Savage is a one Michelin star restaurant in Oslo, Norway, and the food is outstanding. Upon arrival, we were seated in a staging area and served some amuse. I like this format of dining because when sitting in one place for hours during a tasting menu, one can get restless. The first bite was caviar on some potato petals. The caviar was full of flavor and had a mushy texture which I like in my caviar. The presentation was nice too.
Next, a delicious salmon and dill amuse.
A Norwegian Wagyu tartar. Good, but could be better with a touch of acidity or mustard.
Finally, a tuna tartar with kombu which I thought they did a good job of incorporating some Japanese flavors.
After this, we were moved to our table in the main dining room. The first dish is one of my favorite dishes this year – a langoustine claw. It was dusted with some sort of orange dust that made it remind me of a Cheeto. It was so creative and delicious, slightly spicy. Truly truly outstanding. Served with a dip. Delicious, creative and beautiful. Perfection.
After this, Norwegian crab with shaved dashi. Sauce was ginger garlic. Taste had a hint of sweetness and spice. However, I could not really taste the dashi or ginger/garlic.
Shrimp and burrata with shrimp toast. The toast was the airiest, lightest bite ever.
When the next dish came out I was so excited. At the start of the meal, our server informed us that the two head chefs were from Italy, and after a few weeks in Scandinavia, I was hoping they would have a pasta course. Here it was. Reindeer shavings on chicken liver “ravioli”. The pasta could of been a bit more al dente and the dish was a bit salty, BUT IT WAS STILL VERY GOOD.
Following the pasta, they presented the duck that was to be served later in the evening.
At this point, they brought out some bread. Solid crust and a smokey butter that reminded me of bacon.
The fish course was the only miss of the night. The fish, a turbot, was well cooked but nothing special and just average to bland tasting.
The main meat course, duck with a lavender sauce was good.
For dessert, they started with a Jerusalem artichoke ice cream with some sort of cake bottom which reminded me of a sticky toffee (one of my fav desserts). I have noticed a trend with turning vegetables into desserts. While this was done well, I dont like the trend as I want desert to be sinful and dessert.
After this, a mind blowing truffle ice cream with a crunchy center. Mind blowing in terms of creativity, taste and presentation. Another home run for Savage.
The evening finished with some petit fours.
Overall, service was very good and the food was amazing. I would not be surprised if they got a second star very soon. I would return and highly highly recommend.
This looks really good! Would love to go here someday.