Under

Europe’s first underwater eatery, aptly (or maybe just unimaginatively) named Restaurant Under made quite a splash when it opened in March 2019. Securing a table is nearly as impossible as scoring a date with a mermaid.

The location, on a remote peninsula at the southernmost tip of Norway, is straight out of a fairy tale while the restaurant and its mind-bending, contemporary architecture is pure sci-fi; a massive concrete structure seemingly sliding into the ocean, with a glass-walled dining room, anchored by an open kitchen, five and a half meters below the seashore. It would be an understatement––pun intended––to call this a unique experience, supping with the fishes, so to speak, as the North Sea’s marine life floats by your table. Even the most jaded fine dining shark is bound to be impressed.

Chef Nicolai Ellitsgaard offers a daring, innovative and frankly quite challenging tasting menu that relies almost exclusively on locally sourced seafood, herbs, flowers and forest greens. His dishes are highly technical, his creative plating over the top.

The 16-course bonanza starts off with a selection of mussels and clams and moves on to ling roe followed by a vaguely off-beat oyster with overpowering cured lamb fat and fizzy rhubarb, and a stellar scallop, delightful to behold and to savor, served with its roe and last summer’s fermented elderflowers.

Ellitsgaard’s take on the crowd-pleasing taco will surely become a signature dish––a toothsome tortilla made with Norwegian potato “lompe” and aged beef fat, stuffed with with cod cheeks, crispy aromatic leaves and birch. Riding the taco:esque wave all the way to shore is the seaweed and sea buckthorn dessert, a love-it-or-hate-it creation that challenges the concept of sweet endings.

Under’s wine pairings shine as magically as bioluminescence. Sommelier Jefferson Goldring, formerly of Maaemo in Oslo, keeps things interesting by pouring both Old World classics, like a Saint-Aubin 1er Cru from Hubert Lamy, and borderline shockingly innovative tipples, such as a sake with notes of cherry and plum. He also offers a non-alcoholic juice selection.

The service is relaxed, yet attentive. Don’t be surprised if your waiter hunches down at the table to explain things or to simply point out various fish species bopping by the window.

This “underwater Noma” has lofty ambitions that, given time, may very well be reached, but at present the menu needs a few adjustments to warrant the hefty price tag. That said, Under offers an unparalleled dining experience, well worth the long drive.

Published January 2020