"Outdoor Dining Area" Restaurants in Oslo
The name still reflects the location’s past as an erotic shop, even though today’s subtle interior gives no hint of it. In a five-course tasting menu, chef Jo Bøe Klakegg shows his Noma training through focused cooking.
The former US Embassy’s visa section is now a wine bar named for Frances E. Willis, ambassador to Norway 1957–1961. It serves Middle Eastern and Mediterranean sharing plates, and its wine list includes over 1,000 bottles.
Since 2014, this “daredevil” restaurant has paired Norwegian ingredients from sea and land with continental touches. Four- or eight-course menus often begin with house-aged hams sliced at the table.
Chefs Rune Bjørneng and Mads Kjøllmoen blend Nordic produce with Asian-inspired techniques. The restaurant is named for a figure in Knut Hamsun’s novel “Hunger” and features interiors by Anderssen & Voll.
Grünerløkka’s oldest building dates from 1802. After a fire in 2015, it was rebuilt and redesigned by Anderssen & Voll. Expect seasonal menus, a wine bar, and an on-site brewery bar with 30 beers on tap.
Since 2009, this wine-focused restaurant has paired French technique with Norwegian produce, composing dishes around a cellar of 2,000 labels. Its 2025 move to Bjørvika added space and an open kitchen.
Lars Erik Underthun has run this Frogner institution for over 30 years. The French-influenced kitchen features seasonal produce in à la carte and set menus, supported by one of the city’s best wine cellars.
Opened in 2016 in a former grocery shop, Kolonialen Bislett serves a concise bistro menu of oysters, cured meats, and Norwegian classics, paired with a wide by-the-glass wine selection.
An old wooden house holds a French bistro that’s among the city’s finest, open since 2015. Everything is homemade with seasonal ingredients: steak tartare, entrecôte, crispy frites, and, of course, the desserts.
On the second floor of Hotel Continental, diners find this refined restaurant with weekly changing menus of three to five courses. The best in-season ingredients are paired with wines from an extensive list.
Named after the owners’ son, this popular French bistro in Grünerløkka serves langoustines (when in season), tarte flambée, and entrecôte. French cheeses and a wine list round out the experience.
Maciek Sulek and head chef Anders Erlandsson—formerly at Alchemist—serve pan-Asian-inspired dishes as set menus and à la carte. Bottles and vinyl records line the walls; DJs play on weekends.
Danish smørrebrød at lunch, a continental set menu at dinner: two distinct meal types under one roof in a listed building by the river. On the ground floor, a wine bar pours from a mostly classic list.
Dag Tjersland opened this Italian restaurant in 1997 at age 24, where pasta, pizza, and focaccia are made in-house. There is summer seating in the atmospheric courtyard of Oslo Cathedral, and the staff are mainly Italian.
Chef Charles Taylor cooks on the rooftop of the former American Embassy, a 1959 Eero Saarinen building. Fish drives the tasting menu, following a fin-to-gill approach pairing cod tongue with belly.
Icelandic chef Atli Mar Yngvason crosses Nordic seafood with Asian and Latin American influences. Spicy frozen margaritas are a signature drink; the bar accepts walk-ins, while the dining room offers a set menu.
Commissioned by a banker and completed in 1864, this villa houses an Italian-inspired bistro in rooms with high ceilings and original plasterwork. The wine cellar sits in a former weapons storage below.
The award-winning MAD building in Oslo's Barcode district houses this contemporary restaurant. Continental classics get a modern touch, such as beef tartare with yellow beets and baked cod with fennel salad.
Oslo's oldest restaurant is located in a protected 18th-century building at Bankplassen. The kitchen upholds Norwegian traditions, serving seasonal skrei in winter, reindeer year-round, and smørbrød at lunch since 1862.
Chef and forager Jørgen Ravneberg runs this backyard restaurant with an organic, zero-waste philosophy. His dishes reflect what grows locally, while the bread comes from Kolonihagen Bakeri.