Smalhans is the second Michelin star restaurant I have been to. The first was at the Rjiks restaurant in Amsterdam, Netherlands the previous week. .
Here is that review Restaurant Review: Rijks- My First Michelin Star Restaurant (8/10).
Now I want to review this restaurant in Oslo, Norway.
Restaurant Review: Smalhans (6/10)
| Sara's Rating | Parts of the Experience | My thoughts |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Location | Great location in Downtown Oslo |
| 1 | Atmosphere | It is a very cute casual restaurant, the cook staff was swearing so loud we could hear at our table |
| 1 | Price | We paid for the Michelin experience |
| 1 | Staff | Good, nothing extra ordinary |
| 1 | Taste | The food was good, even better was that it was traditional Norwegian food |
Smalhans is located in downtown Oslo. It was very easy to get an Uber ride to the restaurant and back to our Airbnb afterwards.
It is a very casual restaurant. We were at a table close to the kitchen and the person closest to the kitchen could hear the cooks swearing. I am glad that I couldn't hear it. I go out to have a pleasant experience and hear that kind of language while I eat is not something I want.
We decided to splurge a few times while eating in Norway.
The cost of the 8 course meal was $77 USD.
I really enjoyed that the food was traditional Norwegian food. Unfortunately the staff didn't tell us too much about the food and where it was from, except the desert.
I suspect that there are other great restaurants in Oslo that serve traditional Norwegian food that would cost significantly less and be just as good or better.
I really like knowing that Michelin star restaurants can be very casual restaurants as well as super fancy ones.
As mentioned above the staff didn't tell us very much about the food. Especially because it was traditional Norwegian food I would like to know what I was eating and a bit of the history about it.
They were pleasant enough when they brought the food out. One was particularly nice and friendly.
The food was good and I definitely had things I have never tasted before. Veal tartar-- I have never eaten raw ground meat. I don't know if I will again. The gahkko or Sami bread was my favorite of the whole meal!
| Salami, Ham, Sourdough Bread with herb butter | Veal Tartar | Today's bicatch |
Pasta with pistachio and yellow beets
| Duck breast with honey glazed carrots | Potatoes from Romsdal and summer cabbage | Apple with yogurt, lemon and dill |
This looks a bit strange so let me explain. The bread is a Sami bread from the indigenous Sami people of northern Norway. It was a family recipe of one of the employees.
The bread has anise, which gives it a slight licorice taste and it is topped with A LOT of butter and some honey. It is delicious!
It was a good experience. If I was going to go back to Oslo I would see if I could find another restaurant with traditional Norwegian food and stop by for the Sami bread at Smalhans.
