Tollbua

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Historic Address on the Trondheim Waterfront

Tollbua occupies Tollboden, Trondheim's old customs house on Brattørkaia — a dark granite building completed in 1910, designed by architect Karl Norum in a style marked by Art Nouveau windows, period ornamentation, and carved dragastil stonework above the main entrance. The building was once built on land reclaimed from the sea, goods arriving directly for customs clearance. Today it houses a restaurant that arrived in 2024 and, just three months after opening, earned a place in the Michelin Guide, which praised its "crackling atmosphere" and "beautiful Norwegian seafood."

The People Behind the Kitchen

Chef Patron Christopher Davidsen is the driving force. His résumé includes silver at the Bocuse d'Or and a Michelin star as Executive Head Chef at Speilsalen — credentials that inform every plate without making the room feel stiff. Alongside him, Henrik Dahl Jahnsen oversees the wine programme as Food and Drink Director. A five-times Norwegian Sommelier Champion and the inaugural recipient of Michelin's Nordic Countries Sommelier award, Henrik has built one of the city's most considered cellars — a depth of selection that earned Tollbua a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence in 2025.

Together, the pair previously pioneered the Chef's Table concept at Britannia Hotel's Speilsalen. At Tollbua they have translated that same philosophy into a more open, convivial setting: an open kitchen, a generous bar, and a room that accommodates two guests or two hundred.

Scandinavian Cooking with Global Seasoning

Tollbua describes itself as "a gourmet bistro, alive with local ingredients and bursting with international flavours." The evening menus — three, four, or six courses — are anchored in the best Norwegian produce and shift with the seasons. Current dishes on the six-course menu include a salmon ceviche with plum, yuzu and ginger; a mussel soup with burnt onion and lumpfish roe; halibut with bergamot kosho and shiitake; and lamb with Caribbean chimichurri and jerk gravy. The Scandinavian kitchen here is not a closed system — it absorbs influences freely, while the sourcing stays resolutely local.

Supplementary extras allow guests to add Kalix PDO vendace roe with fries and sour cream, or a scallop from Hitra with pumpkin and warm yellow spices. A lounge menu runs alongside the main offering, suited to sharing at the bar. Saturday opens with a three-course lunch from midday.

Beyond the Dining Room

The restaurant's event space, Sørfløyen, operates seven days a week for private dining and groups. Tollbua also runs cooking classes — including a hands-on seafood course covering everything from shellfish bisque to halibut ceviche — and a growing catering operation that brings the kitchen's quality to outside venues. Special collaborative dinners, such as a recent Chef's Table evening with Davidsen and Jahnsen, and a Teamaker's Dinner pairing five vegetarian courses with specialty teas, reflect a programme that treats the restaurant as a platform for serious food culture rather than a fixed formula.

Tollbua is a member of De Historiske — Historic Hotels & Restaurants in Norway — and the flagship of Matigruppen.