Last week was heaven. The kids were in France with my parents and there were just the two of us, hubby and I in Oslo. We ate out a lot. Here’s our highlight so far: Tjuvholmen Sjømagasin (note I can use special letters now teehee)
First I’d like to mention how Facebook groups are active here. We felt like seafood fine dining for dinner. I asked for recommendations on Where in Oslo Facebook group and got several great answers within an hour! When I browsed websites, I was immediately attracted by this particular restaurant’s pictures and it was only 15 minutes walk from home so there we went.
Location: Tjuvholmen, south west of Aker Brygge
It’s like a little wharf minutes from the center of Oslo city. It’s surrounded by two canals and on their sides span restaurant terrasses. Buildings are brand new, there are fountains, flowers, it’s all clean and nice.
Food: fresh, tasty and well presented seafood
We started with a dozen oysters. They were Fine De Clair from France, shucked to order. (See picture at the top of the post)
- Half dozen 1: Naturelle with lemon and red onion vinegar on the side
- Half dozen 2: flavoured: 2x strawberry ginger, 2x soy mango, 2x tapioca balls with cucumber and mint perhaps. This one was very light in taste and would have done with a bit more kick like coriander.
Both my husband and I ordered lobster:
- Land and Sea, i.e. lobster on a piece of veal steak… yup I call it Surf and Turf too
- American Lobster grilled to perfection: it was so moist I suspect they steam it first and grill it just a little at the end. The meat was juicy, sweet and delicious. So was the homemade mayonnaise and aioli: addictive!
And we gave a go to the Norwegian cheese platter. To our surprise they have a very nice soft cheese comparable to Epoisse but our favourite was a hard cheese that taste very much like Comte, called Høvding Sverre.
The cellar is a big glass room filled with an impressive number of good quality wines. Next time I need to take a picture to show you. That will also allow me to try their degustation manu which sounded very tempting too!
Flawless decor and service
Service: after dining out a fair bit in Oslo I realised how slow the service was compared to other countries I’ve been to. That was confirmed by a new friend who’s living here for 12 years… but I don’t want to make it a Norwegian stereotype… Well it was certainly not the case at Tjuvholmen Sjømagasin. The service was great. The waiter even recommended a lighter and sweeter wine to suit my taste. It was a German riesling and it was fantastic. So much so that I could fnish up a whole glass without feeling tired, drunk or unwell in any way.
Decor:
Classic classy Scandinavian design with warm floor boards and grey furniture and features.
The open kitchen was quite impressive and a great sign that the cook is cooked fresh on the premises.
The Bill:
Total: approx 2,500 NOK (270 euros) including:
- 375 NOK for a whole american lobster
- 355 NOK for the Land and Sea dish
- 210 to 250 NOK for half a dozen oysters
- 175 NOK for the cheese platter
- 165 NOK for the fish ceviche
We didn’t need to book, but in July it’s wise to check if the restaurant is not closed due to Summer holidays. Here are Tjuvholmen Sjømagasin details.