We found this grocery store while looking to restock on diapers for our little one while traveling…read morein Oslo. I was impressed by the size and selection available at this inner city grocery store. There is a good selection of fresh produce, some flowers, and plenty of grocery items. We even had choices when it came to brands of diapers and wipes. Nice! Luckily they also have good hours which is good since our hotel was just a few steps away.

Hands down, my absolute favorite grocery store in Oslo…read more I shouldn't even get started about my disgusting grocery store history in Norway. I really should write a book about it (because I have photo evidence obviously). But let's just say I had lost ALL hope prior to finding this gem. I usually do my shopping in Grønland, but let's not kid ourselves, it is difficult to get there sometimes and while you may buy all of your produce there, you still need the essentials that can only be found at the grocery store. This is where Centra came in for me. Except I realized that I could get good quality of produce here too. Granted, you pay a premium, but it's worth it after seeing one too many moldy clementines at Rema 1000 or Kiwi (yes, the place with the produce guarantee). Out of all places in Oslo, I firmly believe that Centra has the most American products of all of the places. Granted, most of what I eat can't be classified as one country or another, but I do know that if I need something American-ish...if it's not at Centra, it's probably not anywhere else either. And this includes their sister store, Jacob's. But while I can sit here and rave and rave about the selection options and quality, it would be remiss of me to not share what my favorite thing about the store is. THE SERVICE. This is the place I can always count on getting looked after and the help I need. If I am roaming around the dairy section and can't find what I need...someone is generally within close proximity and can assist. (special note: their dairy section stinks....someone needs to take care of that if you're reading this!) And the people at the checkout counters always have a smile on their face and seem genuinely happy to be there. I even commended one of them the other day and thanked him for sounding so happy and excited to help us out. He was really thrilled to hear that he was able to change the experience of someone shopping there. I wish the workers and staff at this place would give a coaching session to the other stores in the area. Good customer service is something I definitely took for granted in the USA...and something I NEVER do here because it's a rare find. But when I do find it, I'm a customer for life. Keep up the good work Centra! You will continue to be the only place I routinely shop!

The best high-end supermarket in town, entering this store feels like entering Disneyland. Wait, I…read moreactually like this supermarket better than Disneyland. It is Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, but in addition to chocolates, you have a beautiful array of fine cheese, gorgeous racks of exotic fruits, a shopful of smoked meats and a fishmonger with mussels, scallops and rare shellfish. As pièce de résistance, they have a drying rack for exquisitely aged beef of which I am unworthy. Besides the gourmet stuff, the selections here are like standard supermarkets multiplied by three, making you wonder what you have been missing in your Oslo supermarket life. There are some standard brands like Tine, but with products you don't see elsewhere. However! The price is very steep! I cannot afford going there too often. Every time I walk near Ultra, it calls to me like a siren - with a heavy sigh and great will, I turn away and buy uninspiring veggies and rock-hard avocados at a nearby Rema instead. Be warned shall ye enter, ye shall not resist buying, and paying dearly!

This is an excellent little grocery, mostly fresh fruit and vegetables, all beautiful, but many…read morespecialty items, olives, nuts, cheese, and a few other necessities like coffee, laundry soap and the like. The people who run this are very nice, and they remembered what we bought the time before and asked if everything was good. Sure, some things at the COOP are a little cheaper (not much), and they don't have meat and ice cream, but go there for the finest produce and attentive service. I am a big fan.

Customer care does not seem to be a policy at this store. I usually shop there because I work in…read morethe same building, and I am not only considering to stop going to this concrete store, but to stop buying at KIWI. Some of the employees at this location seem to be unhappy when applying the "durability warranty" they have (meaning if you find a product expiring that day or the day after, you get it for free). It happened today that while I was looking at meat, one of them came and almost shouted at me that I was not allowed to move packages. First of all, I like to take the one expiring the later possible (meaning it is the freshest one), so of course I look into expiring dates. Why does he have to assume I am looking for a free good? Also, I told him I was not able to properly understand Norwegian and he continued using this language, something I find really rude, as he is able to speak perfect English. He repeated the same thing three times, always in Norwegian.