Valentine’s Day dinner at Kjeringholmen Brasserie

The last time we visited Kjeringholmen Brasserie, it was summer, the sun was shining, and we were seated outdoors with beautiful views over the harbor basin by the Norwegian Petroleum Museum. This time around, however, we chose to visit on Valentine’s Day itself. Check out our review from a visit to this brasserie on a beautiful evening in August last year!

Stavanger in the 1980

Table set up

Menu

You enter through the petroleum museum and are greeted by a large photograph of Stavanger from 1980 — a moment in time when the city was truly stepping into the oil era. Walking into the restaurant, it was great to see a full house and a lively, warm atmosphere. For the evening, the brasserie had put together a four-course set menu with a wine pairing, although the à la carte menu was equally tempting.

Checking the menu

Snails

Escargots

Nikki started with classic French-style escargots — swimming in butter, garlic, and chives. You can never go wrong with a dish that leans heavily on butter and garlic, and yes, it was served with bread to mop up every last drop of that glorious sauce.

My lobster soup was also very good and, importantly, not overly intense. A lobster bisque can easily become overpowering, but this one was well balanced and even included a piece of halibut, which added a welcome bit of substance to the dish.

For my second starter, I went with scallops. While the scallops themselves were well cooked and tasty, there was perhaps a bit too much going on around them — they slightly disappeared among the accompaniments.

Lobster soup

Scallops

The food blogger

The main course was duck breast served with potato purée, onion, cabbage, and a port wine sauce. The duck was beautifully cooked and thoroughly delicious. This is what I would classify as true comfort food — the kind of dish that makes you want to recreate it at home. Nikki had a similar main but opted for duck confit instead.

The wine pairing worked well: a Riesling to start, followed by a Pinot Noir with the main course. The wine list at the brasserie is solid, though it’s a bit disappointing that many of the selections aren’t available through Vinmonopolet. That said, kudos to Kjeringholmen Brasserie for publishing their wine list online — always appreciated.

Duck confit

Duck breast

Crema catalana

For dessert, I had a crema catalana with a crunchy element and a touch of citrus on the side. A lovely way to finish the meal, although I didn’t feel the accompanying Cava was the best match — then again, I’m not the biggest Cava fan to begin with.

All in all, it was great to be back at Kjeringholmen. The staff were attentive and welcoming, the food was consistently good, and the wine pairing did its job nicely. It was also reassuring to see the restaurant buzzing with guests — hopefully not just on Valentine’s Day. We’re already looking forward to returning in summer for an al fresco meal by the water.

Pros:

• French-inspired menu

• Serves both lunch and dinner

• Beautiful outdoor seating area

Cons:

• Would love to see a more extensive wine list