Spisekroken

This was more than just a meal, but rather, it was an experience.
I made it a point to get a reservation here, way before I even arrived in Bergen. So when the day of my reservation came up, I showed up on time, and sure enough, there was a table waiting for me.
I opted to order three starters, in lieu of the traditional starter + main dish combination. After all, the starters seemed to be more interesting than the main dishes anyway.
I started with the Santa Kristina ham, paired with smoked pork knuckle and chicken liver mousse. The mousse came in this sealed jar, and when I opened it, smoke came out. It was fantastic! The presentation is amazing, and yes, so is the taste.
I followed that with the mussel soup, which also featured grilled sweetbreads and artichokes. It was a very rich soup, with plenty of flavors, but surprisingly, the flavors all helped each other, instead of killing each other. It was well orchestrated.
Finally, I had the grilled scallop, which was paired with cauliflower in various forms, in purée, grilled, and spiced, together with red currant syrup. This was a highlight. It was indeed an amazing way to present scallop, and they managed to preserve its juicy and succulent feature.
For dessert, I opted to take the cheese plate, featuring only cheeses from Norway, together with orange marmalade, wild honey, and figs. It was well-​presented and a spectacular finish to the meal.
Overall, this was an amazing meal, and it is something that I would want to repeat if I were ever in Bergen again anytime soon.

Food 3.5 stars (hit and miss)
Service 12 stars
Ambiance is casually romantic. Downstairs, one of their walls is covered in moss and is super soft.
Our waitress was the best. She loved how we were tourists and helped us a lot with recommendations for both tourist activities and food. We split bottles of wine by 6 and when she poured unevenly, got another bottle to even it out! A bag was left accidentally after dinner and she made sure it was returned to us! Above and beyond for sure!
Mussel soup — friends raved about it, I thought it was okay. Butter based soup, I thought the butter was overwhelming and thought they were skimpy with the seafood
Scallops — very good, but not the best I’ve ever had. Small portion for the price, but it is a pricey restaurant
Reindeer — gamey and similar to venison. Not my thing but I think it was made well and tasted good if I liked the texture
Veal — I think this was the best veal I’ve ever had. Made to medium rare perfection and the roasted veggies on the plate was the perfect complement to the meat. Wish I could eat this all the time!!!
Creamy fish soup — more cheesey than buttery. I liked this more than the mussel soup but I was the only one out of 6 people that thought this. Thought it was really good fish soup (4 stars), but I had better elsewhere in Norway
Dessert cheese plate — very good cheese with expert pairing with nuts and jams. would get again
Apple cream cheesecake — meh. I think I’d rather get 2 cheese plates
Would come back for the veal and the service in a heartbeat

This restaurant was a solid 4.5 stars. If you’re looking for an intimate fine-​dining experience, come here. The inside is very small (around 20 seats), but there’s a downstairs that maybe has more seating. I highly recommend making a reservation a full day before you plan on eating. The first time we came for dinner (around 8 PM), there were no available tables. One waitress kindly allowed us to make a reservation the next day for 7 PM. The restaurant is very dimly lit and decorated very classily. Our waiter was very nice, but the service was a little slow in taking away plates.
[FOOD]
Aquavit Plate: This is basically a sampler of three of the starters. Because I’m not 20 (legal age for hard liquor in Norway), we got the juice pairing. The scallop was really good, cooked perfectly and very buttery. The ham reminded me of prosciutto but with a little more flavor; the liver mousse wasn’t bad at all. The mussel soup was very creamy and good. The juices that accompanied were apple, pear (not quite sure), and some red juice (really wasn’t sure what that was).
Grilled Scallop: I really liked this one. It actually came in the Aquavit Plate, but it was really good so I enjoyed the full starter. The scallop was really high quality, and the syrup paired very well with the meat. We scraped this one clean.
Deer from the West Coast: They probably don’t mean California. This dish comes with 2 pieces of very tender meat that melts in your mouth. The deer tastes like beef with a little bit of a gamy tinge. The pickled red onion that accompanies is super sweet and great. The Brussel sprouts are also good. The potato purée (really just mashed potatoes) is nice and creamy.
Hardanger Apples Cheesecake: This was so good. The cheesecake was incredibly light, and the popcorn was great. The pickled apples are a good it of tartness, and the apple sorbet was so great (like a refreshing glass of cold apple juice on a hot day). I really enjoyed this dessert.
[OVERALL]
The food and service here were both very good, but there’s something keeping me from giving it a full 5 stars. Our bill came out to 792 NOK (for 2 people), which isn’t too bad considering Norway’s prices. Anyway, I definitely recommend the restaurant, and I would happily come back!

This was the best meal we had on our entire trip to Scandinavia. A friend who is from Norway and currently living in Bergen recommended Spisekroken as a restaurant locals love. We adored it too! So cozy, nice window seat with a reservation and fabulous food. The fish soup was so fresh with creamy tomato broth. The reindeer dish was tender and melted in your mouth– I didn’t know it could taste that way. All of the vegetables were superb as well and the bread tasted like it had just come out of the oven. Lovely place and definitely worth the money. Open a second location in Los Angeles please. ;)

Scallops and reindeer. Ideal food and beautifully cooked.
I have only good things to say about this establishment.

I don’t know what New Norwegian means, I suppose it means that you are not going to get Lutefisk here, but to me, it’s just Norwegian, and very good quality food at that. I arrived 1 hour late from Flam. Ordered the draft beer, which was from a micro brew in Flam. The waitstaff was very forgiving and saved a nice table for the late arrival. Very kind of them. She did point out that the beer was from Flam and that I should probably have chosen something else. I think it’s the water, or that I’ve been hanging out with midwesterners too much as of late, but I’ve become quite the beer lover and every place I’d been to, I’ve managed to order a bier. Thankfully øl is served Pilsner style mostly with some hefeweizen thrown in, both are light and airy. Spesekroken offers a good selection of øl. I proceed with the appetizer trio followed with a hearty mushroom soup. Possibly the best I’ve ever had.
At which point I had a chance to relax and started checking out this bistro. It’s very quaint and cozy. The place obviously attract foreigners. There seems to be a British couple followed by three Americans. A middle age man who seemed a bit lonely and was talking loud about his adventure in Bergen. The sympathetic younger couple spoke with him. He said that he worked in Santa Rosa and then proceeded to give the younger couple his opinion about the valley. I would like to tell him that he should stop talking about such things, some of us would like to not think about the valley, the rising housing market in the bay area, and the rat race in general. Some of us would like to enjoy the ambience, the delicious soup, and anticipate the next course.
Just then my fish arrives. It was a tomato based fish stew, with abundant fish and intense flavoring. This is when you think: why can’t bay area fish stew taste this refined?
Reindeer steak next and they were moist and tender. Why would Alaskan dishes have reindeer sausage but not the steak? I wondered.
There is, of course, abundant internet access. Which makes this traveler jumping for joy. Dessert came in small pieces with lavender ice cream. Quite refreshing tart.
Price point: think medium range San Francisco restaurant. Nothing terribly expensive, but the quality is outstanding, far exceeded most of the restaurants I’ve been to in San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, and Stockholm. It would appear that the standard is high, food is skillfully prepared and people who work in the restaurant really show they care.
I don’t have any complaints. Except that I wish they could open a restaurant like that in San Francisco. It’ll take some planning for me to make the permanent move to that part of the world. I don’t like waiting.

An amazing restaurant. The reindeer was so moist and tender… Not gamey at all… The Hake was great. I highly recommend this place!!!

Deserves every star it has already obtained. Every dish they serve has a unique touch. I will not be surprised if it’s showered by Michelin stars soon. Starters (had a small variety of 3) were perfect. Their fish soup easily beats my beloved Boston’s clam chowder, so delicious. Here I believe Norwegian dairy products contribute a lot. My husband was so happy with the veal dish. So upset not to have any room for desert. Details of each dish explained by our waiter were the extra bonus. I felt myself as a real gourmet.

Amazing!
Was looking for a nice restaurant for my mother & myself’s last night in Bergen, we wanted good norwegian food we found better.
The menu is so interesting with thought through combinations, extremelt flavoursome. So good we cleaned all our plates like they had never had food on!
Highly recommend to pop by this restaurant, not a touristy place but rather known to locals for their special occasions or romantic date for example. Think about booking to aboid disappointment, clearly this hidden gem isnt that hidden amoungst locals!

We had a superb meal. Lovely space, great wait staff, nice wine and incredible food. I had the halibut starter and the trout dinner and my husband had the veal. All were incredible.

Best meal we’ve had in a long time. Both the duck and the veal were incredible and delicious. Be sute to get the aquavit paired appetizer sampler as well!

Lovely food with attentive service. A some what pricey dining experience, but worth it with a feeling of being full with good food and drink. I highly recommend if you want a fine dining Nordic experience.

For norway value, I would recommend this. First it’s a really quaint and personal space. The service is very prompt and the waitresses actually ask if you like your food. We elected to have a local cider to start with and we were brought fresh bread with herbed butter and water. We then ordered the king crab and the ham appetizers. The portion size for the crab was a little on the small size for the price but very delicious. The ham appetizer was very good but the poached egg was overcooked, so unfortunately didn’t get the whole taste. For the main course we ordered the duck and the trout. The duck was good but served on the bone which is unusual for a duck dish as we are used to having it sliced like tenderloin. The trout dish was my favorite with all the smart seasoning and pairings along with it being cooked to perfection. Overall based on food, service and value compared to other norway restaurants, I would give this a solid 4-​stars. To get 5– stars I would add one more crab/​scallop to the appetizer plate size, make sure to serve poached egg runny, change the duck dish to sliced tenderloin for the same price and offer some wine/​champagne/​cider flight options ;)

Spisekroken was a treat: the dishes are well prepared and flavorful, the menu interesting, and service good. This is a small restaurant so booking in advance is advisable. This is not a pricey fine dining establishment, just a small gem producing good food at reasonable prices

Is it just me or does everything taste more intense at Spisekroken? The veal was the pinnacle of veal, and the crispy duck was the duckiest duck I’ve ever tasted. This restaurant comes by its 5 star rating honestly, the cooking here is fantastic.
We came in and were seated near an elder french couple that were whispering to each other «Très bon!» in awed tones. For starters I had the King Crab, and my boyfriend had the carrot soup. Within moments I was looking bewildered at my clean plate, cause I hit it so fast with my fork it was so delicious. Meanwhile, my boyfriend was looking greedily at his bowl asking me if it’d be rude to lick it clean.
Then came the tour-​de-​force. Duck and Veal. Don’t ask questions, just order one of these dishes. I’m not a finish-​your-​plate kind of eater, but I finished my freaking plate.
Of course, we then ordered the sorbet. Dreamy.
Such a great little restaurant in Bergen. But Pro-​Tip: You will need a reservation, we watched several people walk away in dejection for dinner seating.

Excellent new Norwegian, everything we hoped for. Fantastic appetizers, had the ham with poached egg and fish soup, both great, recommend the soup. The goat leg entrée was fall off the bone tender, and quite a generous portion. Pastry chef had a very cool selection to top out all off, went with the macaroon and enjoyed every bite. If visiting and looking for the real deal cuisine and not tourist traps, this is your place.

The place is very cozy and a lot of locals looking to eat nice gourmet. The portions are very generous and beautifully presented. The appetizers were good, specially the carrot soup with grilled white fish. The most outstanding and I mean amazing dish we had was the Baby Goat served with asparagus and wheat Parmesan risotto. This was to me the most delicious meal I had in Bergen.

Wonderful restaurant!!!. It was my last meal in Bergen the food is amazing, the waitress very nice. Everything absolutely perfect .
Need to book before. 3 days in Bergen my favorite place to have dinner !! It is a pity I am leaving tomorrow

I was traveling in Bergen on my own and wanted to treat myself to something a little upscale so I dropped into Spisekroken on a Sunday night. The host was very kind and both he and the waitress attended to me quickly and pleasantly. They offered me an English menu but I was able to understand the Norwegian version well enough. I had the reindeer filets which came with mashed potatoes and roasted chestnuts in a wine reduction. It was absolutely delicious! I really liked the quiet, romantic atmosphere… this would be a great location for a date or for couples traveling together. Definitely a must-​try if you’re in this great little city!

I chose this restaurant just by walking buy, it was our anniversary and I wanted to be special. So it was :) we had great starters main meal and desserts also some great Hungarian dessert wine, which my Hungarian boyfriend appreciate. Overall experience was 5 star and I recommend everybody since Bergen doesn’t have so many hidden gems like this one…

Wenn ich in Bergen bin, ist ein Besuch im spisekroken angesagt, mein absolutes Lieblingsrestaurant hier hab grad noch das Foto von meinem Lieblingsdessert hochgeladen.

Das Restaurant Spisekroken liegt nicht direkt im Zentrum von Bergen, es aber fußläufig gut erreichbar. Es ist sauber und zeitlos-​gemütlich eingerichtet. Das Restaurant ist eher klein. Einen Tisch zu reservieren ist lohnends– und empfehlenswert. Die Kellner sprachen fließend und geduldig :) Englisch und waren sehr freundlich, richtig herzlich, ohne, dass es aufgesetzt wirkte. Die Speisen werden sehr lecker zubereitet und man schmeckt, dass nur hochwertige Produkte verarbeitet werden. Mein Rentiersteak war auf den Punkt gebraten und butterzart. Auch die Beilagen waren wunderbar aufeinander abgeschmeckt. Sehr empfehlen kann ich den Karottenkuchen. Der war ein Gedicht! Die Auswahl der Weine ist groß und sehr gut. Ich habe in ganz Norwegen nirgends besser gegessen als im Restaurant Spisekroken. Natürlich hat die gebotene Qualität Ihren Preis. Ich würde aber jederzeit wieder hingehen. Mein Besuch dort war für mich wie eine kulinarische Offenbarung!

Könnte eigentlich ein kurzer Beitrag werden:
Ich stimme meiner Vorschreiberin/​meinem Vorschreiber voll zu!
Ein bisschen ausführlicher werde ich dann doch.
Wir hatten uns dieses Restaurant aus unserem Reiseführer ausgesucht.
Es wurde 1996 eröffnet und hat seitdem viel Lob bekommen. Völlig zu recht, alle Speisen die wir geniessen durften, schmeckten wunderbar, bei keiner hatten wir den Eindruck, dass irgendeine Zutat vorgefertigt war.
Bestätigt wird dieser Eindruck von der übersichtlichen Karte: 4 Vorspeise, 4 Zwischengerichte, 5 Hauptgerichte und 4 Desserts. klein genug um mit frischen Zutaten zu arbeiten.
Das recht kleine, gemütliche Restaurant ist Abends gut besucht, wir hatten zum Glück reserviert. Der Empfang war freundlich, wir bekamen einen schönen Tisch zugewiesen und warfen einen Blick in die Karte.
Wir wussten dass die Preise (selbst für norwegische Verhältnisse) gehoben sind und über Geld spricht man ja eigentlich nicht.
Trotzdem, damit sich jeder einen Eindruck verschaffen kann, ein paar Preise:
Vorspeisen Und Desserts liegen umgerechnet bei 13,-EUR
Zwischengerichte bei 20,-EUR
und Hauptgerichte bei 33,-EUR
Wir wollten es uns an diesem Abend gutgehen lassen und nahmen gleich das 6 Gänge Menü. Man kann dem Menüvorschlag des Restaurants folgen, oder sich aus der Karte ein Menü zusammenstellen. Für ca. 80,-EUR bekommt man 2 Vorspeisen, 2 Hauptgänge und 2 Dessert serviert. Und weil es dann auch nicht mehr darauf ankam, haben wir gleich das Weinmenü mit 6 verschiedenen Weinen, abgestimmt zum Menü, für ca. 60,-EUR dazubestellt. (Für Biertrinker: es gibt auch ein Biermenü mit 6 verschiedenen Bieren, passend zu jedem Gang für ca.30,-EUR)
Die Menüfolge kann ich nicht mehr genau wiedergeben, aber es war eine ganz hervorragende Fischsuppe mit Garnelen dabei, pochierter Lachs mit Kräutersauce, Kalbsfilet mit Haselnusssauce und gratiniertes Beerenkompott mit Karamellcreme.

Spisekroken ist ein fantastisches kleines Restaurant in der Altstadt von Bergen.
Ein alter Norwegenkenner hatte uns gewarnt, nicht zu viel vom norwegischen Essen zu erwarten. Die meisten Restaurants seien schlecht und teuer. Das Spisekroken ist eine absolute Ausnahme davon. Natürlich hat es auch norwegische Preise, aber dafür bekommt man wunderbar komponierte Gerichte aus absolut frischen Zutaten.
Kalbfleisch und Zicklein sind die Spezialitäten der Besitzerin und Köchin Ingvild S. Bøge, die auch ein Kochbuch zum Thema Kalbfleisch geschrieben hat. Die Zutaten kommen aus der regionalen Landwirtschaft. Es gibt auch leckere mediterran angehaucht Vorspeisen.
Das Restaurant sieht auch sehr schön aus, und die Chefin ist sehr nett und kommt auch mal persönlich aus der Küche vorbei, in ihrer weißen Kochuniform, um die Gäste zu fragen, ob es denn schmeckt. Und wie!!!
Jedenfalls waren wir so angetan — als wir das erste Mal hineinstolperten, hatten wir nur eine knappe Stunde Zeit, weil wir für den Abend Karten für eine Veranstaltung hatten, und bestellten deshalb nur je eine Vorspeise. Das war dann so gut, und wir haben uns auch so freundlich aufgenomen gefühlt, dass wir für einen anderen Abend gleich einen Tisch reservierten, um noch etwas mehr probieren und genießen zu können.
Es gibt übrigens auch sehr guten Wein dazu, was in Norwegen vielleicht einer Extra-​Erwähnung bedarf.