FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS the Stavanger region led Norway’s development as an energy nation. The city hosts about 35 oil and gas companies as well as 400-plus oilfield service and technology firms. Norway’s largest oil company, Equinor, has its headquarters in Stavanger, and many international energy companies maintain regional headquarters here.

This city of 121,000 on Norway’s southwest coast enjoys a reputation as a business-friendly destination, offering excellent hotels, restaurants and meeting venues — not to mention breathtaking fjords and mountains just outside the city.

Invite local business contacts for pre-dinner drinks at the city’s most exclusive wine bar and restaurant, Gaffel & Karaffel, where Champagne, fine wine and tapas contribute to the friendly atmosphere. For a small group, reserve the wine cellar or a private meeting room in this Old Stavanger venue near the port. Or head to the nearby new wine bar Vinkontoret, offering an open hearth fire and a good selection of international wines along with tasty cheeses, sausages and thin-sliced ham.

For dinner, many restaurants offer fresh fish or meat, often including moose, reindeer, mountain hare, duck, rock ptarmigan and fowl, depending on the season. RE-NAA, one of the two Michelin-starred restaurants in Stavanger (the other is the Japanese restaurant Sabi Omakase), provides outstanding service and New Nordic cuisine in a timber house in Old Stavanger. The legendary 20-course tasting menu with wine pairing includes fresh seafood dishes. With just seven tables and an open kitchen led by noted chef/owner Sven Erik Renaa, RE-NAA offers a memorable experience.

At Tango Bar & Kjøkken, the tasting menu is as popular with locals as visitors. The excellent six-course menu may include slow-cooked and caramelized celeriac with truffle mayo; squid and cucumber “pasta”; and its classic dish of duck breast, beets and kale. Tasting menus at Stavanger’s finer restaurants are pricey but well worth the expense, with attentive servers and chefs happy to explain the local ingredients in their healthy and inventive Nordic cuisine.

Norway was among the first countries to give equal rights to everyone, and most Stavanger residents have a liberal attitude toward the LBGTQ+ community. The nightclub HoT Open Mind offers live DJ shows, themed party nights and dancing every weekend.

If you have time for an evening of classical or pop music at the Stavanger Konserthus, also book a table at the Spiseriet restaurant in the concert hall lounge, boasting stunning views of the fjord. Dinners begin at 5 p.m., enough time for a great meal before the show. Later, walk to the newly renovated Radisson Blu Atlantic for a nightcap at the Firelake Grill House cocktail bar, ending a perfect evening in Stavanger.