet - the vinegar made it a bit savory but still well-balanced with the other ingredients. The lightly herbal, savory note of the shiso ice cream also played well into the “savory and sweet” theme 18.
The second and final dessert was definitely in the “sweet” category. Koji ice cream was topped with a chocolate/hazelnut tuile and accompanied by a fennel crumble. A little pine cone was present as well - an oddly woodsy outlier in an otherwise pretty straightforward dish. Taken all together, this tasted like a chocolate ice cream with a hazelnut crunch, and was thankfully pretty light for a chocolate dessert. Excellent 19.
The arrival of the petit four cart indicated that our dinner was sadly coming to an end. Naturally, we sampled all the available options. A Norwegian strawberry was fine, but not particularly sweet 15. A raspberry tarte had layers of mint custard, raspberry marmalade and raspberry slices. The underlying tarte was not very crunchy, but the fruit was very good, and the hint of mint gave this a unique character 17. Apple juice had been made into a pate de fruit that was topped with another baby pine cone. The pate de fruit was fine, but even the third time around, I wasn’t a fan of the woodsy pine cone - maybe it's an acquired taste 16. A black currant and licorice mousse was - oddly enough - neither particularly fruity nor did it taste much of licorice 15. My favorite bite from the dessert cart was a choux pastry filled with a hazelnut cream. The hazelnut flavor was excellent 18. Finally, two chocolate pralines. The first one was filled with a lemon cream, but the light lemon flavor and chocolate didn't really go together that well 14. Better was a praline filled with a coffee ganache. There was so much ganache that the chocolate was almost an afterthought 16.
A warm, crunchy cardamom pastry concluded our dinner 16.
Overall: A wonderful dinner full of great dishes, most of them featuring local seafood. Particularly impressive was the consistency among the main courses, all of which were solidly in the 18-19 points range. Only the appetizers and petit fours had a few less successful bites. With the accompanying great service, this was a deserved three stars and a very strong 18.
