Cinnamon buns, cardamom buns and sourdough from artisan bakeries have become one of Oslo’s strongest food trends. Grünerløkka and Torshov are densest, but good bakeries now exist in almost every district.
💡 Come before 10 am — the best buns sell out fast.
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Microbreweries
Year-round
Oslo has a lively beer scene with brewhouses and taprooms in old industrial buildings along the Akerselva and in Gamlebyen. From classic pilsner to IPA and sours — many breweries run their own bar where you can taste straight from the tank.
💡 Remember alcohol is expensive in Norway — tasting flights give the best value.
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Skolebrød, kringle and Freia chocolate
Year-round
Norwegian classics for the coffee break: skolebrød with vanilla custard and coconut, almond kringle, and Freia milk chocolate — “a little piece of Norway” — made at Rodeløkka in Oslo since 1889.
💡 The Freia shop at the Rodeløkka factory is worth a detour.
Eat and taste in Oslo
Restaurants, cafés, bakeries and food experiences in the city.
In Oslo, a meal can be a tasting menu at a starred restaurant, shrimp and white bread on the pier in the evening sun, a coffee from a world-champion roaster in Grünerløkka, a stroll through Mathallen at Vulkan or a hot dog in a lompe after a ski trip in the forest. The best part is often that everything is just a few metro stops apart.
Coffee roasted by world champions, shrimp eaten straight off the boat at Aker Brygge, New Nordic cuisine with Michelin stars, bakeries in Grünerløkka and microbreweries in old industrial buildings. Oslo is a food city where the fjord, the forest and the world meet on the plate.
Taste of Oslo — the city’s classics
Oslo coffee
Year-round
Oslo is one of the world’s leading coffee cities. World Barista Champion Tim Wendelboe roasts and serves in Grünerløkka, and Fuglen pairs light roasts with 1960s design downtown. Lightly roasted filter coffee is the city’s signature.
Order a pour-over and ask where the beans come from.
Shrimp from the Oslofjord
Summer
Fresh shrimp are sold straight from the boats at Rådhusbrygga and Aker Brygge. Buy a bag, sit on the quayside with white bread, mayonnaise and lemon — Oslo’s simplest and most loved summer meal.
Go early — the boats often sell out before lunch.
New Nordic cuisine
Year-round
Maaemo holds three Michelin stars and is the flagship of a restaurant scene that lifts Norwegian ingredients — mountain trout, shellfish, root vegetables, wild herbs — to world class. Around it you find a string of starred and Bib Gourmand restaurants.
The starred restaurants book out months ahead — reserve early.
Mathallen at Vulkan
Year-round
Oslo’s food hall by the Akerselva river gathers small producers, cheese, cured meats, fish, pastries and street food from around the world under one roof. Perfect for a quick lunch or to fill a basket before a day in the forest.
Combine it with a stroll along the Akerselva up to Grünerløkka.
Hot dog in lompe
Norway’s national street food: a grilled sausage rolled in a soft potato flatbread (lompe), typically with mustard, ketchup and crispy onions. Found in every kiosk, on 17 May and after ski trips in the forest.
