Restaurant À L'aise

Dining at À l’Aise is pure time travel. Hidden behind the sliding glass doors of a rather anonymous office building in Majorstuen is a plush world of heavy white tablecloths and luxury-laden trolleys navigated by white-gloved waiters; champagne, canard à la presse, cheese, petit fours, and brandy all criss-cross the thick wall-to-wall carpeting in the hushed dining room. This is solid French cooking at its finest, paired with classic, predominantly French wines, as outdated and arcane as that might sound. There are politically incorrect and lavish ingredients (foie gras with gold leaf!), yet there’s also superior seafood, as well as choice local produce, competently cooked and flawlessly presented by the attentive, rather formal staff.

Dinner kicks off in a delicious, albeit safe fashion with smoked shrimps and a cone of caviar-topped tuna tartar. The snacks are followed by a less successful dish of poached quail eggs, trout roe and smoked salmon with hollandaise, the sauce not quite rich, tart or warm enough. This is quickly smoothed over with Frøya langoustines on a creamy flan, joined by a concentrated, umami-rich and deeply comforting ginger-redolent broth. Pan fried turbot with Noilly Prat beurre blanc and artichokes from Bretagne is a timeless dish, perfectly executed, and well paired with a Sicilian Grillo from Marco de Bartoli.

À l’Aise’s pièce de résistance, however, is the tableside spectacle of canard à la presse. Chef Ulrik Jepsen carves a whole roast duck from Holte gård, pressing the carcass, thickening a sauce with its juices, making it into a rich, flavorful elixir to accompany the perfectly pink and crispy-skinned duck breast. A labor-intensive process and an entertaining show to behold.

Naturally, the meal is capped by yet another flashy extravaganza; omelette norvegienne, ice cream and sorbet in a meringue crust, flambéed right before your eyes.

Published January 2020