Michelin-starred Iris in Norway’s Salmon Eye goes invite-only after 2026 reset

Diners who once booked a six-hour “expedition” to a steel orb in Hardangerfjord now need an invitation if they want to visit. Iris, the Michelin-starred restaurant inside Salmon Eye near Rosendal, told followers early in 2026 that public tables were finished for the year.

Social posts put it plainly: “We are closing a chapter to write a more powerful one. In 2026 Iris will be open by invitation only. The future of food needs action.” Owners at Eide Fjordbruk had already paused service in January while they reworked the idea. Thirteen staff were affected. Salmon Eye’s visitor centre stays open; the restaurant does not take open bookings.

How Iris became a destination

Guests used to leave Rosendal on electric boats, stop at Snilstveitoy for a welcome bite, then eat an 18-course menu inside the 1,256-tonne floating structure shaped like a salmon’s eye. Danish chef Anika Madsen built the kitchen around farmed salmon, local shellfish, underused species and odd extras such as insects, fungi and algae. A Michelin star arrived in 2024, a year after opening. Time later listed Salmon Eye among its 100 places to visit.

New bucket list spot just dropped

The floating Restaurant Iris in southern Norway pic.twitter.com/jdTsArhZJw

— lusso (@luusssso) February 6, 2025

Sondre Eide has said a star was never the finish line. Family ambition, he argued, is to push more people towards sustainable food from the sea. Restaurant accounts had been running at a loss even while press coverage piled up.

Chefs leave, concept stays in flux

Madsen and restaurant manager Nico Danielsen resigned at the start of 2026 and moved back to Copenhagen after three years in western Norway. Iris has not named a public booking date or a new chef. Visitors can still tour Salmon Eye; dinner is reserved for people the team chooses.

Norway already dominates global farmed salmon. Iris tried to turn that industry into a night out. Whether invite-only dinners can do more than a packed dining room is the test Eide has set.