Sjøbua

I visited the incredible Country of Norway in 2009. Chef Colin Hyton and me, ate at Sjobua, in Alesund, and enjoyed the food and service. The Lobster Bisque was exceptional, and the local Oysters and Fish were simply Devine! I’m writing about this experience in a book to release this year. Great restaurant!

One of our final meals during our 2.5-week trip through Scandinavia was at Sjøbua, where we treated ourselves to the tasting menu—and we are so glad we did. It was absolutely mind-blowing. The service was among the best we’ve ever experienced (and we dine out often), making the entire evening a pleasure from start to finish. The setting is beautiful, the food is exquisite, and every dish felt thoughtfully and artfully curated. For a date night, it was everything we could have wished for. If you’re a fine dining lover, this restaurant is an absolute must. We had a lovely time and would definitely return if ever we are in town again.

I was really looking forward to eat from this restaurant, as I was told that it's better than Apotekergata No. 5. But the food we had was underperformed. They were very salty, totally out of balance. Even when we told them that the lobster bisque was very salty, the other dishes came as salty. We had the sampling menu. In the end, we were glad that we didn't order individual dishes. The bread was not bad. It helped when the soup was unbearably salty. But I would say the lobster tail was fresh. The sampling order: The shrimp sashimi appetiser was not bad. The second best, if I have to rank the whole dinner, for its freshness. The next dish, lobster was mashy. Halibut was dry and didn't have the taste of fish. The sides and sauce for the quail were like drinking seawater. Quail was prepared nicely but tasteless as the sauce was too salty to go with. Best dish of this sampling was the dessert, which unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of it. The servers were helpful and polite, and service was good.

Had a great dinner at Sjøbua tonight! Perhaps the best fish I have had in a very long time. Main dishes are around 450 nok. Make sure you make a reservation, it was fully booked when we went.

Excellent dinner. Exquisite and sophisticated flavors for a special dining experience. Nice atmosphere. Highly recommended.

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Sjøbua. All of the food was done well, and the staff was very friendly and helpful! It's definitely worth going to!

We were amazed by the high standard and the quality of the food in Sjøbua. The little brioche breads served as a beginning with smoky Røros butter was absolutely astonishing. We ordered two starters; scallops and bluefin tuna, for the main dishes today’s catch which was monkfish and reindeer served with the fresh vegetables and potato purée. My favourite was definitely reindeer. It was a masterpiece with crispy kale, shredded truffle on top, served with bone marrow sauce within pine cones. I must also mention the beauty of parmigiano/parmesan taste in the potato purée. Desserts we got brioche perdu served with very creamy sorbet. Also got an olive oil cake which has the best presentation. Overall, I would say that not only interior design and service friendly informative staff, but also from presentation of the food to the combination of different varieties, this can be easily the new best restaurant in Ålesund.

Food was ok, but not worthy of the price or hype. Langostine was tasty, but small, and caviar added nothing. Cabbage pairings clashed with halibut, which was average in taste. Try #5 or XL instead, which have much better taste and value.