Came by for dinner the other night and it was a tasty experience. Cafe Skansen is located several blocks away from Sentrum. Dining was available both indoors or outdoors. Started off with the salmon tartare and it was quite tasty. Moved on to the pork neck entree and it was also delicious. The pork neck was cooked to perfection with a perfect amount of fat. I loved how the sauce complemented the dish along with the accoutrements. To my surprise, the restaurant was less than 5% full on a weeknight during the peak dinner hour... read more

Café Skansen - Salmon Tartar - Scandinavian Near Me - Oslo, 03

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After a long day walking (to the Ekehard sculpture park and visiting the Munch museum, we needed something solid which was not easy to find on a Sunday evening. The Cafe Skansen had a nice "beer garden" and the staff was kind enough to still let us in (as probably the last patrons). They offered good choices of seafood: A wonderful fish soup of the day, some crab on toast, a white fish filet on asparagus and potatoes, and some oysters. All very pleasant. read more

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Overpriced, as is most everything in Oslo. Had the herring plate which actually was fine. The daily special, not so much. Really nothing special about the presentation. The atmosphere is pleasant but the server could use some attitude adjustment. Gratuities seem to be expected. Maybe we were just there on an off day. As Anthony Boudain wrote, "never order the daily special, it's a restaurant's way of getting rid of leftovers." Hope others have a better experience than we did. read more

Had the beet barley with crunchy kale chips and the flavors were amazing. So well cooked and presented. It was a great autumn meal. The interior was warm (almost too warm) and cozy. Service was great so friendly and they gave us so much bread! read more

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Had lunch there recently. Delicious food, fantastic service and a nice outdoor courtyard. What's not to love?

I do not recommend this restaurant, especially if you are a tourist. They make it mandatory to add a 15%-20% tip at this place although you don't have to tip that much in Norway. When I asked what the tipping norm was, thereby giving them an opportunity to not follow through with the rude request, the waitress told me to tip 15%-20%. She was very insistent and made me add the amount to the credit card charge right away (she brought the mobile card reader to the table). Not wanting to make a scene, I added the tip. What troubles me is not the money / the inflated tip as such, but the lack of principle and the targeted exploitation of visitors from other countries. The behavior of the waitress shows that this restaurant staff specifically exploits tourists / English speakers. Plus, normally, in places such as the USA, the waiting staff do not even see the tip amount written on the receipt till you leave the restaurant. Here, they make you add a huge tip to the payment right away. It is disappointing to see this type of deceptive and exploitative behavior at this restaurant in a place like Oslo. I asked my Norwegian landlady about tipping, and this is what she said, confirming what I thought I knew: "All the waiters' salaries are included in the price you see on the menu. Normally the restaurants charge a small service fee if you eat at the restaurant. It's normal to tip if you are happy with the service but just around 5-10% or people just round up the bill." The same information is available on various online sites. Also, the food is so so. There was too much mayo (or something similar) in the open shrimp sandwich (Toast Skagen) to the point that you could not taste the flavor of the shrimp. The fish in the fish soup was hard and there were only a few small pieces in it in addition to a few shrimp and a couple of mussels. Additionally, although there were tables available when I went, they took a while to seat me. I had to stand at the entrance for quite a while. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area you should consider patronizing instead of this one during your stay in Oslo. read more

3.5 stars from me, but I can't stomach giving them just 3 stars. Not bad for a quick stop for lunch! The mushroom soup is really like a Norwegian version of the cream of mushroom. I think the portion is way too big and they should make it like a side or appetizer, because the taste just gets old after a while. But the beef tartar salad was pretty solid! This was definitely 4/5, which made the rating higher for this place. The beef was tender and tasty and the vinaigrette wasn't over the top. If you're craving a salad, I'd get this. I didn't even know what I was ordering, I thought I ordered a beef tartar appetizer with chips but it ended up being a salad and I wasn't even mad. That's how you know it's good. read more

Café Skansen - Scandinavian Near Me - Oslo, 03

Liked the vegetarian salad and wife liked the fish. Great outdoor setting under tall trees, next to fortress. Pleasant and helpful service. Sorry to say area is a bit touristy, which can make some restaurants complacent, but not Cafe Skansen. Thankfully, they treated us like regulars who had been patrons for years. read more

Restaurant: 3 ( Final Score @ the end ) * Where did I hear about the restaurant: Walked by * Booking: Drop in * Location: Oslo (Center) beside the fortress * Exterior: Cosy and rustik * Interior: Typical cafe/restaurant * Type of restaurant: french/norwegian The food: 3 ( Dinner) * Appearance: Normal * Texture: Average * Spices: - * Complexity: Low * Taste: Average Wine / Beer / Drinks: 3 * Wine selection: Low * Beer / Drinks: Ok * Coffee / Other : Ok Atmosphere: 3,5 * warm and cosy. * Waitor / Waitress: 3 Price: 2 * Price level: High * Value: Medium Summary: Average score 2,8 Average restaurant with lots of very good restaurants near by, Skansen needs to improve their kitchen ALOT to be able to compete in this part of Oslo,. Positive: The outdoor area in the summer Negative: The food read more

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A good place just to grab lunch for the people watching alone! Cafe Skansen has a great outdoor patio that faces the corner of two busy streets and plenty of tables shaded by large trees.. We stopped in for lunch as we were on our way to the Resistance Museum which is at the top of the hill just behind this restaurant. The menu is simple: there are a few egg products like an omelette, some sandwiches, soups and salads and more traditional Norwegian fare. I went with a traditional Scandinavian plate of boiled shrimp served with mayo, lemon and dill. The funny thing- while I assumed it would come all together like "shrimp salad", as we would call it in the States, it truly was a giant plate of shrimp that needed to be peeled, a small bowl of mayo, several lemons and several sprigs of dill. It took forever to peel the shrimp (quite messy too as the tiny shrimp had not only their heads on , but were full of roe) and make them into something I could put on the soft bread that also came with it. Unless you have the patience of a saint- order the fish soup ( a little salty but good nonetheless) kind of like creamy clam chowder with fish instead of clams or the chicken curry salad sandwich was also a good choice. My favorite part of the lunch was just enjoying some wine with friends outside. Keep your purse close as there are panhandlers on this corner who come into the restaurant space to ask for change. As a side note- the inside if this place is quite nice and the bathrooms are clean and well stocked. On a nice day I would go just to enjoy a drink with friends! read more

Stopped in here for a coffee and some cheese cake. It's a very cozy little place with a calm, peaceful atmosphere. The staff was very nice and attentive. It's not a place to bring your laptop and type or surf away though so some of you youngsters might not appreciate the non-e charm. read more

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I had a late breakfast here today. Potatoes were bland but the rest of the meal was great. My chocolate mousse desert with berries was really really good! Friendly staff. The place has a nice outdoor patio...if the weather is nice! It's Oslo haha! read more

Café Skansen - Inside picture - Scandinavian Near Me - Oslo, 03

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Really great food! The atmosphere was fun and relaxed and our server was outstanding. She kept the fresh baked bread rolling and was so happy and friendly. The main dishes were so flavorful. I had the pork neck with potatoes, onions, and a madera (sp) sauce. Fantastic dessert too! read more

We have whale beef, seafood soup, mussels and salmon for dinner, the whale beef is amazing, a must try!!! And the soup is really creamy and full of seafood, so soup lover would love it! The salmon is fresh and served with cream cheese and cucumber slices it gives you a really refreshing taste. And they have a lot of mussels for that dishes which worth the money. Overall it's really good! My friends and I chose to sit outside, the environment and vibe is nice and the staff serving us are super nice! read more

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I have been to Cafe Skansen at least 10 times, but only to have a beer with my fencing fellows. Those who have had dinner while we drank enjoyed the food, but I will update the review if I ever eat here. The service however is quick and friendly, not to mention gracious enough to deal with our big bags and our excited voices. Prices are pretty average for drinks and dinner, and the lovely view from the outdoor seating overlooks both Akershus Festning and Rådhusplassen. If you enjoy a coffee or a beer while enjoying the sunshine, you will find tons of people at Cafe Skansen to join you. read more

After arriving in Oslo, this was our first Norwegian meal. It was delicious.i had the seafood soup and it was ridiculously fast, with just a hint if cream to thicken a good stock full of fish and muscles. Amazing. We also got a platter that came with smoked salmon, pickled herring shrimp salad and seared liver pate with mushrooms. Every bite was amazing. Our service was fast and attentive. We sat outside in he sun but the interior of the place was pretty cool looking as well. Great location for a mosh and a beer. read more

As we wanted to try different dishes we did the 'Chinese bong' - one of each of the starters. Most of the mains are larger versions of the starters so this works out much better. The fish soup was like a cream chowder with some salmon, small shrimp & mussels. We can say we had the Norwegian soup now but wouldn't be something we have again. The duck with rhubarb confit was dry. The confit made it palatable but not something I would recommend. The salmon in brandy was good but not great and couldn't taste the brandy. The moules-frites was very tasty. The starter size was large and more than enough. The broth made it and one of the better ones we have had. The winner, hands down was the elk tartar. We could just have eaten that. Fresh, tasty and not overpoweringly meaty. The bread and butter was excellent & right for dipping in broths/soup we had! Great range of local beers to go with your food. Worth the visit if you are nearby but worth a taxi ride. read more

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Be aware to Rude attitude from the manager!! We were there for dinner yesterday around 6 pm or so. We seated outside. While we were waiting for our food, we took our grapes out of our bag because some of them were damaged during our walking. We tried to finish grapes before our food came. While we ate our grapes, one waiter suddenly approached us and waved his hands angrily to the grapes. We realized he may mean we can't eat our grapes in here. So we apologized "sorry" and put the rest of grapes away from the table. After a while, he delivered our foods to the table and asked " who has the fish?" "Please put in the center of table, we will share the dishes," I replied. Then he asked again," who has the fish?" I replied the same words to him again. He finally put all the dishes on the table in the center a bit of rush. Then he demanded us to put water back angrily. So we thought he needed more room to place the dishes in the center. So we push our water bottle further. He repeated again" put water bottle in the back !!" He suddenly grabbed our water bottle and throw it into trash can. We realized he said" put water bottle in the BAG!" We were so angry about his rude attitude and ask one of the waitress "we can't place our water bottle on the table even we didn't drink it???" She told us it should be fine and brought our water bottle back. He already ruined our good mood for this great foods. We learned he is the manager from the waitress. He could tell us nicely since we don't know the rule in this restaurant. He was so rude at the beginning to the end to us. His attitude is demand like he is our boss. We were there because of good review from the internet. We were so disappointed the way to be treated from the manager. The waitress was very nice to us and apologized to us but still, he already ruined our night. No one should be treated that way as the customer! And we are good and reasonable customer. If you feel your customer is not fit your rule of restaurant, talk to them nicely and we all understand! Not bossy to the customer! Update : It turns out that person is not the manager, he just temporarily cover for shift manager. And we received proper apology from the restaurant and full of the refund for our meal. Thanks for restaurant to reach us and clear the situation and promise for the better training for the employee. read more

An all round great place to eat. I came for dinner, and the atmosphere was lovely. The decor was really inviting and so was the waiter. The tables by the fire place were all reserved, but we had a great table anyways. The main course I got was veal with mushrooms, berries and a mash made of vegetables (I can't remember it's name). It was beautifully presented, but not to my taste, although the ingredients were visibly fresh and good. I did love the berries and mash though. The coffee wasn't too nice, however. The dessert (apple tart) was amazing. The tart was delicious, and the ice cream went perfectly with it. It was clearly made with care and very carefully presented. It was a bit pricey. I would definitely recommend it, overall. read more

Café Skansen - Scandinavian Near Me - Oslo, 03

So the other day our company of five ended up at Skansen. It is at a nice location just a stone throw from the Aker Brygge and on the entrance to Akershus castle. If the weather is nice you can sit outside an enjoy the view of the fjord too. However the food was rather atrocious and the service non existent. In retrospect Skansen is just a tourist trap so if you want some good food I strongly suggest you try somewhere closer to the city center and away from the tourist areas read more

Nothing better than sitting on their patio in the sun on a hot summer day having a few beers. Great service and the atmosphere was really great. I´ll be back to try the clams, they smelled incredible! read more

I had a very enjoyable solitary meal here after a hectic day. The Arctic Trout was delicious and well presented. The house white wine was very palatable although it won't win any international prizes. The service was very good indeed, friendly and attentive. Above all the atmosphere was just what I needed: slightly old fashioned, nice log fire in the corner, about 60% full with happy people. I wish I had somewhere like this near where I live in London. read more

Their hours are posted as going until 23. This implies that they serve their menu until 23. We arrived at 22:00 to have them tell us the kitchen was closed. read more

Stopped by Cafe Skansen for a beer and I found the staff to be very nice and attentive. There is a wonderful outside seating area that is just fantastic for people watching. There's nothing like drinking Norwegian amber ale while listening to Dr.Dre on a beautiful sunny Oslo afternoon. read more

Went there twice! First time it was for mussels and fried. The mussels were piled high, well worth the price! Second time was for a late night beer and elk tar tar. So yummy! Each time server was prompt, beer and food were great! read more

Café Skansen - Mussels! - Scandinavian Near Me - Oslo, 03

Had lunch here on the shaded patio, it was perfect! Food was excellent (highly recommend the Quiche)! Ate every last bit. Would have received 5 stars if the waitress was a little better. Didn't talk to us at all and failed to refill our waters. Otherwise it was great food and extremely cozy read more

Found a pice of plastic in my mussels and the staff insisted to get me a new one instead of not paying for the original one. Had to talk to the manager before they reluctantly took it off the tab with a sour smile. read more