You're reading: World in Ukraine: Welcome to Egersund, the ‘Norwegian fish embassy’

The design of this seafood bar is minimalistic so that nothing distract customers from the food. And the food is special — Egersund Seafood restaurant in Kyiv serves Norwegian fish, delivered to Ukraine by plane within 48 hours of being caught.

The restaurant is owned by Pelagia Egersund Seafood, one of the largest fish companies in Norway, established since 1921.

The company has 27 factories located all over Norway and exports pelagic fish — fish that live in the open ocean — to 35 countries. The company started delivering fish to Ukrainian supermarkets in 1996, but it was only in 2014 that they opened their first shop in Kyiv to bring Ukrainian customers seafood products directly. Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg was present during the opening ceremony.

The company opened another shop in 2016 in the remodeled Central Department Store, or TsuM on the main Khreshchatyk Street, this time with its own food court.

In November 2017, the company opened a seafood bar on the third floor of Sky Mall shopping mall, where people can see the food they order being prepared in an open kitchen.

Pavel Solovyov, general manager of Pelagia Ukraine, says that in most restaurants the food price includes extra charges to cover costs such as overhead and the price of outfitting the restaurant interior, but in their seafood bar customers only pay for the cost of the food they eat.

“The food is what matters, not the decorations around,” Solovyov says.

But there is more to the place than just the food.

Secret chamber

Egersund Seafood bar in Sky Mall shopping center has two zones: The first zone is open to any visitor. To enter the second one, visitors have to show a special pass card to one of the waiters. The second zone is hidden and looks pretty much the same as the first one, but it’s quieter, has a meeting room and offers additional dishes on the menu.

The regular menu features over 30 fish species as well as other seafood.

Egersund hands out pass cards to regular clients, Solovyov says. One can also apply for a card at one of the Egersund locations in Kyiv.

The standards

Globally, Solovyov says that Egersund Group focuses on supplying fish to the supermarkets and seafood shops, but in Ukraine they’ve made an exception in opening their own restaurant.

“We always say to our workers: ‘You are the last element in the long chain of monitoring the quality of the product,’” Solovyov says. “So if you see that a product has gone off — throw it away.”

He says in many restaurants the main goal is to sell as much food as possible with minimum waste, but in Egersund a worker is rewarded for spotting and disposing of bad-quality products.

Valeryi Kovalchuk, the head chef of Egersund Seafood in Sky Mall, says that the most important rule is not to crowd out the taste of the fish with other ingredients, and not to overcook it. When fish are overcooked, they lose their taste and nutrients.

“That’s why I like salmon medium cooked — this way it has the best consistency and taste.”

It makes no sense to rapidly deliver seafood products by plane from Norway and then diminish its taste in Kyiv by overcooking it, he says.

Aside from seafood, there are desserts and sushi on the menu, but “this is not the kind of sushi you’d have in a Japanese restaurant,” Kovalchuk says. “Our sushi has a Norwegian flavor.”

The kitchen in the restaurant is open, and guests can watch as their food is prepared, Solovyov says, adding that “we have nothing to hide from our clients.”

“We are a Norwegian fish embassy in Ukraine,” Solovyov smiles.

According to Kovalchuk, the menu constantly changes and the number of clients is continuing to grow.

“We’ve been working for only three months, and on Valentine’s Day we were fully booked,” he says. “This is a good result, but I’m sure this is only the beginning.”

Chef’s recommendations from the menu:

Egersund Norwegian soup — Hr 112

Fish and chips, with optional extra portions of potatoes, peas and sauce — Hr 140–210

Atlantic mackerel — Hr 120

Egersund Seafood bar, Sky Mall shopping mall, 3rd floor, 2T Romana Shuhevycha Ave; Wed-Fri 12–10 p. m., Sat-Sun 11 a. m. — 10 p. m.
To order takeout food, call +38–067–472–5932

Egersund Seafood shop Poznyaki, 32D Petra Hryhorenka Ave; Mon 12–10 p. m., Tue-Sun 10 a. m.-10 p. m.
To order takeout food, call +38067 219 7747

Egersund Seafood, TsuM department store, 6th floor, 38 Khreshchatyk St. Mon.-Sun. 10 a. m. — 10 p. m.
To order takeout food, call+38067 823 6093