Restaurant of the Month, Norway
Real American barbecue in Bergen, Norway Right in the middle of Bergen, the city on the Norwegian west coast known for its traditional wooden houses, its harbour and its tradition, you can find a little taste of the US. Røyk BBQ is Bergen’s only barbecue restaurant, offering real American barbecue and street food in a cosy and relaxed setting.
“Beef, pork and chicken. This is socalled low ‘n’ slow barbecue, where the meat is smoked on low heat for up to 24 hours. The result is enormously tender and tasty meat.”
By Alyssa Nilsen | Photos: Tom Rune Flo
Having experienced proper American cooking as an exchange student during the ‘90s in San Antonio, Texas, restaurant manager and foodie Espen Næss Olsen had a dream of opening a real American barbecue restaurant in his hometown of Bergen on the western coast of Norway. With a keen interest in food, Næss Olsen always kept up to date on trends, news and what’s happening on the food scene internationally, and found that street food, including barbecue, is getting increasingly popular. So, when he got the opportunity to open a restaurant in Bergen, he grabbed it with both hands, and the resulting Røyk 102 | Issue 132 | January 2020
BBQ opened in March 2017. Along with his two business partners, Næss Olsen saw the possibility of going beyond just a restaurant, and the trio opened an adjoining specialist gin bar called Ginial, as well as Kråken, a rock bar for the city’s rock and metal heads. Despite being inspired by American street food, Røyk BBQ is a stylish and cosy restaurant, perfect for a nice evening with good food and company. The menu consists of high-quality food, smoked in the restaurant’s smoker oven, a Fast Eddy’s™ imported from Oklahoma. “We smoke all our barbecue meat in there,” Næss Olsen explains.
The restaurant also boasts a large selection of beers, allowing for a perfect pairing with the food. The combination of food and drink is very important to Næss Olsen, whose background includes experience as both beer sommelier and wine sommelier. “I’ve also worked with
Espen Næss Olsen.