We Eat the Classiest Meal of Our Lives (So Far): Lysverket in Bergen, Norway

We mentioned that while we were in Bergen, we had a fancy meal at a restaurant called Lysverket. But we didn’t mention just how fancy it was. This restaurant is one of several in Norway with a Michelin star, and it seemed like the perfect place for a pre-birthday splurge. (P.S. Laurel has just turned fifty!)

Lysverket serves a set meal of ten courses. You can also purchase wine; we opted for the eight-wine pairing and we feel really good about our choice. It might be obscene to take you through every single course with us. But we’re going to do it anyway.

We start with a very civilized glass of champagne. It feels like a small glass, if we’re being honest. But it turns out that lack of alcohol is not going to be our problem this evening. The first course is the freshest peas you can imagine, with a sour cream sauce, a hazelnut wafer and delicate herbs. We move on to shredded brown crab from Hanasand (just down the road) in tomato and garlic sauce. We love us some crab, and this was astonishingly tasty; also, how did they manage to make tomato and garlic not overwhelming? Fish follows, but no ordinary fish: it’s a bluefin tuna sashimi with pureed lovage and mustard seeds. Incidentally, the good wait staff at Lysverket lovingly described all of the wines; they came from small vintners the world over, and they were amazing. Beyond this, all is unclear.

Then come grilled leafy greens. Laurel has tried this herself several times and it never works. This one worked: it was the perfect palate cleanser for the lovely monkfish with its herb bouquet. Then scallops with elderflower and tarragon (we love scallops!). Right about here things get fuzzy. We switch to red wines and meats. Pork and cabbage, but not like like your gramma makes unless she is one fancy gramma: a slice of pork neck, and minced pork in a cabbage roll with truffles. Then lamb, in a sherry and chanterelle demiglace.

At this point (three hours in) we have lost track but we think there are going to be two desserts. Two! Strawberries with shiso granita and buttermilk ice cream. Shiso is hard to describe (mint, basil, cilantro, but fresher). We’re going to go to Japan to find out more. And then – because why have one dessert if they give you two? – a hazelnut semifreddo. 

So there you have it, our ten-course, three and a half-hour birthday dinner. We don’t expect to be eating like this again any time soon, but it seemed a fitting way to celebrate half a century of uncompromising excellence.