2 Best Restaurants in Kristiansund, The Western Fjords

Today's catch is all over the menu---crayfish, klippfisk (fish salted and dried in the sun on slabs of rock), and grilled monkfish, to name a few---at this casual eatery. The seemingly mismatched, umbrella-shape roof atop this rectangular blue waterfront restaurant offers a lesson in Norwegian history, culture, and cuisine: it's where locals of yesteryear dried fish by night. It's the modern day preparation, though, that's earned the restaurant a status as one of the best in town.

Another contender for the best fish restaurant crown in Kristiansund, Sjøstjerna matches its zeal for klippfisk with major skills in hospitality to create an exceedingly warm and convivial environment. In addition to intimacy of the relatively small space, the vast assortment of Norwegian folk art and fishing-related artifacts hanging from the walls adds a refreshing and well-designed layer of intrigue on an otherwise typical menu of bacalao, blandaball dumplings, and klippfisk.