Re-Naa

Review Highlights

Alexander travels to Stavanger — a Norwegian coastal city he admits he probably never would have visited if the Michelin Guide hadn't awarded Re-Naa three stars, making it Norway's newest three-star restaurant and the first led by a Norwegian-born chef. He dines with two companions at the 21-seat room inside the Eilert Smith Hotel, where dark moody design and flickering candles pull every eye to the open kitchen like a theatre stage. Sommelier Kristoffer Aga — Norway's Sommelier of the Year in three of the last four years — suggests a half-glass of each champagne from the five-bottle trolley, and Alexander settles into a Coche-Dury Meursault Genevrières 2019 while his companions take the two wine pairings: Unique & Honest at €200 and Fine & Classic at €550. What began in 2009 as a small restaurant run by Chef Sven Erik Renaa and his wife Torill now stands as the summit of Norwegian gastronomy.

• ·Sea urchin, raw shrimp, finger lime, and salted green strawberries — in a strawberry vinaigrette with verbena oil; finger lime adds a popping-candy crunch against the creamy sea urchin and deep sauce. "Super strong start"
• ·Shellfish on crushed ice — four local shellfish in strict sequence: poached oyster from Bømlo with buttermilk, jalapeño oil, and salted plum; carpet clam with unripe black currant, fermented chili, and yuzu; blue mussel marinated in white balsamic with dried yeast vinegar; mahogany clam in fermented tomato water and wild garlic oil; "the dish and I went head-to-head, and the result was a total knockout"
• ·Bluefin tuna chutoro — the fatty underside cut, served with green apple, white currant, Icelandic wasabi, fresh cream with key lime oil, and lumpfish roe; "the amazement continues. Simple presentation, great flavors, nice textures"
• ·Squid 'pasta' — Chef Renaa's signature: no actual pasta, but squid cured in kombu, cut into strips, formed into rosettes, and lightly steamed, with salted lemon chutney, roasted squid, black garlic, toasted breadcrumbs, and mild chili from the Pyrenees; "this is shockingly good"
• ·Grilled scallop — glazed with preserved rose hip paste, served with a shio koji sabayon, salted fennel, and gooseberries; "this sauce alone is worth the trip to come here. I loved the smoky flavors of the grill and that beautiful crisp on top"
• ·Blue lobster — poached in clarified butter and served in vin jaune sauce with elderflower vinegar, pickled elderflower, and white currant, paired with homemade sourdough from an award-winning in-house bakery and organic butter fermented in a former shepherd's cabin in the Norwegian mountains; "perfect ingredients, acidity, flavors, depth and spiciness"
• ·Grilled monkfish — in chicken butter and birch vinaigrette, topped with fresh mushrooms and truffles; "another amazing course. The sauce again was superb"
• ·Young reindeer fillet — with reindeer heart, fermented spruce, ramson capers, lemon thyme and bone marrow sauce, a mug of reindeer consommé, and brioche brushed with reindeer fat; Alexander discovers reindeer isn't his favourite ingredient — "if it's up to me, they're better off running around in the forest!"

Alexander calls Re-Naa "a love letter to fine dining — carefully crafted, full of passion, and brimming with attention to every detail." Chef Renaa says his menu is prepared with humour, but Alexander disagrees: "he is not kidding around. This was seriously some of the most inventive and precise cooking I've experienced." The wine program under Kristoffer Aga is extraordinary — especially the side-by-side comparisons that let the table split pairings, plus the Coche-Dury Meursault that "dominates like the whole freaking orchestra." Desserts include a citrus salad palate cleanser with Nýr ice cream and clementine sorbet, followed by koji ice cream with pine cone reduction and chocolate hazelnut tuile, and finally a warm cardamom bun. "The owners, the incredible team, and the whole experience have stolen my heart." Total: a little over €3,000 for three.

About

Re-Naa is one of only two three-Michelin-starred restaurants in Norway and the first led by a Norwegian-born chef — Sven Erik Renaa, who earned the third star in 2024 after a steady climb from one star in 2016 and two in 2020. Opened in 2009 by Chef Renaa and his wife Torill in Stavanger's Eilert Smith Hotel, the 21-seat restaurant calls itself a 'coastal kitchen,' building its ~20-course tasting menu almost entirely from Rogaland's seas, fjords, mountains, and farms — with 400 to 500 ingredients preserved each season. The intimate, candlelit dining room is built around an open kitchen, and sommelier Kristoffer Aga — Norway's Sommelier of the Year in three of the last four years — runs one of Scandinavia's most celebrated wine programs.