Renaa: Xpress–the new breakfast/lunch place in town

In earlier articles I have written about Renaa Restauranter. Just to summarize it: Renaa Restauranter is split into two sections: Matbaren upstairs which is an informal place to have some good food and Renaa Restauranten (downstairs) which is one of the few fine dining gourmet restaurants in Stavanger. Just a few weeks back Mr. Renaa expanded and opened a new third section called Renaa: Xpress. This new place will focus on breakfast and lunch so it closes at 5 PM. I have had the pleasure of going there a few times already and they serve a selection of sandwiches, soups, smoothies, juice, Danish pastry etc.

The first time I went there I had a sandwich based on focaccia bread and it was with Stavanger ham (delivered by the local butcher in town Idsøe) and tallegio cheese. The sandwich is served on a wooden trey and the cutlery is in a disposable wooden version. The only problem with the sandwich was that there was quite a lot of mustard on it and I’m not a huge fan. So the next time I came there I asked if I could get it without mustard and that was not a problem as there are chefs on duty that actually makes stuff ;-) Without the mustard the sandwich was great and I have also tried the one with pancetta and salsa verde. Another great thing about this place is the power smoothies…one example is cucumber/avocado/apple/spinach. Sounds kinda weird but it was actually quite good.

They also serve Danish pastry – like croissant, pain au chocolate but they also have blueberry muffins, scones etc. From what I have tasted it seems like the products are fresh and made with good ingredients. The only thing that hasn’t been a huge success so far is the salad that Nikki tried the other day – she found it to be very boring. They also serve coffee of course and I have tried the caffe mocha and it seems like I have finally found a great replacement for Charlie Brown that was closed a few years back. The caffe mocha here is served in a glass, it is made with chocolate sauce and served with real whipped cream – just the way I like it

Renaa: Xpress is located right next to Matbaren and you can access it from Breitorget. It is a tiny place so there are only like 20-25 seats inside but you can also sit within Breitorget. On cold days it can be a bit cold inside Xpress – maybe it would be an idea to install a self closing mechanism on the entrance door ;-) Anyway, I like this place – I think the sandwiches are good and the caffe mocha is great. So there might be a chance that this will be the regular hangout spot on Saturdays after a good workout Read more about Renaa: Xpress on http://www.restaurantrenaa.no/xpress.htm .

Regards
Gard
gardkarlsen.com – trip reports and pictures
 

 

Zoka Coffee Akasaka 〔ZOKA コーヒー 赤坂）

After lunch we decided to go Zoka Coffee, which is on the right side of this busy street in Akasaka.
The Zoka coffee logo on the door - apparently this chain has been around for a while. It's a US transplant to Japan.
Here are the three Zoka sizes.
The interior is nice, airy, modern. Pretty empty though, lots of people coming and going.
Here is the coffee machine they use - I have no idea if it's any good!

Here's the full lunch menu. Not many choices...
They specialize in coffee art - like this one.
Here's the real cup of coffee - looks BETTER than the pictures!

Here's my kuromitsu latte - 500 yen - over ice. Very good, but not as good as Starbucks in terms of quality I think.

Here is a link to the official Zoka site

Address:
3-2-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo-to
東京都港区赤坂3-2-2 アマンド赤坂ビル1F・2F
Click here for Google Maps

Phone：03-3560-7251

Hours：
Monday - Friday　7:00～22:30
Sundays - Holidays 8:00～18:00

Best coffee in town? - Charlie Brown

Note that Charlie Brown has closed down :-(

So where do you go to find the best coffee in Stavanger? I have tested out some of the joints in town and in my opinion you can find the best coffee in town in the small cafe Charlie Brown in Stavanger Storsenter. I have gotten feedback from people that I shouldn't recommend a place that is located in a shopping mall...but if you are looking for good coffee this is the place to go. Here is a short review of the place.


Charlie Brown is located on the second floor of the shopping mall Stavanger Storsenter. There are about 6 tables with a view and a few more in a room behind the place....here you will also find a few PC's if you need to get on the internet. We normally drop in on Saturdays when we are in town and we enjoy to have a chicken or tuna fish salad. But Charlie Brown also offers sandwiches, ice cream, cakes but it is the coffee that is the specialty. Personally I enjoy the caffe mocca with whipped cream but it is more of a dessert really. They also have a very good cappuccino and if you want some more coffee taste why not try the cortado. I have also tried ice coffee here in the summer time and that is also quite delicious.

The conclusion is that this may not be the cosiest place in town as it is located in a shopping mall. But if you are looking for some great coffee this is the place to go. By the way...if you go there on a Saturday please leave a couple of salads for us :-) I would love to here other suggestions to places that can compete for the title "Best coffee in town"....I'm always willing to try out new places :-)

Regards

Gard

http://gardkarlsen.com/ - Trip reports and pictures