Sunday, November 17, 2013

Crêperie de Marie: French Pancakes in Oslo

Crêperie de Mari is a restaurant for people who wants to eat French pancakes, either the savory ones ("galettes") or the sweet ones ("crêpes"). There are two restaurants and last Sunday we went to the one in Grunerløkka.

I ordered a "Dalen" with Feta cheese (the cheese can be chosen from a list) and with extra pesto (supplement).

Dalen (with feta cheese) + pesto, 131 NOK

It tasted very nicely. The tomats, the feta cheese and the pesto went very well together with the French galette. My wife went for something more classic: a "complete" galette with eggs and ham:

Komplett, 99 NOK

It tasted good too but was maybe a bit more "boring" in terms of taste. For our son, we ordered a chicken-pesto galette:

Chicken & pesto, 109 NOK

It was good too, maybe a bit too much pesto.

For dessert we shared one crêpe (sweet French pancake) as we were quite full from the main pancakces.

Sweet Angel, 79 NOK

It was called "Sweet Angel" and it was indeed heavenly. Fresh strawberries, whipped cream and ice cream.

What else to say? The restaurant can be full, avoid busy hours if possible. We had to wait ourselves about 20 minutes before getting a table. But all in all we enjoyed the food and we recommend this restaurant for people who want a French pancake, either a sweet one or a savory one.

Grill's Ville: a Premium Burger Experience?

Grill's Ville is a small burger restaurant in Frogner, just next to the tramway stop (line 12). There are actually several restaurants in this area, including Sato, a Japanese restaurant and an Italian pizzeria.

The motto of the restaurant: "Food with Care" and it is obvious that the chef there indeed cares about the food and tries to give a premium experience to his customers.

Here is an example:


Doesn't look so nice because I am not a good photograph but it tastes better than well-known fast food chain restaurants. Also, the service was very nice when we were there.

Our only regret is that the meat itself (patty) isn't anything special and it kind of drags the whole burger quality down. In the menu, you have the option to get a bigger burger or a double meat burger. Maybe including the option to get higher quality meat should be added.

So all in all a nice place for a burger but it could be better by using higher quality patties.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Eating Vietnamese at Far East (Oslo)


Far East is a Thai-Vietnamese restaurant located in Oslo city center (close to Oslo S). It took me some time to try it because I wasn't so convinced about the combination Thai/Vietnamese (I had tried a Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant in the past without finding anything Vietnamese) but I let me convinced by the fact that the restaurant is often quite full. I don't regret it.


About the menu, the restaurant really proposes Vietnamese dishes: Pho, Bun Bo, Bun Cha Gio etc... It also has some Thai dishes (Pad Thai, some Thai soups, ...). We generally have Vietnamese food when we go there.

Their springrolls are really nice:

Cha Gio (springrolls) 78 NOK (or 54 NOK for 3)

The only thing is that I find the sauce a bit spicy which I don't find necessary for springrolls.

Here is a Bun Bo (sorry for the lack of focus, I am a terrible photograph). It is a dish composed of rice noodles and beef with a lemon taste.

Bun Bo 98 NOK

My wife generally order the Pho Bo (noodle soup with beef) but last time we went there, she went for some skewers with shrimps and beef.


It is an original combination in my opinion but it worked nicely and she really enjoyed it. 

We ordered some fried rice for our son. The kingprawn was ordered in addition to the normal dish.


All in all, we really enjoy the food there. We will have to try some dishes from their Thai menu too.

Otherwise, the restaurant itself is quite modest, maybe a bit outdated. Beware that the restaurant can get quite full during popular hours (Friday evening, Saturday evening, ...). 

Miso Cafe: a Place to Enjoy Korean Food in Oslo!

Miso Cafe is a cafe but it also serves very nice Korean food.


It is located in Røa, not far from the subway station (line 5). I generally try to feature restaurants near city center in this blog but this place deserves the effort to go a bit farther.

The choice isn't big, especially if you want to try Korean food but everything this cafe serves tastes good.

Here, for example, is a picture of a Dolsot Bibimbap we had last time we went there:

Dolsot Bibimbap (a bit spicy), 149 NOK

You may not see it in the picture but the pan is very hot. They basically heat it, put the ingredients in it and bring it to you. You season it if you want to and mix it. The dish is a bit spicy.

Something else we like there is there Bulgogi bento which mixes different Asian styles (Korea for the Bulgogi, Vietnam for hte springrolls and Japan for the presentation).

Bulgogi Bento, 179 NOK

One thing to note is that every tastes good and I believe the springrolls to be hand made. And by the way, Bulgogi is the beef dish on the lower left side of the picture. Sauteed beef in a Korean style.

They also serve everything cafes serve (coffee, sandwiches, rolls,...).

All in all, I really like this place.

To sum up advantages and inconveniences of this place, here are the advantages:
- serving Korean food that tastes great
- the price is quite nice
- it is opened on Sunday

What is less good:
- a bit farther from the city center than other restaurants I am reviewing in this blog
- tables and chairs are more of a cafe than of a restaurant (logical since this is a cafe)
- it closes quite early (18 normally, 21 on Thursdays)

Sato: a Real Japanese Restaurant in Oslo

There are many Japanese restaurants in Olso but only a few are managed by Japanese people and serving something else than sushi. Well, Sato is one of them. The owner and main cook is Sato-san and he is Japanese.


You can find the restaurant in Niels Juels gate, next to the tramway stop (line 12). It is quite close to Solli too, if this makes it easier for you (more buses/trams go there).

So what do you find other than sushi? Well, a couple of things like Oyakodon (rice with chicken and eggs), Gyudon (rice with beef, in a Japanese style), or Unagidon (eel in a sweet soya sauce, again with rice).

The "donburi" dishes (things that end with "don") are generally the small version of the original dishes, with the main component laid on rice in a bowl.

But actually, those dishes are quite big in this restaurant.

I am really sorry I don't have any photos yet but I promise I will take some next time I go there.