Stallen
No horsing around in the Stable
An ambitious little restaurant just off fashionable Hegdehaugsveien, Stallen is located in an old stable (hence the name, which means just that, stable). With the horses long gone, there are no traces of straw or fodder in the tastefully refurbished space; an open plan kitchen takes up most of the ground floor, including the mezzanine, the whole restaurant only seats twenty people. Stallen is the no holds barred offshoot of the more laid-back Fyr Bistronomi, a larger restaurant housed on the same property and run by the same chef, Per Se-alum Sebastian Myhre.
His snacks set the tone and show Stallen’s true colors. A deeply savory, umami-laden broth of wild mushrooms teleports us straight to the forest, while the potato waffles with sour cream and trout roe display Chef Myhre’s ability to blend tradition and trends. Nature and culture weave through the meal with fermented trout (rakfisk), salt-cured venison and home churned butter. A main course of reindeer proves that old-fashioned haute cuisine isn’t dead and that sous-vide is for amateurs, the tender piece of wild game is pan-fried to ruby perfection and simply garnished with red carrots and flower buds. The soirée’s highlight, however, is a creamy royal custard with sunchokes and earthy thyme, well balanced with just the right acidity to match the richness of this classic pudding. It’s deftly paired with the Pelican Arbois Savagnin Mouillé presented by a kindly and knowledgeable sommelier who should take some French lessons.
Stallen is already an accomplished newcomer, it’ll be exciting to see how it evolves in the coming years.
Published January 2020