In Oslo, I visited a couple of upscale cosy restaurants that either served traditional Norwegian cuisine or had a distinctive menu suggested by the Oslo Pass. Perhaps I should have ventured outside of my comfort zone, but since I spent a week in the capital my first choice was to find some place familiar.
In the neighborhood of Akker Brygge.
Because I landed at nearly 6:00 pm, I had spent the first thirty minutes or so finding my hotel, getting settled into the small but comfortable room before heading to Akker Brygge. I even got a bit lost trying to find the location, since there is also a restaurant nearby called Lofoten specializing in seafood. Both restaurants likely represent the food of Northern Norway, as both names suggest.

I ate at Rorbua, in part, because of nostaglia. I had distinctly remembered visiting it with the Oslo Pass the last time I was in Oslo, nearly four years ago. So on my first evening in Norway, I ventured to Akker Brygge, took some pictures of the harbor front, and dined at here. Considering it was May 16th, it was quiet. Everyone, it seems, may have begun to party in celebration of Constitution Day. Perhaps I wasn’t getting experiencing Oslo the “local” way by visiting this restaurant, but I loved everything about it: its cozy atmosphere, its friendly service, its distinctly Nordic cuisine, and its location within the city center.
While I have never been to the Lofoten archipeligo, it is seemingly one of the most popular destinations of all of Norway. A rorbu is a traditional style house found predominantly in Western and Northern Norway.

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While I will say that just by eating the dried fish snack, I was getting full. Tørrfisk (dried fish) has a particular flavor; for me, it was better than regular potato chips, and somewhat more satisfying. But it is an acquired taste.
I did decide to order an entree as well. While my choice was between a dish featuring a variety of seafood or a variety of meat, I chose SMAKEN AV NORGE (Taste of Norway) which included whale meat, reindeer, beef, and deer on a bed of lettuce and assorted vegetables. I probably spent about two to three hours there, simply enjoying the food and the intermittent conversations between the waiter and me.
(To the waiter I connected with, sorry it’s taken me so long to write about this experience. I know I didn’t catch your name, but I enjoyed the conversations.)