Dinner in Oslo - NO fish

[bookbabe]

I’ll start another thread since I don’t want to hijack the other thread on this.

 

Staying at the Thon Opera Hotel in Oslo pre-cruise in September, looking for a couple of good suggestions for dinners.

 

- preferably local-ish, doesn’t have to be local cuisine but at least locally run rather than an international chain

- good food but not fancy (ideally if DH can go in shorts it’s a plus)

- menu that can accommodate my fish allergy (can eat shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, etc, just not finfish) *** most important aspect

 

Thanks for any suggestions you can provide.

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by bookbabe

[kaisatsu]

Dining in Oslo is fairly casual, so shorts are rarely an issue even at more expensive places. Although people may seem a bit more surprised that someone is out and about in shorts, it's more likely to be because it's September than because of any kind of dress code.

 

Fish is actually less common in Oslo, since the fishing industry is based on the west coast. All of the following have plenty of non-fish options, but most do serve some fish or seafood (in case that's a problem).

 

The places I'd typically recommend as a visitor staying in that area:

 

• Lorry pub is a fun bit of history up by the palace. Historically it was a meeting place for journalists and politicians to chat off the record, and it has long been an institution with a lot of character. They serve a mix of traditional and international dishes.
• Elias is somewhat central (a few blocks from the National Theater) and serves some good Norwegian-inspired dishes like their reindeer stew.

• Døgnvill is practically across the Thon Hotel Opera. It's not local to Oslo (they started in Stavanger), but they serve pretty good burgers.

• Royal Gastropub inside the historic Østbanehallen part of the train station serves basic pub fare along with several Oslo and Norwegian microbrews on tap, and the seating in the side rooms is kind of interesting since they were the old waiting rooms from the original rail station.

• Olivia is an Oslo-native Italian restaurant that also has a location in Østbanehallen. 

• Bar Code Street Food food hall is a bit of a different alternative that's not far from the hotel. It's basically an indoor food truck court with around a dozen local vendors. Ordering is typically done through the website with an SMS system to alert you when dishes can be picked up. I'm not sure if they have WiFi or if it's possible to order directly with the stalls if you don't have internet access. (We have three other similar street food halls: Oslo Street Food near Youngstorget, Vippa in an old harbor facility out on the Akershus peninsula, and Via Village near Aker Brygge. We also have a "drink hall" at Posthallen that follow the same concept but with local mixologists serving drinks instead of food).

 

If you're particularly interested in good food and are willing to book a table, these are my non-seafood favorites for the food:

• Zarathustra - Middle Eastern mezes in Grünerløkka
• Gangnam - Korean near Tjuvholmen/Aker Brygge
• La Mayor - Mexican fusion not far from Youngstorget

 

And for some more unique options:

• Njokobok - A little neighborhood Senegalese restaurant serving grilled meats (and grilled seafood) in a tiny social space in Oslo's historically immigrant neighborhood.
• Injera - I haven't actually tried this Eritrean restaurant in Majorstuen, but my favorite Eritrean place downtown didn't survive the COVID lockdowns, so I can't recommend it anymore. Thanks to a large Eritrean diaspora, Oslo has long hosted an assortment of good Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurants.

 

[Hezu]

15 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

• Olivia is an Oslo-native Italian restaurant that also has a location in Østbanehallen. 

If the wish was no international chain restaurants, I think this could be thus disqualified since despite being originally Norwegian, thesedays the chain is international as there are restaurants at least also in Helsinki.

[bookbabe]

Thanks!  The food hall concept sounds like a good option, as do a few of the others.  That should give us some options for our two days there.  Even the chain one is okay, really, I should have been clearer about meaning “no North American or UK chains” since it’s just a desire to eat more locally on vacation.  I mean, why eat at some place on vacation that you could eat at anytime?

 

As for the shorts, DH wears them year round, even in Canadian winters, so he’s used to getting stared at a bit.  It’s more just whether he can get in the door in shorts.  He had to invest in pants to eat dinner in the restaurant on our Viking cruises…. 😉 

[oakridger]

@kaisatsu I really appreciate you taking time to give all of us so much detailed information!  I'm now planning a trip to Norway in June 2024 (long wait!) so will be checking this forum regularly.  Great restaurant information above.

 

Tussen takk,

~Nancy

[Host Bonjour]

On 3/6/2023 at 8:22 AM, bookbabe said:

I don’t want to hijack the other thread on this.

 

Quite thoughtful and considerate 🙂 though since it's a continuation of a similar conversation, it would have been ok to post in the topic. Many members of the community enjoy a nice voluminous topic they can scroll through, especially when it comes to food. We've got quite a barn-burner over on the Italy topic for food/dining.

 

Often we'll pin a popular or frequently posted topic to the top of the forum for easy access and searches, or just as a starting point: from the sticky post, one could then always use our search tool and look for posts from one community member, or use terms to seek info located within the sticky topic. 

 

Thanks again for being so considerate to the other OP. Looks like you've got plenty of non-fish options!

I'm usually growing scales anytime I'm anywhere by the sea, especially if they've got fish I've not tried, or fish that's not easy to get where I live, but that's why it's good to know there are options. 🙂