After a long day at work, then a couple of hours relaxing and cooling off at Tøyenbadet, a couple…read moreof friends and I decided to head over to the bistro for some dinner. This was my first time here and I was excited to try it since my friends, who live in area, had really talked it up.
They serve a 3 course meal for a little over kr 400. You can get each meal separately in case there might be one course you dont care for, which I like. When we were there at the end of July, the starter was two crab cakes on a papaya salad, the entree was a choice of char (røye) with peas and a side of potatoes or pork loin (svinekam) with a bean salad, and for dessert it was apple jello, chocolate ice cream with a rhubarb compote, and a cinnamon and sugar merengue all topped with grilled cherries freshly picked from one of the employees gardens. After you have ordered, they come out with freshly made olive bread and aioli.
The olive bread was yummy and it was easy to tell the aioli was fresh and homemade. The crab cakes were decent for being crab cakes, but I hate crab so I can't judge them on it. It tasted like they had more curry than crab though. The pork loin was a little dry and had a little too much of something. I am not sure if the taste of the capers were getting in the way or what it was. At first I thought it tasted like too much rosemary, but I couldnt actually see any rosemary. Either way, it was strange and although I liked it and think it's far better than what most restaurants serve in Oslo, I guess I expected my meat to at least not be overcooked for the price I was paying. The dessert was exciting. I had never had apple jello before, but it turns out those two things are perfect for each other. The ice cream was also very good and tasted homemade. It should be pointed out that it was small bits of jello and maybe a tablespoon of ice cream. I typically hate merengues because of their texture, but this one was warm and a little gooey inside and it was awesome. My friend had the char and seemed to like it, but wasn't used to being served fish on the bone so she struggled with that a little.
All together for the three course meal, 3 glasses of house white, and a cup of coffee, I paid around kr 700. For the food alone, I might have given this place only three stars. However, the service was great and I loved the atmosphere. Their outdoor area along with the very hippy look and vibe of the waiters made me feel like I was back in San Diego and they definitely get an extra star for that. If the food doesn't bring me back, the atmosphere will.
