Olivia: a Nice Place for Pizza!

There are  3 Olivia restaurants in Oslo and we have been to two of them. They offer different Italian dishes but what we like best there are their pizzas.

Yesterday, we went to the Olivia restaurant located on the back side of Aker Brygge, in Tjuvholmen. There is also an Olivia restaurant in Aker Brygge, next to the sea (at the beginning of the walking area) but we were afraid there would be too many people there.

There was actually quite some customers in Tjuvholmen too, but we didn't have to wait to be seated.

We ordered 3 pizzas:

• children pizza with ham
• White pizza with chicken
• pizza alla diavola

Pizza for children with ham, 100 NOK

Same pizza, another angle

Pizza alla diavola, 172 NOK

Pollo Bianco (white chicken), 172 NOK

The pizza alla diavola was actually quite spicy because of the salami (a spicy type). But "diavola" in the name of the pizza was indeed warning the pizza would be... diabolic.

I am generally not a big fan of white pizzas (I like tomato sauce) but I must admit that this "white chicken" pizza tasted very good and had me reconsider my views about white pizzas in general.

The service was good but I recommend you to avoid rush hours like Saturday night if possible.

The official website of Olivia: http://oliviarestauranter.no/

Nam Fah: a Nice Little Thai Restaurant in Oslo Sentrum

There are many Thai restaurants and take-aways in Oslo and we decided to go to one called Nam Fah last Thursday. It is located in the city center, not far from the Stortinget station and very close to Steen&Strøm building.

We went for a dish called "Pad Se Eew moo" for our son.

Pad Se Eew moo: fried noodles with pork, 158 NOK

It wasn't spicy at all. On the contrary it was quite sweet. So a good choice for a child but I would have found it too sweet for me.

My wife went for "Pad Poong Karrii gai", a curry-based dish.

Poong Karrii gai, 168 NOK

Surprisingly, this wasn't really spicy either. A good thing for my wife who cannot eat too spicy food but if it was for me, I would have expected a curry based dish to be a bit more spicy.

When it comes to me, I had "Ratnah gai":

Ratnah Gai, 178 NOK

It is also fried noodles but has much more sauce than the "Pad Se Eew" we had for my son. I liked it but this is more for people who like sauces in general.

All in all, Nam Fah is a nice little restaurant in city center and a good choice if you like Thai food.

Xich Lo, a Vietnamese Restaurant in Oslo City Center

My wife and I are big fans of the Vietnamese cuisine. We have never been to Vietnam but we have tasted Vietnamese food in both France and Japan and had some nice experiences with it in both countries.

This is why we decided to try Xich Lo as soon as we heard positive comments about it. The restaurant is in Karl Johans gate (so you cannot do more central than this) and is on the 4th floor of a building with Nespresso on the first floor (just some help if you look for it).

Otherwise the restaurant is pretty and quite "classy". We were received at once and followed to the table. Before we even order anything, we get some water (flavored with lemon, orange and some herbs) and when we ordered, to make us wait, we got the following appetizer:

Vietnamese style beef stew - complimentary

It tasted really nice. The Vietnamese taste was rendered by the spices and despite the chili at the top, it wasn't hot. My wife removed the small chili part and had no problems eating it.

As a starter, we shared a "springroll"

Vietnamese Springrolls, 87 NOK

It was actually a combination of 2 fried springrolls (the usual ones) and 1 "fresh" springroll (cut in 2). Both type of rolls tasted good and at least the fresh one was hand made.

My wife ordered a lamb tenderloin with red wine sauce as a main:

Lamb tenderloin with red wine sauce, 257 NOK

It was good but it did not seem traditional Vietnamese to us (we may be wrong though, we are not Vietnamese). As for me, I went for the duck breast a la Xich Lo:

Duck breast a la Xich Lo, 257 NOK

The duck meat was really nice: soft, tasty but not too strong and I really appreciated it. I liked the sauce too but it was spicy and after a while, I couldn't take it anymore. I wasn't particularly impressed by the mushrooms but I may be too demanding about it.

Both dishes came with flavored rice::

Flavored rice, incl in the dish

Overall, we had a nice meal and we are satisfied with it. The prices are a bit high, but this has something to do with the restaurant being right in the heart of Oslo

Mahayana: a Very Good Asian Restaurant in Nationaltheatret

*** Update 14 Nov 2013: new photos at the end of this article ***

There are many Asian restaurants in Nationaltheatret and I have already reviewed two of them: Dinner and Tabibito. My wife wanted to try Mahayana for a long time but as we knew two nice restaurants in the same area already, it took us some time to actually do it. But we don't regret it as this is a nice place.

The decoration is classy, the restaurant is clean, the food tastes good, with the option to eat Japanese or Chinese (maybe even Thai, I don't remember). We actually ordered both Japanese and Chinese food. 

Everything tasted good but I must warn you that Chinese food may be spicy, even if the menu does not mention it. The Japanese dishes should be fine.

Here are a few photos:

Sweet-sour Pork

Chinese style beef in the foreground and sushi in the background ("natural born salmon")

Japanese style beef

Green tea tiramisu

A special mention for the sweet sour pork which is not the common dish we are used to but something particular which was very good. The Japanese-style beef was really good too. I didn't try it but my wife enjoyed her green tea tiramisu a lot.

All in all, a really nice restaurant and probably one of our favorite.

*** update ***

I took some new photos last time we went there. I still like this place very much. However, I now believe that they use the word "mild" in the menu to signify that the dish is spicy (if nothing is written, the dish is not, if the mention "only available mild" or something, it means the dish is a bit spicy). Kind of the opposite of the intent, in my opinion.

Anyway, here are the photos:

"Gu Lou Yuk", sweet sour pork, a bit spicy

"Gyuniku Teriyaki", Japanese style beef

Dinner at Grand Palais

A while ago, I wrote that we had been to a Friday Waffle event at Grand Palais and how I had been disappointed with it (link here). However, Grand Palais is still a nice place to have dinner and I was happy to go there with my family a few months ago.

The service was of course better than last time we were there, with just the small problem that the stroller was not accepted on the side of the table, despite my son being asleep in it and despite the available space for it (it was a sunny day and most customers were sitting outside while we were inside ourselves). But well, rules are rules and if you don't have a stroller, you will be fine.

Here are a few of the pictures I took:

A Starter

A Salad

A Main Course (meat)

We were three people and we took 2 starters and 3 main dishes (including a salad). Everything was good, especially the lamb shank (last picture), with is small vegetables and delicate sauce.

I also liked the fact that the menu was featuring some "local specialties" so that people visiting Norway would easily find what to taste in priority.

The menu is changing according to the season, so you will probably not have the same choice as we did, but all in all this is a good place to have dinner and I recommend it.

Delicatessen: Popular Tapas Restaurant in Majorstuen

Tonight we went to a popular Tapas restaurant in Majorstuen. This place is actually the victim of its success as it is often full and it may take some time to get a table or to get served.

Fortunately, tonight was a Monday night (restaurants are generally less busy early in the week) and we are during the summer holiday period which is also a factor for quiet evenings.

Worth noting: Delicatessen can be found in both Grünerløkka and Majorstuen. I am reviewing here the one in Majorstuen.

Chicken skewers and home-made sausages

It wouldn't be smart to review in details each dish as the principle of tapas is to order quite a lot of them and as they may vary depending on the season (available fresh products). 

Grilled asparagus, Pan con tomate and Mini-burger

What we can say is that on the whole, the tapas we ordered were good, that the restaurant had a nice choice of dish (going from Spanish ham to scampi, not forgetting potato-omelet, grilled asparagus, and many other dishes) and that most of it was homemade. Also, I am not an expert of Spanish cuisine but I have been several times to Spain and can say that this restaurant definitively had a Spanish touch.

Warm Chevre salad, croquetas Iberias and Serrano ham

About the service and restaurant: we had a little incident at the beginning. The staff told us we couldn't go in because of the stroller (which is understandable) but they were of little help trying to find a solution to it. Basically, sorry you cannot come in. That's it. After that, the service was fine, though and we enjoyed the meal.

Sitronterte  med bringebær

Otherwise, the restaurant is nice, especially when it comes to its location. Central enough (Majorstuen) to be easy to go to while not too noisy as it is a bit away from the main street.

When it comes to the price, we paid about 1000 NOK, knowing that we were two adults and one 3-yo child. We didn't have drinks but ate a lot and had desserts. So all-in-all a bit expensive but not exaggerated pricing.  Advice: avoid rush hours or be ready to have some waiting time.

Mini Sushi in Majorstuen: Better than Expected

Mini sushi i Majorstuen is a new take away and I must admit it is better than what I was expecting.

First, the restaurant is nice looking and with a nice interior design. Here is a review based on when we ate there (we generally opt for the take away option).

Here are the starters we chose:

Thai Beef Salad 80 NOK (take away price)

I went for the Thai beef salad. It has a strong lemony taste that I like. Please note that the meat is half cooked which is normal for this dish but may surprise you if you aren't expecting it.

Futomaki 1 (tofu, egg, asparagus, cucumber, avocado) 65 NOK (take away price)

We ordered sushi for our child and it wasn't bad at all.

Summer Springrolls 40 NOK (take away price)

My wife went for summer springrolls. They are good, fresh, and a healthier alternative to normal fried springrolls.

As a main, we shared a crispy duck, which is like the famous Peking duck.

Crispy Duck (for 2) 269 NOK (take away price)

It was really good and the skin of the duck was indeed crispy. My only regret is that the sauce was a bit spicy and I did not find it necessary to have a spicy sauce for this dish. Maybe the sauce used for the sommer springrolls would have been better.

Overall, mini sushi is a good place, especially at this price level at Majorstuen. Recommended.