AiSuma Restaurant — Restaurant in Trondheim

So, we wanted to try this place for the first time.

Reviews are good, the name associates good quality (AiSuma .. kind of exotic and interesting?) and their web page looked professional and promising.. talking about the AiSuma experience.. we reserved a table and was looking forward to nice time eating together..

Not so much..

Started off with waiting to get our table. I did not really understand why, but some problem with those ahead of us, kept us standing in the cold draft waiting even when we had allready reserved... not a good start..

Our waiter was kind of unfriendly, i felt quite unwellcome by her cross.. "what can I do for you!?", giving a general impression it was better we had not come, at least not to her table... after this ordeal we settled on our table. Not actually as calm and romantic as expected, constant noise from the kitchen, the partying table close by, and as our table was placed in kind of a hallway.. continously passing by of various waiters.

We opted for two different starters, one with mussels and one with scallops. Both was a quite tasty, but the problem was the time balance, Really bad... I finished my two small pices of scallops like 15 min before my wife managed to eat her mountain of mussels (still in the shells), and she was trying to speed up to reduce my waiting time. Stress for her and reduced time to enjoy eating together...

After this we tried the AiSuma BBQ, 3 types of meat with sides of our choice. We tried to adjust the side dish as my wife reacts to garlic, but that was not possible. I had allready informed in the booking, but apparently this was lost in translation. She had to select something else. Turns out they prepare in advance and just heat it up.. we had the mashed potatoes and sweet potato fries (!). The mashed potatoes where boring, and the fact that they serves fries explains why our clothes and hair was full of that greasy kitchen smell I was hoping to avoid going out to eat in the first place..

The meat was a disapointment. The beef was chewy and lacking a BBQ feel. I assume they use gas and not coal? Not much smokey feel there.. The best cut was the lamb, it was tender and cooked as we requested, but lacked salt and of course, not much bbq feel. The chicken was really bad, seemed to be precooked, like those you get at the supermarked and it tasted old. I did not enjoy. Also, the food was presented on kind of a cast iron plate.. normally a great way to serve, had it only been (sizzeling) hot. However, it was cold... and our meat got cold while we waited for the side dishes to arrive. Better coordination would be good.

The portions where large (with the exception of my scallops) so that's at least something.

Overall, a dissapointment. We expected fine dining, but ended up in kind of upscaled Egon restaurant.....

My last night in Trondheim, and I need to pick my last restaurant to have dinner. It wasn't easy, but the location closest to my hotel that also had good reviews won - AiSuma! It was early enough that I didn't need a reservation. It was only me, so the courses for two were unfortunately out of the question. But that was ok because I was able to order the deer tenderloin... Venison is not something that is normally served in US restaurants, and usually only hunters have this type of meat. I'm well aware that venison has a stronger and different flavor that beef (be sure you know this fact before ordering such a dish). I ordered mine medium-well, and even though it might have been a little "cooler", that did not detract from how well made my meal was. It was quite tender (relatively) for venison. My server also suggested a good sauce (I figured "pepper" would go well anyway). He even offered me a locally pressed apple juice to go along with my meal, and also suggested another juice that I would have tried had I finished my original drink before finishing my steak. This dish alone was quite filling, and I didn't get to try any desserts. Good value for the meal. As others have said, the interior it's unique with the barrels. I'm pleased with my choice, and if I ever return to Trondheim, I'll surely return...

Dish: seafood bbq.

Pros: the possibility to eat a variety of seafoods. Great seasoning and flavors. Our waitress was so nice and helpful when asked. The vegetables were perfect; juicy, crispy and grilled (smokey). The location and the interior is absolutely amazing (try to get a table by the window).

Cons: could be better. Seafood were not as fresh as expected (disintegrating shrimp), halibut was a bit dry, and it was too little of it for our hungry stomachs. The crab was not fully opened beforehand and had to be taken back to the kitchen multiple times as they couldn't provide crab crackers (I would be happy to open them myself). The potatoes were dry as raisins, so remember to ask for a new batch and they will happily provide freshly...