Olympen restaurant in Oslo

Oslo may be one of the world’s most expensive cities, but restaurant Olympen is both classy and cheap.

Olympen is one of the oldest establishments in Oslo dating back to 1892. It is situated on the East side at Grønland, one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in Oslo. After many years in business the restaurant turned into a decrepit beer hall with a rather tipsy clientele, but that changed when it was reopened in 2007. Today people from all walks of life flock to the restaurant sitting down at both private and communal tables.

There are many reasons to visit Olympen. One reason is the wide selection of beer, this is after all a restaurant and a beer hall serving more than 150 types of beer. Another reason is the interior with amazing chandeliers and several giant paintings from 1928 showing the area as it was before. And another is of course the food.

Olympen serves seasonal Nordic food with a modern touch. Try classics such as skagentoast, cold herring with sour cream and onions or the traditional Christmas dessert, rice pudding with almonds and berries. If there is one place you should try traditional Norwegian food, it does not come any better than this. Moreover, this is also one of the best-value eats in Oslo. Their today’s lunch is always a bargain.

The interior at Olympen is one of a kind

Salmon with potatoes, horseradish cream, crunchy bits of bread and of course dill

In the summer their lovely backyard is open

Olympen mat og vinhus

Address: Grønlandsleiret 15
www.olympen.no

What else is nearby?

Maaemo is just a 5 minute walk away
Punjab Tandoori, one of the cheapest curry houses in Oslo
Asylet, a sort of pub, in an old building from 1740

More Eating Oslo?

The best organic bakery in Oslo
The cheapest fish restaurant in Oslo

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A sky full of purple rain

One afternoon after work I hopped on my bicycle and headed towards Ekeberg. I had received the Green Card. I could enter her garden and pick all the berries I wanted. So I climbed the steep and windy roads to Ekeberg, past the villas with the great views, and found myself in Hege’s garden. My goal were the redcurrants and the purple star, the blackcurrants. The minute I started picking, the sky opened up to fill the air with rain. Was it purple rain?

During WW2, when war made oranges unattainable in Great Britain, the British government encouraged people to grow blackcurrants and distributed blackcurrant syrup to children under age two as a source of C-vitamin. More than other natural sources blackcurrants are rich in Vitamin C, even three times more than oranges. They also contain high concentrations of Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, Vitamins A and B and are full of antioxidants called anthocyanins. This is what gives blackcurrants their dark purple colour.

Try to make your own blackcurrant cordial. All you need is a pan, a muslin, bottles and some patience. And sometimes good friends or neighbours.

In this recipe I make a cordial using both blackcurrants and redcurrants. The redcurrants give an extra tart and reddish cordial. Though using about 2/3 redcurrants it is the blackcurrants that dominate the flavour.

Blackcurrant cordial is called solbærsaft in Norway.

Blackcurrant cordial (makes about 750 ml)

350 g / 12 oz blackcurrants
650 g / 23 oz redcurrants
400 ml / 13 oz water
about 300 g / 10 oz sugar

1. First, rinse the currants in water and drain well.

2. Sterilize your jars by first washing them with soap, then leaving them in the oven at 100C/212F for 15 minutes. Take them out of the oven right before you are ready to fill the jars.

3. Put the currants in a large pan with the water. Place the pan over a low heat, then gently bring to a simmer. This may take some time, even an hour. Do not stir. When it boils, turn off the heat and leave to infuse with the lid on. They are finished when the currants have changed colour.

4. Strain the currants through a muslin without pushing the berries. This will take about 10 minutes.

5. Measure the amount of liquid to find out how much sugar you need. You should add at least 1/3 part sugar to 1 liter berry liquid.

6. Return the liquid to the pan, this time with the sugar. Boil briefly, until the sugar is dissolved, about a minute.

7. Skim off the foam (optional) and pour the cordial on sterilized jars.

Music: Purple rain by Prince

For the next post I pose a riddle: What do you get when I am able to pick blackcurrants right after coming home from a trip to London? The result is a Nordic mojito

more summer drinks?

Rhubarb lemonade with lime
Ginger lemonade with lime and passion fruit
Strawberry milkshake

The post Blackcurrant cordial appeared first on Nordic Diner.

Godt Brød, the best organic bakery in Oslo.

Godt Brød is an organic bakery in Oslo, serving the best buns and sandwiches in the city. It is a must to try the Norwegian classic bun, skolebolle.

Norway still lags behind when it comes to organic food though much has changed the last years, especially with the rise of the organic restaurant, Maaemo, to the culinary Michelin stars. If you want a cheaper option, the organic bakery “Godt Brød” serves the best Norwegian buns and sandwiches in Oslo.

Cheap food still goes for many Norwegians despite the fact that we have never spent less of our income on food than now. Even Christmas is no exception where people go mad in search of pork belly cheap as a two bottles of milk. But there are exceptions.

“Godt Brød” is a Norwegian bakery chain serving organic bread since its opening in 1995. At that time organic products were mostly found in health food stores. They serve the finest skoleboller (school buns), a quintessentially Norwegian bun with custard in the middle and icing topped with desiccated coconut. It resembles the English Manchester tart, though the jam and bananas are omitted.

School bun (skolebolle), best of Norwegian bakery.

Visit their store in Grünerløkka where you can sit in the backyard in the summer. The building and backyard was once a stable for “tram horses”. The first trams in Oslo were drawn by horses until the trams turned electric in 1900.

Godt Brød bakery is situated in Grünerløkka, one of the most urban, historic and green neighbourhoods in Oslo with many parks and buildings from the 19th. century. In 2013 Grünerløkka was, along with the likes of Shoreditch in London and Williamsburg in New York chosen by Lonely Planet as one of 10 neighbourhoods in the world with an incredible makeover. Moreover, Grünerløkka is also neighbour to a long stretch of the Akerselva River, an 8 kilometer long city river offering one of the best strolls in Oslo.  In fact so much New York Times named it one of 12 favourite city streets in Europe.

Note! If you want a feinschmecker coffee to go with the bun, Norway’s best barista and supplier to the restaurant Noma, Tim Wendelbo, is just a block away, address Grüners gate 1.

Godt brød at Grünerløkka

Address: Thorvald Meyers gate 49
godtbrod.no

What is nearby?

Tim Wendelboe, best but (expensive) coffee in Oslo
The Aker River, perfect for a stroll
The Food hall of Oslo (Mathallen)

More Eating Oslo?

Classy and cheap at Olympen restaurant
The cheapest fish restaurant in Oslo

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