Dining Review: Art Cafe Bistro – Tromsø, Norway

February 2024

Dining Review: Art Cafe Bistro – Tromsø, Norway

Tromso has many wonderful places to enjoy a nice meal, including a few tasting menus. But one particular spot caught my eye and I knew even though our sit down dining experiences were extremely limited (to literally one night), I wanted Art Cafe Bistro to be it. I was able to send a message on Facebook to reserve a table for our last night in Tromso as I read that tables are limited. 

The atmosphere is casual and the decor is colorful and fun but the menu has some delectable dishes that make it a fancier affair if you so choose. Since it was our last night in Tromso, we went with the fancy approach and splurged on a bottle of Macon-Villages, our go to French Chardonnay before diving into our feast. 

For appetizers, the menu featured soups and salads. We both opted for the soups – the perfect way to reward our day of cross country skiing. We were also given homemade bread for the table so soup was a great way to enjoy it. 

King Crab Bisque served with fresh crab: This was a hard menu item to ignore so we knew this was a must. It was full of flavor and pieces of crab as described. There were hints of spice but it was not throughout so I was able to enjoy a lot of it. 

Broccoli Soup served with goat cheese and walnuts: We enjoy broccoli soup and the addition of goat cheese was so interesting, we had to try it. Without mixing in the goat cheese, the soup tastes exactly like broccoli but when you mixed in the goat cheese, it took on a new flavor profile and it worked together so well. 

Entrees included a few traditional Norwegian dishes with their own spin to them as well as pasta dishes and this time, we both selected a pasta dish. 

Homemade Mushroom pasta served with an assortment of mushrooms with leeks, tarragon in a creamy sauce 

If there is mushroom pasta on the menu, the odds are high that I am going to pick that. And this was quite a wonderful presentation. The homemade pasta was definitely homemade and in the best way and featured five different mushrooms. The sauce was creamy but did not overwhelm the dish so the right amount was definitely used. And I really enjoyed the addition of the leeks to create a deeper savory element. 

Spaghetti Olio Aglio Peperoncino served with chili, nuts, ruccola and cherry tomatoes topped with parmesan

This dish highlights the simplicity of a few ingredients that make a dynamic meal. Every component elevated the flavor and this pasta was so enjoyable to eat.

Tiramisu 

A simple but traditional presentation and solid tiramisu to end the meal. 

Everything we ate was amazing and I was surprised that the bill was not as astronomical as I expected so I think this is also a great value for your dining experience. I would highly recommend dining at Art Cafe Bistro on your trip to Tromso. 

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