Ørjan Johannessen will tell you that MiraBelle the restaurant, is named not just after the sweet and juicy plum, but after his daughter.
She is the first of a new generation of Johannessens and the plum of this tight knit family. The importance of family is manifest throughout the restaurant experience, from the dishes created and the way they are served. You will feel it in the warm welcome and observe it in the interactions of the kitchen and restaurant staff. The effect is one of comfort and ease, like visiting a good friend.
From the harbour you will soon spot the unusually shaped building that houses the boutique hotel Beckerwyc House itself on the two first floors, and the MiraBelle restaurant on the third.
Discover the hotel
You would be hard pressed to find a more down to earth Bocuse d’Or winner, let alone a multiple time winner of this unofficial world championship of gastronomy. The Lyon-based competition is where the most ambitious and adventurous chefs in the world meet, experiment and push boundaries. A couple of the winning dishes – a sole and a spring chicken – can be experienced at MiraBelle, together with new inventions and old inventions reimagined.
It’s fine dining, but it’s not the kind of place where anyone would worry about using the wrong fork or ordering the wrong wine. You actually, don’t have to worry about anything at all. Living is easy at MiraBelle, because Ørjan and his staff work relentlessly to make it so.
MiraBelle exists in a symbiosis with its local suppliers. Jojoen down at the fish reception is the go-to person for crayfish or monkfish. And they’ll call up Kim from Vestland seafood to hear what he got this morning. Crabs and scallops come from nearby Sotra and Karine, the shrimp trawler, is also a trusted supplier. Anne has a raspberry farm, with some black current, and she also supplies honey. The cheese comes from Jørn over at krokeide. The menu is created every day. Suppliers are honoured on the menu, because on an island, people depend on each other.
Together with the chef Skylar, Ørjan conjures up 15 food experiences – or dishes – for their guests. Each dish is intentional. MiraBelle’s version of the petit four is called Mimi’s Four O’ Clock Coffee as an homage to Ørjan’s late grandmother. He and his siblings would spend time and enjoy treats at her place, while their busy hotelier parents kept the Guest House running smoothly. Traditional treats like crisp krumkake, the buttery Lefse, the nutty vanilla tart, and the doughnut-like berlinerbolle, have been reimagined and perfected for a new time without losing their original goodness.
Good food is served at MiraBelle, beautifully prepared and stubbornly untrendy. Similarly, the wine selection tends towards classic. Good wines made well, rather than modern unfiltered options – nothing that does not smell delicious. The same goes for non-alcoholic options – only the best raw materials turned into juices that complement the dishes, just like wine pairing does. Clean and simple options to drink, whether champagne or something made from Hardanger apples, or gooseberries from Anne’s farm.
The raw materials, so closely sourced and personal, are elevated to something that is both unironically and unapologetically familiar. And still, they manage to push the boundaries of gastronomy. MiraBelle’s take on the shrimp cocktail, with its sprinkle of pomelo is on the right side of comfort and still has that unexpected bite and freshness to make you think shrimp cocktail is a new thing. There is also a crab meat on toast to give you that sensation of experiencing an absolute classic for the first time. You will find ingredients from the sea seasoned with the sea, and ingredients picked from the forest, seasoned with the forest. Everything is done with the ambition to distil goodness and richness of flavour. The dish is not elevated by adding fancy distractions around it, but by perfecting the dish itself. This emperor is fully clothed.
