It's been a year of ups and downs in the restaurant business in Trondheim. There have been awards and there have been lockdowns. Now two of the city's restaurants have gotten recognition that tastes extra nice in a pandemic year of uncertainty.

- We were incredibly happy, and also moved by this review. Getting news like this after a difficult year feels very good.
And of course you get a little scared, with such rave reviews people with high expectations will follow, says Mette Julius Evensen.

In January her and her husband Martin Julius Hovdal became the new owners and head chefs at Trondheim restaurant Le Bistro. They had previously been running the popular restaurant Røst for five years.

- Working as a chef this past year has been very challenging.  We've gone from holding our breaths, to being forced to close the restaurant, to making little or big changes in no time. The whole industry has been working non-stop during this time. We really believe in our restaurant, so we couldn't just sit there and wait for things to pass either, Evensen says. 

Review of Le Bistro with the headline 'Norway's best bistro is in Trondheim.' National Norwegian Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv March 5, 2021.

The review (in Norwegian) of Le Bistro in Dagens Næringsliv

Double success for Speilsalen

In February 2020 Speilsalen ('Mirror Hall') in Britannia Hotel got awarded their first Michelin star, and in the autumn of the same year the restaurant got nominated for Norway's Restaurant of the Year 2020. Other nominees were Maaemo, , Re-Naa, Rest, Stallen and The Tea Room.

It was recently announced that Speailsalen won as Restaurant of the Year which means it will also be one of the finalists for The Nordic Price, organized by The Danish Food Guide Den Danske spiseguide. 

Chefs Christopher Davidsen and Håkon Solbakk of Speilsalen ('Mirror Hall'). Solbakk was recently picked to be one of five finalists who will be competing for Bocuse d´Or, the world chef championship.

The wait lists got long after Speilsalen was awarded a Michelin star, but because of the pandemic the hotel has been closed several times. The hotel just closed again, but will reopen in the middle of April.

- We are in very good company, says executive chef Christopher Davidsen.

- I'm so happy that Speilsalen is getting attention outside of Norway, as a result of the Michelin star we got last year. Since being awarded the Michelin star in February of 2020 we have done many things to improve our restaurant even further. We have put in the Caviar Bar and a new wine room, as well as a dessert station in the dining room, he says.

Britannia Hotel director Mikael Forselius tells NRK - Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation - that Speilsalen is the hotel's flagship, and is an important aspect of getting international visitors to Trondheim.

– Now the other Nordic countries are discovering us. We would like to attract the kind of guests to Speilsalen that we also want for our hotel once the world opens up again, Forselius tells NRK. 

Happy employees at Speilsalen in Britannia Hotel after learning they won Norwegian Best Restaurant of the Year 2020.

Trondheim is on the culinary rise

-These are important accolades for the talented people working in the food and hospitality business in Trondheim, says Aslaug Rustad, managing director of Oi! Trøndelag Food and Beverage.

-The Michelin stars awarded to our Trondheim restaurants have put us on the gastronomical map, and these restaurants are on the same level as high-end restaurants in the Nordic countries as well as Europe. In 2022 Trondheim and the region of Trøndelag is European Region of Gastronomy. We need flagship restaurants such as Speilsalen, Le Bistro, Credo and Fagn to attract a fine dining audience, and also to show people the world-class food produced in our region, from seafood and meat to cheese, produce and much more, Rustad says.

Great food and solid bistro vibes at Le Bistro in the Munkegata street in Trondheim