Sample a wide range of Oslo’s best casual food and local producers under one roof at Oslo´s largest food hall.
Located in the Vulkan eco-district (an old industrial area turned hipster hub), Mathallen ("The Food Hall") is a large indoor food hall and market concentrated on high-quality, casual eating and regional food producers. Expect a mix of independent stalls and small restaurants serving everything from traditional Norwegian dishes to international street food, plus a selection of wine, beer and specialty groceries. The hall is filled with specialty butchers, cheese counters, and small eateries.
Seating Hack: On weekends, the main floor "Torget" (central plaza) is a war zone of people fighting for chairs. If you can't find a seat, take your food and walk down the stairs to the basement (Smelteverket) or, if it's summer, walk outside to the "amphitheater" steps by the river.
Highlights
For something Norwegian, go to Vulkanfisk (the seafood counter) and order the creamy fish soup (fiskesuppe), loaded with chunks of salmon and cod, and served with unlimited bread and aioli.
Buy packaged specialty foods and artisan products from dedicated vendors to take home
The "Sausage" Souvenir: Stop by Annis Pølsemakeri (the butcher). Don't just look; ask for a "dry-aged" slider or buy their dry-cured sausages to snack on later in your hotel room.
Best time to go
Weekdays outside lunchtime or early evening on weekends to avoid the largest crowds
Time needed
30–120 minutes
Getting there
Can easily be reached on foot from the city center. Bus 34 or 54 to Møllerveien drops you right at the top of the stairs leading down to the market.
What to do nearby
The most famous angry face in Norway. It captures a universal human emotion so perfectly that it makes people laugh in recognition, regardless of their language.
3,000 color-changing LED lights hanging from pine trees that pulse like breathing or swaying grass, creating the sensation of entering a bioluminescent forest.
See the original full-size plaster casts that became Vigeland Sculpture Park's famous bronzes and granites, and tour the artist's preserved 1943 apartment with custom-designed furniture inside his former studio building.
Hotels nearby
A 125-year-old family-run hotel with real character, a private Munch collection, and one of the city's most iconic restaurants on the ground floor.
A well-equipped apartment with a washing machine and kitchenette, five minutes from Oslo Central Station.
Stylish hotel a few minutes' walk from Oslo's main train station and every major central attraction.