Havfruen (Mermaid)
Kjøpmannsgata 7
Cuisines: Seafood
About
The freshness of the seafood served here never fails to impress us. Set amid a cluster of some of the oldest warehouses in town, along the Nidelven River, this is the best fish restaurant in Trondheim -- and the most atmospheric. Built around 1800 on the site of a much older warehouse, it's studded with old beams and trusses and lots of authentic antique charm. Meals are prepared in the open-to-view kitchen and served by a staff with impeccable manners and technique. The menu changes each season, based on local fish migration patterns in the frigid waters surrounding Trondheim, and the staff enjoys evaluating and offering advice about the daily harvest. You might begin enticingly enough with the creamy fish chowder, the town's best, although other contenders include lobster bisque with lobster and fresh spinach ravioli; or poached filets of arctic char served with an apple-cider vinaigrette. For a main course, you are likely to be won over by the oven-baked halibut with pommes dauphines and a confit of shellfish, or perhaps the pan-fried Norwegian redfish with a tantalizing orange sauce.
