Restaurant K2 — Restaurant in Stavanger

We went to K2 on a Saturday night in September 2020. The restaurant opened in May 2020 and the philosophy is to have a minimum footprint –meaning that they use local produce; preserve food that is harvested; focus on nature/biodynamic wines; reduce waste etc. Can this translate into a great dining experience, as well? Our booking was from 7 pm and we were seated a bit away from the kitchen. The restaurant is a bit on the sterile side with light colors on the walls, local art (Anita Tjemsland), dark tables and wooden chairs that were quite comfortable. There is only a set 7 course menu to choose from but the menu options include vegetarian or with meat/fish. They also offer an alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks pairing. They actually pair the food with a combination of cocktails, wine and beer. Although we were in a celebratory mood, we did not feel that adventurous this evening so we asked for just a wine pairing with our meat/fish menu, which they had no problem accommodating.

The snack to start with was served quite fast on wood and stone plates. Cod skin topped with cream and herbs, cured duck breast, smoked tail from monkfish, pickled onion, delicate brioche with a chicken liver cream, cherries, figs etc. A lovely starter with a lot of character and fun to nibble on each of the small pieces.

The first main dish was tomato ceviche. What a pretty sight to behold indeed – with colorful flowers and locally sourced tomatoes (Hanasand). Looks did not deceive, as it was also a great ceviche with a nice combination of acidity of the lime cured fish and sweetness from the local tomatoes.

Next dish was much more intense – a “stew” of chicken skin with Norwegian corn and seasonal mushroom. Very rich with lots of umami and maybe a bit on the salty side – but still excellent. We continued with a fish dish and we got a piece of Norwegian haddock (uer) served with onions and celeriac. I love baked celeriac, and this gave lots of the flavor to this dish.

The lamb dish that came next featured lamb from Klostergården and had meat that was prepared in two different ways – served with local nettle leaves (brennesle) and some citrus cream on the side. The lamb confit was especially tender!

And suddenly, we were done with the mains and moved over to dessert. First up, was ice cream served on plums and crumble. There was a nice combination of sweetness from the ice cream compared to the slightly sourish taste of the plumbs – but the crumble could maybe have been a bit crunchier. And to round off the meal – petit fours where we got slightly different ones as they took Nikki’s lactose intolerance into consideration. We had e.g. a small chocolate ball filled with a berry mix, a macaroon, a canelés with caramel filling etc.

All in all: I would wholeheartedly say well done K2. Solid and attentive service; food was served at a pace that suited us; and the food and wine were presented in detail (and with a sprinkling of passion here and there). The place where we were seated was almost a bit too quiet, but I guess it will be a bit livelier when there are no corona restrictions anymore. In the end it is the food that matters and we enjoyed all the dishes on the menu! Next time we will try to be more adventurous and try the vegetarian menu and a drink pairing that includes the recommended beer/cocktails. K2 is well worth a visit and we look forward to being more adventurous on...

It was nice, and we had a good time - though when the restaurant has a Michelin star I unfortunately have to be a bit harsher. At a place like this, I would for instance expect a large majority of the dishes to be something that truly stands out in a positive way. Here though, that was a minority of the dishes. The one with homemade bread and tartar was one of these really good ones. Some lack of understanding from our side is to be expected I assume, since our palates aren't probably advanced enough to grasp how clever the chefs are being or whatever - though I've been to a few of these restaurants so it would surprise me if everything was just over my head.

Another thing is that the service was great and all, but it lacked a few of the (probably surpeficial and completely unneccesary) things I've learned to expect from a restaurant with a michelin star. Like a warm towel to clean my hands when I get a table (since some of the dishes were finger food I can't really call that one 'unneccesary' either). Or like changes in where we're being seated (although that is arguably unneccary and superficial), and help to get our coats when we were leaving (this I kinda expected). Oh, and needing to 'fetch' a waiter when we wanted to pay and leave. I am happy that they didnt bother putting my bill in a box full of pinecones (yes, some michelin places do that), but I appreciate some of these extra service things.

The atmosphere was friendly and down to earth, though didn't really seem to be a huge priority.

So now that I'm done writing all that and feel like a spoiled brat I just want to mention again that we did have a very good time there, and everything was nice - just not as nice I expected, being as...

Booked a table with high expectations which unfortunately did not materialize.

The overall atmosphere of the restaurant is not bad. Some nice artwork on walls etc. If you are sensitive to smells ask yourself to be seated further from the open kitchen. At times the smoke and smells reaching the tables was a bit too much. We saw one table moving due to that.

First few courses were delivered pretty fast. Then restaurant got busy and the dishes started to arrive very very slowly. Empty plates stayed at the table for way too long. So 4 hrs total for the whole dinner. As we were sitting close to the kitchen we got to observe the operations. At times it felt pretty chaotic. It did seem that the number of guests that night came as a surprise so the daily prep had not been sufficient.

Food - the concept of local produce and sustainability is great, but unfortunately the level of the dishes was disappointing, lacking depth and elegance. Fish/seafood dishes were better than meat dishes. The sauces on the dishes were very similar. Also the plating was inconsistent - same dish arriving at the table looking different. The main course was pork...very average both from flavor and plating point of view. One of us had shelfish allergy and on the shrimp/tomato ceviche type of dish the shrimp was not substituted but was just missing from the dish. I wouldn't have expected a partial dish served at a Michelin restaurant. The main apple themed dessert was probably the best dish, with nice textures and flavors . Petit fours did not deliver.

Does K2 deserve a star? For sustainability probably yes - a lot of effort is put into it and is something to be proud of. For food, service and overall experience...