Havfruen Fiskerestaurant
Trondheims eldste uavhengige fiskerestaurant, åpnet 1. april 1987 i et sjøhus fra 1700-tallet ved Nidelva. Første restaurant i byen som serverte sushi, allerede i 1998.
History
Havfruen Fiskerestaurant opened on April 1, 1987, at Kjøpmannsgata 7. The restaurant was founded by Herbert Klein and is Trondheim's longest-running independent restaurant under the same owner. In 1998, Havfruen became the first restaurant in Trondheim to serve sushi; Klein was also involved in starting Sushi Bar but sold his stake before sushi became popular in the city. In August 2012, Havfruen set a Guinness World Record for the world's largest mussel pot — 11,000 liters of soup made from 4,898 kg of mussels — at Trondheim's main square during the Oi! Trøndersk Matfestival, marking its 25th anniversary. The record was officially confirmed and included in the Guinness World Records 60th anniversary book in 2014.
People
Herbert Klein founded Havfruen in 1987 and ran the restaurant as sole owner for over 30 years — longer than any other restaurateur has operated a restaurant in Trondheim. Klein was an innovator in Trondheim's restaurant scene: he introduced sushi to the city in 1998 and pioneered large-scale lutefisk service. He was also involved in starting Sushi Bar in Trondheim. Among the head chefs over the years was Bjørnar Buserud (previously at Grand Hotel Oslo). The restaurant has employed international staff from multiple countries.
The wharves in Kjøpmannsgata are a cultural environment of national value with their own protection regulations in Trondheim's 2013 Cultural Heritage Plan. None of the wharves are formally listed as protected monuments, but five have very high antiquarian value. The wharf row tells the story of Trondheim as a trading and maritime city — from the founding of a trading post by the Nidelva in 997 to the warehouses mentioned in Magnus Lagabøte's city laws of 1276. Havfruen represents the modern use of these historic warehouses, where restaurants, offices, and shops have replaced the original storage facilities. A revitalization project for the wharves was approved by the city council in 2015.
Trondheim kommune / Store norske leksikon / lokalhistoriewiki.no
Havfruen has specialized in fish and seafood since 1987 — longer than any other restaurant in Trondheim. The menu is seasonal and changes monthly, with a la carte and multi-course options (3, 4, and 5 courses). Ingredients are locally and short-distance sourced, with seafood as the main focus. Havfruen is also Trondheim's largest provider of lutefisk relative to its size: the restaurant serves approximately four tonnes of lutefisk before Christmas each year, and served an estimated 100 tonnes of lutefisk during its first 30 years. The lutefisk season runs from October to December.
Aperitif.no / Adresseavisen / IN Magasinet / restauranterinorge.com
Architecture
Havfruen is housed in a red-painted wharf building at Kjøpmannsgata 7, part of the historic row of wharves along the Nidelva river. The oldest preserved wharves in this row — between Gamle Bybro and Bakke bru — date from the 1700s. The buildings were originally used as warehouses and storage for the city's merchants. The oldest wharves are notched timber with gable roofs, while newer ones use timber framing with collar-tie roofs. Kjøpmannsgata was laid out after the 1681 city fire as part of Cicignon's city plan, with the street width designed as a firebreak between the city and the warehouses. The interior combines the original wharf structure with massive wooden pillars and modern restaurant furnishings.
Store norske leksikon / Trondheim kommune / WikiStrinda / lokalhistoriewiki.no
Location
Havfruen sits on the west bank of the Nidelva river, with the restaurant's windows facing the river, Gamle Bybro, and Bakklandet on the east side. The view from the restaurant encompasses the Nidelva, the wharf row, the colorful wooden houses of Bakklandet, and Nidaros Cathedral in the background. The Nidelva flows through central Trondheim from south to north and has been the city's lifeline for trade and transport since its founding. The wharf row along Kjøpmannsgata reflects in the river and is one of Trondheim's most photographed scenes.
Havfruen is located at Kjøpmannsgata 7, on the west bank of the Nidelva river in central Trondheim. The restaurant is part of the wharf row stretching along the river from Gamle Bybro to Bakke bru. Gamle Bybro — which crosses the Nidelva from the southern end of Kjøpmannsgata to Bakklandet — is right next to the restaurant. The bridge is 82 meters long. On the opposite side of the river lies Bakklandet with its colorful wooden houses. Nidaros Cathedral is visible from the restaurant, a few hundred meters to the southwest. Kjøpmannsgata runs from Bispegata in the south to Fjordgata in the north.
The window tables facing Gamle Bybro offer the best view — you can see Nidaros Cathedral, Bakklandet, and the Nidelva river in one glance. The lutefisk season (October–December) is an institution: Havfruen serves more lutefisk per size than any other restaurant in the city. Herbert Klein stated that 'every city should have a seafood restaurant' — Havfruen has been Trondheim's only dedicated seafood restaurant for long stretches, while other fish restaurants have opened and closed. The basement can be rented for private events for 16–80 guests, with custom-designed menus.
Local Tip
Be om vindusbord mot Gamle Bybro for utsikt over Nidarosdomen, Bakklandet og elva i ett blikk.
