Breakfast Cafés in Norway

Inside a timber house from 1806, three Risø brothers serve hand-brewed coffee and lunch dishes with Arctic ingredients. Co-founder Arne is a two-time Norwegian latte art champion and creates intricate designs in every cup. The buttery cinnamon rolls are usually sold out by noon.

A minimal café in Grünerløkka where the roastery takes centre stage. Co-owner Odd-Steinar Tøllefsen was a newspaper photographer until a trip to Naples sparked a passion for coffee in his forties. He won the World Brewers Cup in 2015 and often brews pour-overs behind the bar himself.

Roasting beans since 2012, this third-wave café helped launch specialty coffee in Trondheim. Founder Tony Jacobsen started in a six-square-metre space behind a hair salon; now he supplies several fine-dining restaurants in the region. The kanelboller and a single-origin filter make for a perfect pairing.

Frédéric Aguerre missed proper French pastry, so in 2018 he opened this crêperie near Majorstuen tram, complete with French tiles and Parisian atmosphere. The galettes are made the strict Breton way with only buckwheat flour, salt, and water. The coffee comes from Lippe Kaffe.

The Italian-style espresso bar, opened in 1997, uses beans from owner Robert Thoresen’s Kaffa roastery. He won the first-ever World Barista Championship in 2000. The architect-designed interior features a large green mosaic behind the counter, contrasting with the many red details on coffee bags and equipment.

Australian Talor Brown opened this playful donut shop after training at Tim Wendelboe and honing her craft in Melbourne. The brioche-style dough ferments for 18 hours before frying. Seasonal flavours like cardamom–brown butter and rhubarb–vanilla change weekly, served with house-roasted coffee.

A peculiar yellow house sits beside Kampen church, busy since it opened in January 2021. Built by a baker in 1878, the heritage-listed building is now home to some of Oslo’s finest cardamom buns. Laura Raubaite and Andrea Marambio bake with organic stone-ground flour from Holli Mølle.

Continuing the success of the coffee shop at Universitetsgata and in Asia, the team opened their own roastery in 2018. It is housed in a converted stable in Gamlebyen, and the star of the space is the petrol Probat roaster once owned by Tim Wendelboe. Stop by to try coffees straight from the source.

A pioneer above the Arctic Circle: this third-wave coffee shop opened in 1998, when Tromsø's coffee scene barely existed. Today, it has four locations. The shelves stock beans from Tim Wendelboe, Solberg & Hansen, and Kaffa. Among the buns, the brioche with berry filling stands out.

On the main street of the Grünerløkka district, roasting happens in full view every Tuesday. The cold brew with lemon is a summer highlight: tea-like, layered, and refreshing. Pastries come from Mendel’s, and the backyard is shared with wine bar Territoriet.

Family-run since 2008, Tiara Kaffebrenneri roasts beans on-site. Their signature TAJ Mocha, a warm blend of espresso with chili, spices, and orange peel, goes along with the vintage-furnished interior. Now in two locations: this original spot and Rådhusgata since 2019.

Named for a merchant who brought coffee to southern Norway in the 1800s, this wood-framed café glows with warm light on the main shopping street. Beans from Tim Wendelboe and Sørlandets Kaffebrenneri, pastries baked each morning, and creamy flat whites keep regulars coming back.

Trained in France under Bruno Moncudiol, British pastry chef Craig Alibone brought classical technique to northern Norway in 2016. Expect flaky croissants, pristine macarons, and handmade chocolate that won multiple international awards. Champagne and wine pairings available.

A chocolate Eiffel Tower greets visitors to Théo Romer’s Parisian-inspired patisserie. He arrived from France at just 19 and opened his own shop five years later, in 2020. The lemon pie and the Oslo rolls (round croissants with rich fillings) are his bestsellers. Coffee from Lippe.

What started as a small, French-inspired bakery on the waterfront has grown into a regional chain with outposts in Oslo and Bergen. Expect buttery cardamom buns and namesake cinnamon swirls fresh from the oven, legendary brownies, and sandwiches on home-made bread.

Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the pastry display on Oslo’s main boulevard. Founded by Younes El Khomri in 2019, the menu blends French and Norwegian classics. Cinnamon rolls are lined up next to almond macarons. The afternoon tea shows the full range (reservation needed).

Behind Re-Naa restaurant stands Sven Erik Renaa, twice named Chef of the Year. In 2020, he and his wife Torill opened a playful “circus” with now five outlets in the region. It serves pastries and gelato by day and stretches into the late hours with pizza for which the dough is fermented with lievito madre.

Named after the new wharf district, this local bakery moved into a glass-walled corner in 2020. Bakers work in full view, shaping sourdough, croissants, and scones with bringebær. On Saturdays, takeaway starts at 8 a. m., two hours before the café opens. Grab a window seat with views of snow-capped peaks.

Since 2007, Tim Wendelboe has operated this minimal café and training centre in Grünerløkka. The 2004 World Barista Champion roasts single-origin beans sourced directly from farmers. The coffee tasting for two, served side by side, reveals subtle nuances in each cup.

Norway’s third wave started here in 2001, when Robert W. Thoresen and Trish Rothgeb opened the country's first micro-roastery in this modest Briskeby space. Today, the beans come from their Kaffa roastery at a larger facility, but Mocca still serves them. Specialty coffee enthusiasts order the V60.