[Norway: Oslo] A Disappointing Meal at 3* Maaemo

Rating: 2/5

I would have liked to report that this meal was fantastic but it wasn’t.

Many years ago, I had an unforgettable 9* collaboration meal between Geranium x Azurmendi x Maaemo at an OAD event. Since then, I have been to Geranium and Azurmendi a few times already but still haven’t made it to Maaemo yet so we made it the main goal of this trip to Oslo.

Meaning “Mother Earth”, Maaemo has been opened since 2010 and is the only 3 Michelin Star restaurant in Norway at the time of my visit in May. The menu is based almost entirely on locally sourced ingredients. I would have liked to report that this meal was fantastic but ultimately it wasn’t. Dishes were not memorable and flavors were quite frankly very off-balanced. The worst were the cod with marmalade and langoustine with plum jam - both of which were just way too sweet. I couldn’t finish the reindeer as it was so dry and lean, and then the dessert with goats cream and caramel was again way too sweet. It’s disappointing that a meal I had been looking forward to for so long turned out to be so underwhelming.

Our menu:

Cold water shrimp, horseradish and summer preserves

Warm duck liver, nougatine of dried flowers

“Pinnekjott”, birch and preserved rose

Dry aged beef, meadowsweet and pine cone vinegar

Oyster “tradition 2010”

Chilled king crab, horseradish and salted apples

Cod brushed with juniper butter lemon verbena and celeriac

Langoustine glazed with plums and burnt honey sauce of chanterelles and elderflower

Reindeer cooked slowly over embers forest berries and rommegret

Warm milk bread glazed with reindeer fat and sour honey, winter truffle butter

Mushroom and green juniper broth

Frozen goats cream, smoked cherry and plum kernel

Brown butter ice cream cornet, hazelnuts and molasses

Freshly baked cinnamon buns

Wild chamomile and pine fudges

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