I have lived in Oslo for about three years from 2008-2011 and since then, I travel once or twice every year and the trip generally is for a couple of weeks. This time it was a bit longer than expected and was almost for a month. During this time, I did not attempt to cook (in spite of having a kitchenette in the place I stayed) and preferred eating out all days. Lunch was normally in the office cafeteria/canteen and breakfast was not very elaborate except during weekends, otherwise just a couple of croissants or bollers or just a sandwich with coffee. After work, dinner was usually a relaxed meal and I ate at different places in and around where I stayed.
In general, Oslo is very expensive and restaurants are no different either. There are a lot of exotic restaurants, Michelin Star restaurants in which a meal would cost a fortune 🙂 and this post is about places which are not even remotely close to them. If you would like to know places that offer tasty food at nominal to moderate prices, read on 😉 This post is just a summary of my exploration of various restaurants and food joints and is not meant to rate the places in any specific order.
I have documented my experiences with food during my earlier trips and you can read them here and here. While a few places have been repeated, most of them are different this time as I stayed slightly away from where I normally do. 🙂
Punjab Tandoori in Grønland
This is a place that I have been visiting for many years now. A nice place to get tasty Indian food. I like most of the combos here, the Karhai Chicken is my favorite. I mainly love the Indian beers Kingfisher, Cobra along with the Pakora and Samosa. I must have visited this at least thrice during my stay this time!
Istanbul in Grønland
I am very fond of Turkish cuisine and I’ve tried a restaurant called Ali Baba that’s not very far away during my last visit, so decided to try Istanbul this time. Ordered a Chicken dish which was named as Chef’s special in the menu. I loved the flavors in it, it was very tasty! They also served a bread along with it and the Turkish tea was good too.
Nye Lille Amir
This place has been around for quite a while now, just next to the Oslo Bowling and Sentrum scene, it is open until quite late in the night and serves tasty kebabs and rolls. The place also has a takeaway option. Normally my choice is a Falaffel tallerken if I prefer veg, or a Kylling Shawarma Tallerken when I prefer chicken! I love both these dishes !
Asia Village in Solli
This was one of the places close to where I stayed and since I was in a mood to eat rice, headed to an Asian restaurant. Ordered a Chicken Fried Rice and it was pretty decent although the chicken pieces weren’t as soft as I would have liked them to be. The red chilly sauce on the table was yummy and I loved the spicy hot food with a glass of chilled beer.
El Burro in Solli
This was also in the same locality I stayed. I saw this a couple of times and decided to give it a try. The concept was nice – you could choose what you wanted to have – enchilada, quesadilla, burrito or taco and choose your fillings and get it prepared. I ordered a Chicken Burrito and it tasted pretty good. There were some sauces on the table and that helped increase the spice quotient in the food.
Kaffe Brennriet in Karl Johan and Frogner
This is a nice coffee shop located in a lot of places in Oslo and I visited the one bang on Karl Johans Gate and the one in Frogner/Solli. They have nice baguettes, sandwiches, croissants, bollers and Coffee! A nice place for a relaxed Sunday morning!
The Local at Fornebuporten
One weekend when I had to catch up with some work, I was looking to get some food in and around Fornebu and remembered this relatively new place Fornebuporten. Decided to check out the restaurant The Local. They had a bar, a restaurant and a cafe. I decided to have a pizza and it was quite tasty and filling!
Yummy Indian food At my friend’s place
Amidst the monotony of the daily routine of eating out, it cant get better than an Indian dinner at a friend’s place !! Amazing food with nice company. In fact I was there twice and on one occasion, it was lot of cocktails with Roti and Butter Chicken gravy. On another occasion, it was a three-course meal, we started with Malai Murgh Tikka, Main course was Roti and Rice with Palak Paneer and dessert was Gulab Jamun and icecream with Red Wine flowing throughout the meal! Easily one of the best dinners during my stay in Oslo ! 🙂 Love for Indian food is pretty evident rite? 😉
Rice Bowl in Hammersborgata
This is a place that I have tried quite a few times and I love the food here. Chicken Fried Rice along with the chilli sauce and a Jasmine Tea is a welcoming change when you get a little tired of breads and start longing for rice. The place is generally crowded and as a solo diner, it was easy to get a table.
Jeppehuset in Stabekk
One of the evenings after work, my friend and I decided to have something for dinner in and around Lysaker. Since he decided to take his car, we headed to this nice place in Stabekk. I loved the interiors of this restaurant. Absolutely wonderful! I decided to have a spinat lasagna and a beer and the food was very tasty. They also served freshly baked bread which was complimentary.
Dolly Dimples
I’ve been here to the Skøyen outlet a lot of times, expecially when I stayed in Scandic in Skøyen. I decided to have a beer and a pizza. The name Dolly Bollywood was interesting and decided to have that. Loved it !!! Normally I love Thai Sommer and that’s my favorite in Dollys. In fact one of the days I ordered that at my workplace and loved that too. Prompt delivery and piping hot pizza !
Egon at Byporten in Jernbanetorget
I ate here on two consecutive days on one of the weekends, when it was bright and sunny after a week of rain and dull weather. Haven’t seen Oslo so crowded in a while 🙂 Loved the outdoor seating and on the first day I ordered Grilled Chicken Breast served with fries and salad, and on the second day, a Chicken Burger served with fries too. On both days, I had a couple of beers a loved it ! This is by far one of my favorite restaurants in Oslo !
Qui in Skøyen
This is a nice little Italian restaurant quite close to the Skøyen station. Again, a place that I have visited during my previous trip. Decided to have a Chicken Salad, so had a Qui di Pollo. They served a complimentary portion of foccacia which was soft and yummy with sun-dried tomatoes and a in-house sauce made with tomato puree. Loved the presentation and taste of the food.
Villa Paradiso in Frogner
This name I have heard and lot and this is a famous restaurant in Grunnerløkka. I didn’t know there was one in Frogner, just near Solli bus stop. By chance happened to spot this place and made up my mind to try this. I went twice to this place. Once I had a glass of in-house Red Wine with a Vegetarian Pizza. The Pizza was good, but I would have liked the crust a little easy to cut. It was definitely good taste-wise, but a little below expectation. On the next day, I decided to have the Pasta of the Day. Asked them for Mushroom pasta and liked that too ! This is a very nice restaurant for a pleasant meal.
Cafe Sara in Hausmanns Gate
Probably the place that I have visited maximum number of times during my visits to Oslo. I go here primarily for the variety of beers, and amazing food too. I loved the Grilled Chicken Breast in Cream Sauce and relished it till the last mouth. A variety of pale Ales, stouts and a lot of beers to experiment. This remains one of my favorite hangouts in Oslo.
Lunch at IKEA Slependen
This is one-stop shop for all accessories for your home. So I must have visited this place so many times during my stay of three years in Oslo. Somehow we enjoyed having a meal here and have fond memories with family. I decided to shop a few things and made up my mind to taste the food here again ! Loved it ! Had Vegetable balls with Tomato sauce/puree and apple cake and carrot cake with a coffee. Loved all of them.
Office Cafeteria/Canteen
Most of the days, I have salads for lunch. On some days they serve chicken and then I get lucky 🙂 The soups are very tasty and so are the salads. I have been eating here for so many years now and still like the food as always ! 🙂
Baguette and Sandwich from Narvesen
When you’re too tired to go out for dinner, the best option would be to pick a Baguette or Sandwich from the nearest store and head to your room. That’s what I did on quite a few days. The Kylling Baguette and the Gouda Cheese and Tomato Sandwich was my dinner on quite a few days. The Aunt Mabel’s muffins that you get in almost all stores is wonderful and I love them too ! 🙂
Hope you enjoyed reading this post. In case someone is looking forward to get info about eating out in Oslo, please feel free to share this post with them ! Will keep exploring and posting ! 🙂
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