Address: Østre Elvebakke 7, 0182 Oslo www.mecca.no

Mecca is located at the West side of the river in Grunerlokka. I like this place, specially in summer time, because you can enjoy the big terrace next to the river.

Last time we went to Mecca we decided to try the barbecue buffet. The buffet consists in two or three pieces from the barbecue. There is a wide range of options: entrecot, prawns, cod, three types of sausages, chicken… In addition the barbaque comes with grilled maize, potatoes and salad. The menu is quite large and I suggest to try one of the ten homemade burgers: very tasty.

In terms of price Mecca is not very expensive and service is in general attentive to the customers. Two weeks ago I met a Swedish waitress there who spoke Spanish.

By Borjamari

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Address: Møllergata 23, 0179 Oslo, Tel: 22 11 20 00

Pocholo says

With the name of Vito’s Corleone neighborhood, I went to this restaurant through a friends recommendation. She told me Hell’s Kitchen was voted Oslo’s best bar some years ago.

I remember I got a first good impression. I like bars that are a bit different to the others, with some personality and with a nice atmosphere. I also liked a lot one of the waitress with a big toupee and a “I am going to kick your ass” look. If you go there, you would easily recognize her

You can find good music and one of the Oslo’s most famous Italian style pizza, doesn’t it sound interesting for some Fredag Pils?

Borjamari says

Hell’s Kitchen is a pub located on the corner of Youngstorget with Møllergata. From outside doesn’t look a pub or a restaurant; the door of the main entrance is black and it does not have the name outside. Therefore is quite difficult to find it the first time. However, once you go in you find a great atmosphere and very good music. The menu has only pizzas, but excellent pizzas! They make them as originals from Italy: thin base and delicious cheese. A pizza is around 100 NOK.

I have been there several times and I don’t get tired of going there. Good place to have some beers with friends.

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Address: Thorvald Meyers gate 40 NO-0555 Oslo Tel: 22 35 68 71 www.bistrobrocante.no/

Last Thursday I went with a friend from Barcelona to Bistro Brocante, a French restaurant located in Grünerløkka next door to Café Fru Hagen. It was hot and sunny so we were lucky to find a sit on the terrace. Although they don’t have an extensive menu, Bistro Brocante offers good traditional French food at reasonable prices.

We ordered trout in cucumber sauce and lamb. The fish was ok, nothing special, but the meat was really good. The bill was around 600 NOK for the meal and four beers, not very expensive for Oslo. There is a wide range of good wines but prices are exorbitant.

In my opinion, the best was the service. I have been there some other times and the waitress in charge is always smiling even when I try to speak in Norwegian she doesn’t run out of patience. One thing for non Norwegian speakers: the menu is in French as well.

By Borjamari

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One of the most tipical food in Spain, together with chorizo, is the Spanish tortilla.

Ingredients

5 medium size potatoes
1 onion
6 eggs
Olive oil
Salt

What do you need?

A pan (must be non-stick)
A big bowl
A big flat dish

Procedure

Peel the potatoes, cut each potato in half lengthways and cut each half into thin slices. Place a medium frying pan on the hob over medium heat. Put olive oil into the pan (one finger). When oil gets hot, carefully slide all the potatoes into the pan and let them start to fry. From time to time turn the potato slices so they fry uniformly.

Cut the onion into small pieces and put it into the pan with the potato and mix them. Now add some salt. While the potatoes are cooking, break and mix the eggs into the bowl. Whisk the eggs until the yolks and whites are combined and add some salt on them too.

The potatoes will be ready when they look very soft. Then, transfer all the potatoes and the onion to the bowl of beaten egg and stir it. Now put the pan back with a little bit of oil on the heat (low to medium) and pour the mixture into the pan. Now let the tortilla cook gently until it has its down solid and golden. Only the experience can give you and idea of the exact moment, but it usually takes between 6 and 8 minutes. Once it’s ready, it is the moment to turn the tortilla.

This step is the most critical part and probably can destroy completely your tortilla. There are some ways to it, but I will explain the “Spanish way”. Place a flat dish over the pan covering it; remove the pan from the heat and flip the pan and the dish together upside. If you don’t feel confident in this step I recommend you doing it over the sink and take considerable care.

Put the pan again on the fire and slide the tortilla again into it and 5 minutes more of cooking should be enough. Tortillas are best eaten warm but also many people likes eat them could. After eat it, the last step is to clean up all the mesh you have made in the kitchen.

I will give you some tips from the voice of experience (my mum’s tips). Onion can be eliminated from the recipe; you can add more ingredients as you desire such as red or green pepper, chorizo…; a non-stick pan is mandatory for beginners.

By Borjamari

Adress: Parkveien 12, N-0350 Oslo, Tel. 22696904

One thing I miss from Liverpool is going to the pub on Sunday to have a meal. Last Sunday I went with a colleague to Lorry Restaurant in Parkveien, very closed to the Royal Palace. It’s a proper restaurant but they have in the menu some meals similar to any you can get in a British pub. We had lamb with broccoli and potatoes, with gravy sauce going with tyttebær, also called in english lingonberry, something very typical in Norway. I liked it; not extra special but tasty and well worth it. Home cooking I would say.

I didn’t find it expensive since we paid 368 NOK for two meals and two pints. It was a typical Sunday pub meal.

By Borjamari

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This week I was asked by a colleague for the sangría recipe. He had looked in internet and he had found hundreds of variations. The original formula doesn’t exist but I gave to him my mum’s (it’s a family secret!):

1 bottle of a good red wine
1 dl of lemon juice
1 bottle of champagne or cava
1 litre of water
1 kg of ice
250 g of sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
2 lemons grated rind
3 lemons sliced
3 oranges cut into slices

Boiling 2 dl of water and make an infusion with the cinnamon and the lemon rind. Add the sugar and dissolve it completely. Now in a 5 litre bowl, when the infusion is cool enough mix it with the wine, the remaining water (8 dl) and the lemon juice. Add the sliced fruit and placed into the fridge for several hours to meld the flavours and chill it well.

Before serving, add the cava and the ice. Cava should be well chilled and stirring gently so as not to exhaust all gas. Enjoy it!

By Borjamari

Address: Haakon VII’s gt. 10, 0161 Oslo. Tlf: 22833444 www.sanleandrotapas.com

Borjamari says:

Probably, the most popular tapas restaurant in town is the San Leandro Tapas bar. It’s located very central near the National Theater and Aker Brygge.

Don’t expect to find a real tapas bar where costumers eat and drink shoulder to shoulder and people throws the stones olive and napkins to the floor, but it looks quite cosy from the outside and the interior is inviting and it makes you feel like you want to go inside and give them a chance. The staff speak Spanish since consist mostly of students.

Saturday and Friday is hard to get a table so you should book in advance unless you don’t mind sit at the bar. We didn’t get complicated and we asked for something typical: squids, patatas bravas, anchovies and pinchos morunos. Potatoes were quite good, but nothing special. The pincho was not so bad but the squids were absolutely terrible. I have to say the anchovies in vinegar were really good but with all probability they came directly from the can.

In my opinion it’s quite expensive and price doesn’t reflect the cosine. Best thing: the San Miguel beer. Definitely, it’s not the best tapas bar in town.

Pocholo says:

In Spain you should find paper napkins on the floor in order to feel that you are in a tapas bar. No napkins, no real tapas. Anyway San Leandro is not a good tapas place, although people in Oslo seem to like it. I have been twice and after the first time I thought that I was never coming back… well, finally I was a second and last time with Borjamari. We ordered squids (coming directly from the freezer), pinchos morunos, anchovies and bravas. I liked the bravas, not bad… spicy sauce and potatoes, at least they got that recipe .But It is difficult to like a place when you know they are selling something that has nothing to do with what you are used in your country and that the prices are too high for what they offer. You can check the prices on their web page menu ( I think they have not been updated for a long time), where by the way, it is nice to see jam and chorizo ibericos, I saw that with 4 slices though. When, I left, I felt that If I ended up paying the same as in a restaurant, that is not tapas.

Al least, it is close to the city center, and it feels good to see the Spanish flag& the bull

Don’t expect to find a real Spanish tapas bar atmosphere.

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