In recent years, we have seen a change in what people want when dining out. The trend is for sustainability and a desire to reduce our meat intake, both for our own sake and for future generations. Nostalgia prevails and we would like to taste food that is just how we remember it from childhood. Asian cuisine is becoming increasingly popular, and we also want to take pictures of and share what we eat with others with SoMe-friendly dishes.

In addition to this, we want to have locally sourced food, which should, of course, ultimately taste very good.

Oslo can serve all these things. In recent years, everything from trendy food halls with loads of different options to gourmet restaurants with Michelin stars have popped up in Norway's capital. Not to mention all the warm and cosy restaurants.  

Here are seven warm and cozy restaurants you should visit in Oslo:

If you walk past this small French place, you can be forgiven for thinking it's just a delicatessen. But no, there are about ten small tables inside and you enter straight into the cliché of red and white checked tablecloths and might even find yourself starting to hum Parlez-moi d'amour.  

The menu includes steak tartare, moules frites, parmentier de canard, and cassoulet. The wine list takes you on a virtual journey to the provinces of Burgundy, Loire, and the wine paradise of Bordeaux. But you are also not forgotten more of a beer person, with a good selection, including Czech and Spanish beers. Ostebutikken is the perfect spot for a romantic dinner.

Ride the tram from Oslo city centre (line 13 or 19) up to Ekebergåsen. Or take a beautiful and romantic stroll up the hill, which eventually leads to views of virtually the entire city, where you can see from Bjørvika to Aker Brygge and the Royal Palace.

Feel free to start your visit with a walk in Ekebergparken. Here, you can experience over 40 sculptures and installations by famous artists including Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst, and Louise Bourgeois. Ekebergrestauranten is located just below the magnificent park. With windows facing the city, you can enjoy a meal overlooking the capital's skyline. The cool architecture of this listed functionalist building from the 1920s is worth the trip in itself.

The menu at the restaurant varies according to the season and ingredients, but you can eat everything from duck confit to cod. We recommend the moules frites.

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The former Oslo Lysverker building has been refurbished to the nines and has opened its doors again in the form of the fashionable and venerable hotel Sommerro.  

Although there are several restaurants here, if you want something truly warm and cosy, you should book a table at Ekspedisjonshallen. No matter what mood you were in before you entered the brasserie, we can promise that you will want to flirt with whoever you are out with, smile, clink glasses, and enjoy the jazz music.

The atmosphere is nevertheless warm and relaxed. We're guessing you'll want to order champagne or a dry martini. For dinner, you can choose something from the grill, like turbot, or why not go for a tomahawk for two? This place is recommended all year round for those who want to get into a party mood.

Bent Stiansen was the first Norwegian to win the Bocuse d'Or, and Statholdergaarden is his gourmet restaurant. According to Stiansen, the restaurant is intended to "be an extension of my own dining room." If that is accurate, then he has a dining room of the very highest quality, because here they serve both classic and modern dishes, all of them very good.

Statholdergaarden is renowned in Oslo, but also by the Michelin Guide, which has awarded it one star. The menu varies according to the seasons, but Norwegian ingredients are in focus. You can treat yourself to a 6-course gourmet menu or à la carte. This is the place to go for a luxurious dining experience, or you can choose something a little more casual and cheaper from the Mat og Vinkjeller bistro located in the basement.

The culinary experiences you will be talking about long after your visit include scallops, duck heart, and reindeer, to name a few.

Bricks, cellars and candles often create a warm and cosy atmosphere, and that is also the case at Klosteret. The restaurant is located in Fredensborg, an area that is just outside Oslo's hectic shopping streets. Here, you can get the tranquillity of a romantic date, but this is at least as much a place for dinner with friends or family.

The chefs compose their own daily three, five, and seven-course menus. Klosteret is based on French cuisine, with classic and rustic food. There are also good plant-based and vegetarian options. In addition, the restaurant boasts an impressive wine cellar.

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This is a stylish restaurant located in a farm building from the 1800s. The venerable building suffered a major fire in 2015 and burned to the ground but has been restored and reopened with bright and warm premises. The restaurant is located in the middle of the hip Grünerløkka neighbourhood, close to the food hall Mathallen Vulkan - so there is a lot to do and see both before and after dinner.

Nedre Foss Gård has both a brewery bar and a restaurant. The menu is exciting and Norwegian, and you can sink your teeth into everything from oysters and minke whale to mountain pork from Valdres. Picolo.com has previously recommended Nedre Foss Gård as a lovely place for lunch - with a group of friends or on a date.

Hotel Bristol, in the heart of Oslo city centre, is famous for its Afternoon Tea. Here you will meet an adult clientele, but also influencers who drink cocoa and take photos of the tiered serving plates with delicious scones and finger sandwiches.

Here, you can shelter from the noise of the big city and enter a world of British luxury with occasional live music. You can also substitute your classic tea with some tart, refreshing champagne.

This is an informal bar and bistro in the Grünerløkka neighbourhood that is nevertheless elegant and serves very good French food. You should really try the place's escargots au beurre, ail et persil, and the main course entrecôte grillée, pommes de terre croustillantes, and salade et sauce époisses.

Le Benjamin gets a big plus in our book for the fact that the children's menu contains something other than the ubiquitous sausages and French fries. Here, the little ones eat the same as the adults, just in smaller portions (hence the lower price). Kids can enjoy entrecôte on skewers or poached turbot.

The place is suitable for anyone who wants a warm and cosy restaurant and a high-quality meal.

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