Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dessert and coffee after a meal are essential.
Bløtkake
, a popular de-
light on Norway's Constitution Day (May 17), is a layered cake drizzled
withstrawberryjuice,coveredinwhippedcream,anddecoratedwithfresh
strawberries. The cloudberry, which grows in the Scandinavian tundra,
makes a unique jelly that tastes delicious on vanilla ice cream, or even
whipped into a rich cream topping for heart-shaped waffles. Norwegians
are proud of their breads and pastries, and you'll never be too far from a
bakery that sells an almond-flavored
kringle
or a cone-shaped
krumkake
cookie filled with whipped cream.
Consider the restaurants and eateries listed below. They're grouped by those
that are from Karl Johans Gate and slightly to the north (between this main
boulevard and the National Gallery) and to the south (between Karl Johans
Gate and City Hall).
Strangely,
Karl Johans Gate
itself—the most Norwegian of
boulevards—is lined with a strip of good-time American chain eateries where
you can get ribs, burgers, and pizza, including T.G.I. Fridays and the Hard
Rock Cafe. Egon Pizza offers a daily 100-kr all-you-can-eat pizza deal (avail-
able Tue-Sat 11:00-18:00, Sun-Mon all day). Each place comes with great
sidewalk seating and essentially the same prices.
Grand Café
is perhaps the most venerable place in town. At lunchtime,
they set up a sandwich buffet (110-kr single-sandwich, 310-kr all-you-like).
Lunch plates are 150 kr, and dinner plates run about 250-300 kr. Reserve a
window, and if you hit a time when there's no tour group, you're suddenly a
posh Norwegian (daily 11:00-23:00, Karl Johans Gate 31, tel. 23 21 20 18).
Deli de Luca,
just across from the Grand Café, offers good-value food and
handy seats on Karl Johans Gate. For a fast meal with the best people-watch-
ing view in town, you may find yourself dropping by here repeatedly (daily
11:00-23:00, slightly shorter hours Sat-Sun, Karl Johans Gate 33, tel. 22 33 35
22).
