Oslo was a funny one. I received an email on the Top ten European cities to visit in 2023 and found Oslo on the list. The reason to visit was the opening of The National Museum (with a £500m price tag) and the return of Edvard Munch’s most famous version of The Scream to the public eye. Super random. I know. From a Teams message to my work bestie with a link and “Should we go?” to a long weekend away at the end of April coordinated to celebrate her birthday. THAT’S what happens when two A-types collide folks.
Restaurants we loved in Oslo
– Vulkan Fisk
Top Oslo fish restaurant in the Mathallen. If you’re lucky it’ll be a sunshiney day and you can sit outside. I would recommend booking in advance as it is super popular! The garlic fried scampi was delicious. BUT the real winner was the fish soup. This is something I would never ever order but it was sensational – rich creamy broth filled with halibut, salmon, mussels and vegetables. We spent a very long time here – like five bottles of wine worth of time (between the four of us)!
– Hrimnir Ramen
We booked and still needed to wait for our table. It’s a super busy popular spot serving comforting big bowls of ramen. We went with the spicy miso ramen with pork belly chashu. Fantastic! But the real winner of the day was the spicy hazelnut tan tan men! Dark horse and unexpected but would be my recommendation if you have a chance to visit.
– Le Benjamin
This was a Jono find and apparently where the restaurant industry goes for dinner on Sundays. Very traditional French restaurant with every dish being delicious! You’ve got to get the escargot and tarte flambee gratin with bacon, onions and comte to start. I was also very tempted by the cheese souffle but didn’t want to slow everyone with the 20 minute wait time. And whatever you do – save space for the chocolate souffle!
– Territoriet wine bar
Fantastic welcoming wine bar serving so many great wines including a large selection of our favourite South African wines! How lovely to be in Norway, drinking South African wines with our British and Australian friends. Territoriet reminds me a LOT of Publik back home, so if you’re a fan of Publik you’ll be thrilled with this gem. It’s super busy so just hover around until you can find a little table to tuck around. It’s just around the corner from Le Benjamin so works well for pre-dinner drinks.
– Mathallen Food Hall
Great food market with plenty of options and home to Vulkan Fisk. Our favourite finds were the doughnuts and buns from The Cupcake & Pie Co. They have a huge selection and we still only managed to narrow our choices down to six. My favourite was the pistachio and Boston creme doughnuts. But they worked as birthday cake which excused the extravagance.
– Godt Brod
Local bakery chain for pastries, sandwiches, and good coffee. Loved the coconut custard bun and the coffee went down well with the others. They’re plentiful so keep an eye out for one for a coffee on the go.
Things we did when not eating
– The National Museum and the reason for our visit. My personal highlights included plenty of Edvard Munch’s work including the famous The Scream, the Norwegian fashion exhibit, a collection of the Norwegian queens’ royal gowns and many of the most gorgeous countryside scene art I have ever seen. The lighting captured in these country scenes was just phenomenal. But there are tons of treasures – for context, it is bigger than Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and Bilboa’s Guggenheim. Well worth a visit!
– Oslo Opera House both to look at the gorgeous building and to climb the roof for incredible views out from the harbour. Free to walk around and pop inside.
– Vigeland Sculpture Park made for a lovely walk on a sunshiney day but isn’t a must visit in my books. The park contains more than 200 bronze and granite sculptures donated by Gustav Vigeland (known for designing the Nobel Peace medal). Some are great and some are really really weird. Like “Is this fella okay?” kind of weird. And after multiple Reddit threads later it seems he was not okay.
– The Oslo Fjord Cruise was a lovely way to see the city from the water and float passed a few islands. However, at two hours it is just too long. After the first hour I was very much ready to head home for a nap. Grab a beer and sit outside if the sun is shining. Maybe pack your book? If the weather is rubbish I wouldn’t suggest the cruise at all.
What I wish we had known before
The sale of alcohol in Norway is very restricted. It’s no problem to be served alcohol in a restaurant or bar but if you’re looking to buy beer or wine to enjoy in your Airbnb it gets tricky. It seems buying alcohol to take home is limited to before 8pm on the weekdays, before 6pm on Saturdays and not at all on Sundays. We got very caught out with this one…
Other great links for reading about Oslo
I always find the culture trip guides great and this one on Oslo is a goodie and this one is a good list of top restaurants.
Have the best time in Oslo
with all my love, Tahlia
