Dining at Norway’s NO.1 Restaurant (€389) - Maaemo

Introduction

Welcome to Norway. A place of mountains, glaciers and fjords. Made famous by the likes of Edvard Munch, Magnus Carlsen, the band A-Ha. and home of the Vikings, the Northern Lights and Hell. New Nordic cuisine is a culinary movement promoting local, natural and seasonal produce both in restaurants and at home. It started in the mid-2000’s and has been picking up steam ever since. Leading the charge in New Nordic fine dining is Chef Esben Holmboe Bang. He was born in Copenhagen in 1982 to parents with a deep connection to sustainability and agriculture. They passed this on to Esben. From 2001 to 2010, Esben got experience at high-end restaurants in Copenhagen and Oslo. In 2010, Esben joined forces with a sommelier and a business partner to make fine dining in Oslo 100% organic and local. They called it Maaemo which means Mother Earth in Finnish They opened in the eastern part of the city in 2012 and quickly became the first restaurant in the region to receive two stars in the Michelin guide. In Feb 2016, together with Copenhagen’s Geranium, they made it three. 

Management Maaemo Restaurant 

In December 2019, Maaemo management made a bold move. They changed their location from the east side to the modern waterfront in the city center. It was a better location, but moving meant they had to say goodbye to all of their Michelin stars. Thankfully, the separation was short lived. In 2021, Maaemo won back all three stars. Today, it’s the only 3 Michelin star restaurant in Norway. Let by Chef Esban, the focus is on the clean, bright flavours of Norway, using entirely organic, biodynamic, or wild produce. Maaemo We arrive to the waterfront in the city center. Just a few minutes from the opera house, we find Maaemo. And maybe the worlds biggest door next to the worlds smallest sign. We are kindly welcomed and led downstairs to the living room for welcome drinks and snacks. Beautiful light design with rich, dark wood everywhere. They have a great wine room and the fire is a nice touch. It’s warm and cozy, and kinda feels like a really elegant bar. The menu here is a seasonal tasting menu for 389 euro. For wine pairings there are two. There is the Maaemo pairing for 235 euro. and the prestige pairing for 825.

 

Choose Menu 

 I choose the prestige. It promises to have some exciting rare vintages. The first thing to get my attention is something we usually don’t talk about. The water glass. It’s so light, it feels like it’s not even there. This is a bespoke design by Berlin-based artist Milena Kling. It’s fascinating. Our welcome drink is a non vintage Krug. It’s a blend of over a 120 individual wines from more than 10 different years. The champagne is then aged in Krug’s cellars for 7 years. Our first bite is smoked cod belly and horseradish on a potato crust. On top we have turnip, dill and scallop roe. It’s fresh, smokey and has a nice zing to it. Solid opening. Our next snack is brioche with duck liver and hazelnut. They balance temperatures with the warm brioche and cold toppings. It’s crunchy with rich flavors. Our third bite is cheese from a cave. The milk comes from an eco-friendly farm on Hitra Island where the cows are free to roam. The cheese is aged in caves with natural temperature and humidity for up to a year. In this snack it’s presented in three textures. Crisp, raw and in a cream. It’s finished with spring herbs and flowers. I love the presentation and the bold flavors here. Next bite in the living room is a beef tartlet. It’s a mushroom tart shell with dry aged beef topped with meadowsweet and pine cone jelly. The beef has intense flavor that goes well with the umami of the mushroom. Look at this plate. It’s truly a piece of art. This is another one of Chef Esben’s talents. He designed all of the plates himself. The restaurant has them hand crafted by a local potter. So far, the service has been perfect except for two small things. After I broke a plate, I used my napkin but didn’t get a fresh one and my friend got still water when he ordered sparking. Other than that, the service has been flawless. Our next course is caviar with elderflower and potato. Maaemo has their own signature caviar in collaboration with Rossini. It’s called Maaemo Gold Selection and it’s as close to 100% sustainable and CO2 neutral as it gets.

Presentation of Menu

 I love the presentation again with gorgeous tableware. Extremely sharp and perfectly salty and creamy. Scallops With the snacks out of the way, we are off to the dining room. It’s a much bigger space but just as elegant. Our first course is scallops, asparagus and preserved berries. Slices of raw scallops from Northern Norway are dressed with brined white onion. With gooseberries and blackcurrants in different stages of ripening. The sauce is a cream flavored with fermented white asparagus, mussel juice, parsnip and elderflower. This dish is impressive. It has nice acidity and sharp minerality, like the saltiness of the sea is still there in the scallop. The sauce is amazing as well. The wine pairing is 1997 riesling from Georg Breuer, an award-winning winemaker from Germany. This vintage is extremely hard to find. The sommelier told us they had to pull some strings to get it and it still took three and a half years. It has a lot of mineral spiciness, it’s very long lasting with excellent depth and it goes perfectly with the scallops. This wine is beautiful. Our next course is oysters. Whenever you see oysters on a menu, Oysters most often they will be one of 5 types: Pacific oysters are small and sweet. The are the world’s most cultivated oysters. Atlantic oysters have a sweet, buttery taste. They make up 85% of oysters harvested in the US..

Kumamoto Oysters 

Kumamoto Oysters are small with a deep, rich flavor with a hint of sweetness. They are originally from Japan but are also cultivated in other regions. Olympias are tiny, coppery and slightly sweet. They are native to the Pacific Northwest near the US and Canada. And finally European flat oysters. They have a distinct mineral taste and a smooth and delicate texture. And that’s what we have here. An emulsion of flat oysters, oyster gel, blue mussels and dill oil sauce. This is nordic soul food. Soothing flavor and texture. Steamed turnip Next is steamed turnip and toasted hay. The dish has a savory custard at the bottom, then a puree of nettles and asparagus oil. It’s finished with a foamy sauce based on fermented celery and toasted hay butter. it’s paired with something really exciting. A 2003 chardonnay from Bienvenue Batard Montrachet in France. It’s made by Domaine Leflaive, one of the top chardonnay producers in the world. This year they released some rare vintages to their best customers. Lucky for me, Maaemo is one of them. This wine is beyond words. A chef drops by to build some anticipation for the main course Wide turbot of spring lamb coming up later. I’m always happy to meet a chef. You get more insight into the menu and the chance to make a connection. Before the lamb we have our next course. Wild turbot. The fish is pan roasted then finished on the charcoal grill, brushed with birch butter and topped with rose pickle gel and oxalis leaves. The sauce is based on a stock of roasted turbot and split with 5 different oils. It’s leaning more towards sweet than salty for me, but this dish has some seriously robust flavors. The wine pairing is an absolute treat. It’s a 2019 L’Hermitage Blanc from the Rhone Valley in France. It comes from marsanne grapes in the Hermitage region. It has a layered experience, with a blend of ripe fruits, vibrant acidity, and a hint of sweetness on the finish. It’s simply a fabulous wine. As the lamb is almost ready, we are invited to choose a steak knife. The handles are handcrafted with wood from Scandinavian forests as well as bones from different animals.

functional art

 Unfortunately, we don’t get to keep them. Lamb Another example of functional art. Chef comes out with a tray, the staff puts the plates on the table and then the chef leaves. The chef doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, he plays the role of the commis de rang, and I really like that. I also like how the team plays together and the chef here is also a team member. The lamb is served. The plating shakes off the classic meat and jus decorated with tweezers. I like it already. This lamb is nothing short of amazing. It’s pan roasted on the bone and finished on the grill. It’s served on a bed of white turnips and horseradish with vegetable paste and lavender pickle gel. Around it is grilled wild garlic. This one dish was worth it to come here. It’s paired with a 2017 Barolo from Italian winemaker Aldo Conterno. 

Nebbiolo Grapes 

This region is famous for it’s Nebbiolo grapes and some of the world’s best red wines. It goes hand in hand with the main course. Perfect choice. At one point, the chef tells us it’s the sommelier’s birthday. I’m surprised, and I ask her why are you working on this special day. and She says, this is the best place to be. This fills me up with such good vibes. Bouquet of Herbs To finish off the savory courses, we have one more interesting dish. It starts with a bouquet of herbs in a warm bowl seasoned with horseradish, lavender and lemon verbena oil. Then a broth of warm chestnut water is added. We are told not to eat the bouquet, but to drink the broth through it. I love the playful concept. I wasn’t sure what I was tasting but it had deep flavor and nice acidity. For dessert, we have a beautiful arrangement of layers, textures and tastes. It’s rhubarb, strawberry and cherry blossom and rose petal in jelly, sorbet and foam. Dessert Our dessert wine is a Chateau D’Yquem. Wine lovers agree that this is one of the best sweet wines in the world. This one from 2016 is lush and balanced in sweetness and acidicity. It’s a match made in heaven with the fruity dessert.

Kitchen Tour

 We are invited for a kitchen tour and get up close to the action with Chef Esben. He has a chat with us about philosophy and business. Chef is an interesting and warm guy who is really driving the whole food renaissance here in Norway. and then we move back to the living room. We relax with a Tiger shark rum for two more sweet courses. First is something that’s been on the menu since day 1. Ice cream made out of brown butter, coffee molasses and hazelnut crumble. It looks like ice cream but this is something else. This is a new level. Delicious. Finally we have our last bite. Freshly baked cinnamon rolls. Glazed with caramel of brown butter sprinkled with brown cheese pearls. Along side are two types of fudge. A true Norwegian classic. At the end of the night, I meet some really nice people, who - as it turns out - watch my videos. So this the number one fan for Alexander The Guest in Norway. We had a really pleasant time together. To make the night even more festive, I order an extremely rare 1996 Krug Clos d'Ambonnay, to honor the sommelier, who came in to work on her birthday. We all enjoyed it together. The atmosphere here was unforgettable, and became one of the best memories of this journey. That does it for this episode.