Under*, Norway – incredible experience, underwhelming meal?
I guess I should’ve known going into Under that you’re paying as much for the experience as you are for the food, but I still didn’t expect to find the meal itself this underwhelming.
The philosophy behind the restaurant is admirable. They place a huge emphasis on getting as close to zero waste as possible and sourcing ingredients from the surrounding area – something that came up throughout the meal. I genuinely appreciate that level of dedication and thought behind where the food comes from.
Where it fell short for me was what happened to those ingredients once they reached the plate. For a restaurant so focused on its produce, it felt like the cooking was doing the ingredients a disservice. A lot of the dishes came with heavy sauces that seemed to cover rather than highlight what was underneath.
The menu also didn’t feel particularly cohesive. The run of halibut, cod, and monkfish towards the latter half started to feel repetitive, particularly with how rich some of the preparations were. By that point, the cumulative heaviness was starting to wear me down. The lamb earlier in the meal also felt quite… random to me within the progression of the menu.
By the end, despite there being nothing I outright disliked, I realised there wasn’t really a dish I found particularly memorable either. I understood the restaurant’s philosophy very clearly, but had a harder time understanding its culinary POV.
I also opted for the non-alcoholic pairing, which I usually get whenever it’s offered because I love seeing how far they can push beverages when so much is being made from scratch. Unfortunately, this one was overwhelmingly sweet for me. What I kept wanting was acidity to cut through the richness of the food. Some drinks were described as having acidic or carbonated elements, but neither really came through strongly enough for my palate.
It probably didn’t help that I had the non-alcoholic pairing at Maaemo a few days later. There were some similar ingredients being used across the two, so it was hard not to compare how differently they were handled. Maaemo’s pairing had much more of the balance and acidity I had been missing here.
All that said, Under is undeniably an experience. Getting out to a tiny town on the southern coast of Norway and then having dinner 5m below the sea is something I’m very glad I got to do, and the setting is every bit as memorable as you’d imagine!
I also stayed at the affiliated(?) hotel down the road and for the price and positioning I kinda expected more. The room was very bare and had no air-conditioning, and the small inward-facing window didn’t offer much ventilation. Norway was still relatively cool even in summer, but the room itself felt very still.
Tldr; I just wish the food had left as strong an impression as everything surrounding it.
Curious if anyone else who’s been had a similar experience, or if the food landed differently for you!
Menu
Turnip, mussel, peas
Langoustine claw, pastry
Lamb, blackcurrant, mustard
Mackerel, strawberry, rose hip, rye
Scallop, pear, XO
Halibut, pointed cabbage, gooseberries, elderflower
Sourdough, Jersey butter
Cod, shallot, tarragon
Monkfish, summer vegetables, celery
Blueberry, dulce, beet
Rhubarb, mascarpone, elderflower
Pineapple weed, koji, blackberry
Non-alcoholic pairing
Sparkling rhubarb, pineapple weed
Cucumber, red gooseberry, rose hip
Plum, oak
Sparkling gooseberry, elderflower
Apple, smoked juniper
Honey, meadowsweet
Rhubarb, elderflower, whey