Four food experiences to have in Oslo

Sampling the local cuisine is something that’s always pretty high on my to do list. You never know what kind of tasty gems you are going to discover when you go to a new place. I had absolutely no idea what Norwegian food was going to consist of but I have to say I was happily surprised. I don’t think I had one bad meal and some of them were simply marvellous- if somewhat expensive, thanks to Scandinavian prices. 

1. Viltgryte from Rorbua

As I made my way through a few Oslo restaurant reviews, I soon realised reindeer was a Norwegian delicacy and one that I wanted to try. After a bit of a search, The Flatmate came across Rorbua online. It was a restaurant by the harbour which served reindeer and moose stew – otherwise known as Viltgryte – for about £20, a pretty standard price in Oslo. I’ve discovered that stews seem to be a staple of many countries’ diets and that’s fine with me because I love a good stew. We ordered ours alongside a small a Mystic Arctic beer – the first beer to make it to the North Pole, apparently. It had to be small as that’s all we could afford and we were served it in a wine glass. It was a classy beer.

The stew itself was amazing, although I had no idea which meat was which. One fell apart in your mouth more while the other was tougher with a stronger flavour. We both preferred the former. Having said that, some chunks of meat actually fell in between those two descriptions. One piece tasted decidedly like venison – perhaps that was the reindeer. The stew came alongside lingonberries, which made me feel a bit guilty because they were like a little bowl of Rudolph’s red noses and some creamy mash. I do love stew with mash but this stuff was quite runny and I needed a lot more to soak up the sauce. It was all amazing but I couldn’t help but think it would have been even better with some chunky chips.

As if the tasty stew and the kind of cosy, ship-inspired decor wasn’t enough, Rorbua also offered a 20% to holders of the Oslo Pass. There’s not really much of a reason not to go.

2. Salmon and board games at Elias Mat & Sant

The Flatmate and I originally went to Elias, Mat & Sant after having read online that it serves an amazing reindeer stew but on arrival we found that it was no longer on the menu (perhaps it’s a seasonal thing). After pouring over the list of meals that were on offer, I decided to go for mussels. They sounded good, Norway seems big on seafood and they were one of the cheapest options. The Flatmate however decided to splash out a few extra £s and go for the salmon (for about £20) and, on reflection, I decided to follow suit. Salmon seems to be served everywhere in Oslo and I was supposed to be getting down with the local cuisine after all.

Usually I’m not much of a salmon person, unless it’s smoked. I just don’t think it has that much flavour. Thankfully that was absolutely not the case here. My oven baked salmon came alongside some tomato sauce with fennel, small potatoes and vegetables and the combination was amazing. Really amazing. What made it even better was the range of board games on offer to visitors. Although Cluedo would have been my first choice, since there were only two of us, we went with Scrabble. There were a few Scandinavian letters in there but we made it work. It turns out that I am really bad at Scrabble but it was still a fun dinner accompaniment.

3. Open sandwiches and marzipan cake from the Folk Museum cafe

Open sandwiches seem to be another big thing in Oslo. After our trip to the Folk Museum, The Flatmate and I popped by the cafe. We were blitzing museums and needed some refreshments. Although some of the other options looked tastier, I decided to go with the salmon and egg open sandwich. It still looked good and I figured I should try a Norwegian staple. It was pretty tasty (although I think I still prefer my sandwiches closed) but that was not the triumph of this particular lunchtime.

Whilst I was meant to be saving money, the cakes on display looked insanely good. There was absolutely no way I could pass them by. The marzipan slice stood out above the rest. I don’t really like marzipan but it looked worth the risk (I mean, look at that picture – it was a thing of beauty). It was worth every penny. The marzipan taste wasn’t particularly strong and the layers of cake, cream and icing blended together and basically melted in my mouth. I would walk back to Oslo for another slice.

4. Breads and pastries from bakeries

One of the tips I was given before I went to Oslo was to eat in bakeries. Food in Oslo can be stupidly expensive but at least breads and pastries are cheaper than restaurant meals.

On my first morning in the city, The Flatmate and I stumbled across Baker Hansen (which turned out to be a chain of bakeries). We were looking for breakfast and this seemed like the perfect option. I scanned the breads and pastries and spotted a Scandinavian-looking option called Skolebolle – a breaded ring covered in coconut flakes and with a custard centre. I felt like I should go for something local and that looked about right. Then I spotted the Kanelbolle (aka a cinnamon bun). Its good looks trumped the Skolebolle and tasted just as delicious. At around £2-£3 (from what I remember), it wasn’t the cheapest bakery snack but it was considerably cheaper than a restaurant meal. We planned for Baker Hansen to become our regular breakfast haunt but sadly it turned out to be closed on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays. This was to be our first and last visit.

Instead, on Sunday, we ended up at Kaffebrenneriet (another chain) down by the harbour. Due to the lack of Skolebolle, I once again picked out a Kanelbolle. It wasn’t as good as the one at Baker Hansen but you can’t really go that wrong with cinnamon buns. I also had an Earl Grey tea which I was very happy about as I hadn’t had a cup of tea in at least 36 hours. Probably more. Times were tough. The whole thing cost me between £4-£5.

The next morning, we went back to Kaffebrenneriet, partly because it was good and partly because it was one of the few places still open on Bank Holiday Monday. This time, I decided to go for something new and settled on Bringebærbolle – a bread covered in lumps of sugar. Oh, was I in for a lovely surprise. As I pulled the bread apart, I found a hollow centre, filled with raspberry jam. It was like some kind of breaded doughnut. Yum.

Later that day, before I left the city, I stopped by a Deli de Luca – a chain of convenience type stores, selling baked goods, sweets and drinks. The Flatmate and I had been here for lunch before (noodles and calzone). It was cheap-ish (relatively speaking) and the food was fine but not amazing. They did, however, do Skolebolle, so since this was my last chance I grabbed one. At first, I didn’t think it was anything special. The bread was quite dense and the coconut didn’t give it loads of flavour. Then I got a bit of custard and everything changed. It turns out, Skolebolle is another option worth a try.