Exploring Oslo - Norway - page 147

and people-watching. You can eat or just have a drink. A heaping platter of
assorted tapas is 255NOK ($36). It's open Monday to Saturday 6pm till 2am.
Tordenskiolds 6A (entrance on Kjeld Stubs Gate). & 23-01-02-40. T-banen: Stortinget.
Oslo Mikrobryggeriet This small, English-style pub attracts a mixed, 30-
something crowd. Aside from some cognac and whiskey, offerings include six in-
house beers, the most popular being “Oslo Pils.” With its cozy and warm
atmosphere and good music, this brewery is sure to please. It's open daily 3pm
to 1am. Bogstadvn 6. & 22-56-97-76. T-banen: Majotsstuem.
Sir Winston Pub & Piano Bar In the style of a traditional English pub, this
place has a cozy, friendly atmosphere with comfortable couches and laid-back
lounge music. You'll find anyone here from slick businessmen sipping martinis
to neighborhood college kids putting back a few pints while watching the game.
Books and pictures of Sir Winston Churchill crowd the wall. An open fireplace
provides warmth on cold Norwegian nights. It's open daily noon to 3am. Karl
Johans Gate 10. & 22-41-14-41. T-banen: Jernbanetorget.
Skybar On the top floor of the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel, this bar is
known as the most vertigo-inducing and panoramic in Oslo. And at 100m (328
ft.) above the ground, it's also one of the tallest bars in Europe. In the ultra-
modern interior, surrounded by a glass ceiling and walls, you'll find Oslo's
young, professional elite in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The view and people-watch-
ing are worth the trip. It's open Monday to Thursday 4pm to 1am, Friday and
Saturday 4pm to 2am, and Sunday 4pm to 1am. Sonja Henie Plass 3. & 22-05-80-00.
T-banen: Central Station.
Summit 21 On the 21st floor of the Radisson SAS Scandinavia Hotel, this
bar boasts one of the best crowds and views in town. However, it's mainly known
for serving Oslo's best strawberry daiquiris and for its view of the city from the
men's-room window. Frequented by businesspeople, and almost everyone else
between the ages of 23 and 60, the lively bar is preferred by many out-of-town-
ers. It's open Monday to Thursday 4pm to 1am, Friday and Saturday 4pm to
2:30am. Holbergsgate 30. & 23-29-30-00. T-banen: Nationaltheatret.
CAFES
Café-Bar Memphis This is a hip, industrial-looking bar with a fondness for
such U.S.-derived kitsch as Elvis memorabilia and late, late drunken nights that
feature Jack Daniels and beer. There's a limited roster of menu items (seafood
pastas, scrambled eggs with ham or bacon and toast), but most of the clients
come to sip cocktails, priced at 69NOK to 72NOK ($9.80-$10), with friends
and acquaintances. It's open Monday to Thursday 11am to 1am and Friday and
Saturday 11am to 3am. Thorvald Meyers Gate 63. & 22-04-12-75. Tram: 11, 12, 13, or 30.
Café Fiasco Although the owners established this cafe to cater to commuters,
the business goes way beyond just serving a fast glass of beer to travelers waiting
for their trains. It's oddly located on a sloping, pedestrian ramp that intercon-
nects the bus and railway stations, with views of the surrounding skyscrapers.
Inside, you'll find a welcome jolt of humanity and a sense of multiculturalism.
Reggae, soca, and hip-hop music blare over a sometimes-scruffily dressed crowd
that's far from bourgeois. Coffee, depending on what's in it, costs from 13NOK
to 68NOK ($1.85-$9.65); cocktails begin at 72NOK ($10). Late at night, long
after the commuter trade has ended, the place and surrounding pedestrian pas-
sageways become an aggressive singles scene. It's open Monday to Friday 8am to
1am, Saturday 11am to 2am, and Sunday noon to 2am. Schweigaardsgate 4. & 22-
17-66-50. T-banen: Jernbanetorget.