Harry Pepper the telephone man on his way to Mexico

Date of the meal: 13/06/2012
Number of people: 2 adults and 1 child (2 yo)
Order and price: Blackened Lamb 295 NOK, Tenderloin steak 305 NOK, Fajitas chicken (half portion) 150 NOK
Address: Øvre Holmegate 15, Stavanger
Website of the restaurant: http://www.harry-pepper.no/

Update 01/09/2012: For newer photos, you could check this small update: http://stavangourmet.blogspot.no/2012/09/harry-pepper-small-update-23082012.html.

I had the chance of being invited by my company to have a dinner in this restaurant last December. I liked it and decided I had to go back to review it. Time has passed and it is only this Wednesday I had the opportunity to go there again.

Harry Pepper has been in Stavanger since 1986. It is located in city center, not far from the harbour. From the frontage Harry Pepper looks more like a bar than a restaurant, but it is both. On a practical side the restaurant is often full, so you'd better book a table or avoid busy hours.

The interior of this restaurant is ambitious, with some original paintings. The restaurant is quite small, but the space is used in a way you don't feel cramped. The bar at the end of the restaurant is also nicely done with a lot of candles encrusted in the wall.

I personally had the Tenderloin Steak that I can recommend as it was really good. It was served with mushroom ragu (hashed mushrooms cooked with a bit of cream), red chili sauce (a bit spicy), and some potatoes.

My wife went for the Blackened Lamb and was very satisfied with it. It was served with potatoe puree and a mild mustard sauce. The sauce was good and quite complexe with several flavours. Despite being based on mustard, it was not spicy.

For our son, we ordered Fajitas with chicken and were proposed a "half portion". I did not find it in the menu but I may have overlooked it. This "half portion" was 150 NOK, while the normal one costs 275 NOK. The meat comes on a hot plate and the flour tortillas in a closed round box. This is nice as it gives you the time to make your fajita without having everything get cold. The meat was a bit spicy and all in all this fajita dish was good but not fantastic. I personally found the meat dishes to be more interesting, original and refined.

Harry Pepper offers a 3-course menu for 435 NOK which is a good value for money and they have a lunch menu.

Conclusion: Harry Pepper is a good restaurant, the service, the atmosphere and the food are nice, with a preference for main courses other than Fajitas. Prices are a bit expensive but meat in general is expensive in Stavanger. Again, it is better to avoid busy hours as this restaurant can become full quite quickly and the waiting time can become quite long then.