The Unique Iris Restaurant, Norway.
Rosendal is a stunning town located in Norway. There is an unique restaurant called Iris nearby. Iris is unlike the most restaurants in the world.
The stunning double-curved ellipsoid design is inspired by the shape of a fisheye, and the silvery orb-structure seems to be floating in the Hardanger fiord, exposed to the wild elements of nature, surrounded by the spectacular Norwegian nature with fjords, mountains and glaciers.
The only way to get to the eatery, which looks like a futuristic spaceship, is by ferry. Marketed as “Expedition Dining,” the first stop in the journey takes you to Chef Anika Madsen’s boathouse on the island of Snilstveitø for appetizers, before arriving in the middle of the fjord at the Salmon Eye art installation — a cultural center dedicated to spotlighting sustainable seafood practices.
The Salmon Eye installation contains the Iris reataurant and an underwater cinema. The menu focused on seafood sustainability, including invasive ingredients such as red sea urchin or cuttlefish.
There is also an educational aspect. When arriving at the Salmon Eye, visitors are first shown a video spotlighting the threats to the global food system, before being escorted to the underwater culinary experience.
While there is no set menu, each ingredient in the 18-course meal reads like a story. A story about the challenges and threats to the global food system, but also with ideas and suggestions for future innovations, that can help bring us closer to solving them.
The stunning double-curved ellipsoid design is inspired by the shape of a fisheye, and the silvery orb-structure seems to be floating in the Hardanger fiord, exposed to the wild elements of nature, surrounded by the spectacular Norwegian nature with fjords, mountains and glaciers.
“It has always been close to my heart to lift the less known sustainable ingredients into the spotlight. If I discover an ingredient that will lead to a greener future, I am not afraid to push boundaries. But to convince people to love it, it needs to be truly delicious,” says Anika Madsen.
For all the hype, this is a passion project by chef Anika Madsen and her husband Nico Danielsen. They worked at some of Copenhagen's top restaurants before coming to the Salmon Eye.