This is my favorite place to grocery shop. I buy most of my fruits and vegetables here because I…read moreknow the quality is always good. They are quite good at getting rid of any rotten food, a kind of service you won't find at most grocery stores in Norway. I was about to buy a mango once that was overripe and the guy at the counter took me out to the mangos to show me which ones were the best to buy. He could have easily allowed me to buy one that wasn't the best quality, but instead he threw the mango out that I was about to buy and picked out probably the best mango I have ever had. The selection inside is always great. You can buy a lot of American products here (peanut butter, baked beans, maple syrup, salad dressings, etc.) The bread is always fresh and I love their massive selection of olives. The service here is terrific. Most recognize me and say hi when I pass by, even if I am not shopping there. They are a great part of the neighborhood and one of the many reasons I love living where I do.

This is a great little shop that stocks a really good range of asian and middle eastern groceries…read more They also have a wide selection of fresh vegetables at much lower prices than at the supermarket. You can get all sorts of instant noodles, big bags of rice, sticky rice, korean chilli bean paste, indian spices and frozen seafood. It's pretty cramped in there though. The Brugata store doesn't have a great selection of Japanese groceries but their sister store in Calmeyers gate is much bigger and has much more Japanese food such as Japanese curry paste, japanese pickles, kewpie mayonnaise, hondashi stock, bulldog sauce etc. They also have a bigger freezers and a better range of seafood / meat products.

This is one of the two BEST fruit & veg shops in Oslo centrum (the other being the one in Grønland)…read morein terms of selection and price. Foreigners always get depressed by the lack of variety of fruit & veg in Norway, but a visit here would brighten their outlook. Some things you don't see in normal supermarkets: savoy cabbage, turkish peppers, rhubarb, plantains, pakchoi.. Great quality, more juicy cherry tomatoes and better berries or fresh herbs than Kiwi or REMA1000 (and cheaper too!). On top of that, they have a huge selection of rice, sauces, bottled legumes, canned goods, fresh feta, marinated olives and more. The shop's goods are pronouncedly Turkish (you can get all Knorr soups in Turkish) but there are some East/Southeast Asian stuff as well. Including the never-seen-elsewhere Indonesian ABC chili sauce!

Nicely presented shop, but problems seems to be lurking behind the pretty surface. 9 out og 10…read moretimes I am there the boss sits on his chair behind the till playing games on his phone, or watching how the staff performs their job. They work really hard for him. I don't agree with how he treats his staff as I heard him yell at them several times, especially the women. No wonder why some of the staff working there hardly shows a smile. The boss also barely shows attention to the coustumers, and if he does he is plain just grumpy. I thought it just was a temporary thing, but now it has been like this for years and I have decided to rather support a shop that treats their staff well.

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.

We visited the Grunerlokka neighborhood and decided to go to Mathallen Oslo to pick our dinner. It…read morewas located inside a nice building next to a small water fall, river and park. It was easy to get to via the tram from our city centre hotel. There was already a small crowd inside as we navigated around. Italian, multiple burger joints, tapas were some of the busy spots that night. We decided on Helt Vilt with their wide selection of game meats from moose, reindeer, to boar to try some unique red meats. They also had a nice seating area that was available so we got the last table.. We ended up ordering the angry moose and wild boar burgers. The patties were a little over 5oz, juicy and lots of flavors from the meat and toppings. The angry moose burger also came with a nice kick mostly when biting down on the jalapeño slices. Both were filling but wouldn't have minded more meat considering these were each over US $20+. Service was just ok (maybe too busy) and we ended up walking to the front to close our tab.

We walked from the harbor ferry to Mathallen for a relaxed bite and a few drinks. The route we took…read morewas a bit off the beaten path, and not the most scenic or efficient. I'd recommend taking a taxi instead. Once we arrived, we headed straight to Hopyard, where the beer and cider selection was excellent, offering good variety and a friendly, laid-back vibe. Then it was on to Helt Vilt for a moose burger, which definitely lived up to the hype. Mathallen gets lively later in the day, and seating can be a bit tight, but the energy is fun and welcoming. A great spot to sample Oslo's local food and drink scene.

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!

A great health store! This place is well worth a visit if you are interested in organic, vegetarian…read moreor vegan food. Fresh vegetables, tea, juice and baked goods can also be found here, and when you add everything else you find in common health store you all of a sudden got yourself a new favorite place. Røtter offers products from Pukka, Teapigs and Helios just to mention some. A personal favorite is Epleslang, a local apple juice. It comes in a beautiful packaging and the taste is great.

I've never reviewed Røtter?!?!?! Thanks Yelp for filling me in on this…read more I am at Røtter at least 2-3 times a week. Sometimes more. Never less. This IS my shop in Oslo. I'm not a huge fan of the Life stores or Helios, and part of the reason is the Røtter has EVERYTHING I need, and more. Upon moving to Norway, I had to drastically change my diet (I lived in Bergen). I couldn't find ANYTHING. And I had no job, so I couldn't have afforded it if the availability was there. Then I moved to Oslo. Oslo is still very behind in terms of food offerings, but it is lightyears ahead of Bergen. And fortunately for me, Røtter was here. Røtter takes requests and is always up on the latest products and trying their best to get them in the shop. Being American, they are constantly asking me for products I miss from the States (a lot of their customers are American) and looking for feedback. And they always give me updates on what they are getting in if they are grabbing ideas from the US. This makes me know that they care about the business and their customers. The shop itself is super inviting and cozy. I could spend hours perusing the place. The staff knows what they are talking about and has a passion for the products they sell. They are constantly receiving new products in, which keeps me going back (even though I spent thousands of $$ on stuff recently in the US and hauled it back with me). There is not much else I can say about this place except for the fact that it is incredible and will surely remain one of my Oslo highlights for a LONG, LONG time.