Exploring Oslo - Norway - page 148

Café Onkel Donalds Of the many bars and pubs that flourish after dark in
Oslo, this is the most artfully designed (in this case by well-known Norwegian
architect Petter Abrahamsen in 2001). Its soaring interior spaces evoke the
entranceway to a postmodern opera house, and a network of short staircases will
take you from the surging energy of the glossy-looking main bar to a series of
more intimate mezzanines. The house special cocktail is an Onkel Donald, a
head-spinner combining vodka, peach liqueur, cranberry juice, and sour mash.
Lots of romances have credited this bar as their catalyst. It's open Monday to
Wednesday 11am to 2am, Thursday to Saturday 11am to 3am, and Sunday
noon to 2am. Universitesgata 26. & 23-35-63-10. T-banen: Nationaltheatret.
Lorry This busy, suds-drenched cafe was established 120 years ago as a work-
ing-class bar. Since then, the surrounding neighborhood (virtually across the
street from the park that flanks the Royal Palace) has zoomed upward in pres-
tige and price. Now, the cafe's low-slung, wood-sided building is tucked among
villas. There's an outdoor terrace for warm-weather dining, but the heart and
soul of the place is its Victorian, black-stained interior. Offerings include 130
kinds of beer, 12 of which are on tap. The menu consists of a short list of plat-
ters of the day, priced at 100NOK to 240NOK ($14-$34) each, but from
around 10:30pm to closing, all everybody seems to do here is drink. It's open
Monday to Saturday 11am to 3am, and Sunday noon to 1am. Parkveien 12. & 22-
69-69-04. Tram: 11.
GAY & LESBIAN BARS
This city of 500,000 has two gay bars. Pick up a copy of Blick for 30NOK ($4),
available at most newsstands within the central city. Otherwise call Gay/Lesbian
Visitor Information, Kongensgate 12, 0153 Oslo ( & 22-11-05-09 ), Monday to
Friday 9am to 4pm.
London Pub This is the most consistent and reliable gay pub in Oslo, with a
relatively mature crowd of unpretentious gay men, and—to a much lesser
extent—women. Set within the cellar of a building a few steps from the presti-
gious Bristol Hotel, it contains a battered-looking, beer hall-style trio of under-
ground rooms with two bar areas and a pool table. At its best—during busy
periods, usually late in the week—this place can be fun, convivial, and genuinely
welcoming to newcomers from faraway places. At its worst, it can be glum and
depressing. Whether you like it or not, this is a mainstay of gay life in Oslo. It's
open daily from 3pm to 4am. Another bar, Chairs, is upstairs and is a bit more
animated and festive than its downstairs cousin. It opens every night from 8pm
to 3am. C. J. Hambros Plass 5 (entrance on Rosenkrantzgate). & 22-70-87-00. T-banen:
Stortinget.
Sjokoladekoppen Café & the Shu Club This is the newest addition to
Oslo's gay and lesbian scene, with a convivial but somewhat inbred group of old
friends and regulars who are usually at least moderately interested in faces from
faraway places. During most of the week, it functions as a cafe (its name trans-
lates, literally, as “the chocolate cup”). But on weekends it expands its venue into
that of a high-energy disco, replete with laser lighting, danceable music, and a
reputation for attracting the young and the restless from the distant suburbs
of Oslo. The cafe is open from 11am to 3:30 am daily; the dance club is open
Friday to Sunday from 10pm to 3:30am. Kristian IVs Gate 9. & for Café 22-41-66-08;
& for Shu Club 22-41-82-60. Cover charge in dance club 70NOK ($9.95) per person. T-banen:
Stortinget.