Jarmann Gastropub — Restaurant in Oslo

I chose this restaurant out of several choices which offered a 20% discount with the Oslo Pass. I visited around 13:00 for lunch and drinks. It took a while for the young man working tables to acknowledge me, and I asked for a table to eat and drink. He said only inside was available, which was fine. He then gestured for me to go in. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to seat myself or order at the bar. There were several staff members inside, and one or two moving between inside and outside. No one acknowledged me or greeted me. After waiting about 30 minutes, I started to head to the bar. The young man who I had spoken to before saw me. I asked him if I should just order at the bar. He said I could order from him, and he was sorry, they were very busy. My drink came fairly quickly, although I had to go up to the bar for a refill. The food was delicious and the beer was excellent. No one came by to ask me to pay or if I would like anything else. I understand being busy, although to me, it didn't look any more busy that many other restaurants and cafes in the city. There were hardly any customers inside and the normal amount of people outside. I noticed many others having to come back inside to get more drinks. There seemed to be enough people working. This was simply the most unfriendly place I have ever visited in Norway. This is my second time in Oslo, and in my experience, places are very welcoming and friendly. From shops to restaurants to the young people serving ice cream on the harborfront, I could not figure out what might have been the determining factor for this place. No one said "Welcome." The only way to get someone's attention was to get up and go to the bar, and even then, I stood there for several minutes while the bartender was getting drinks and talking to another customer. When I finally went to the bar to pay, the bartender asked where I had been sitting (at a table 3 feet from the bar!) and confused me with another women who had been alone. In retrospect, I should have just walked away after that initial feeling of unease and found somewhere else to spend my money. However, the food and drink were good. I would recommend that the owners/managers take a look at the way customers are treated here and work on friendliness and attentiveness. As I mentioned, I have had so many pleasant experiences during my travels in Norway and specifically in Oslo, but what if this place would have...

Didn’t eat so giving 5 stars for food. Went here with family and waited outside to be seated as advised by the sign. It was busy outside, but after waiting 4-5 min, with a few waiters passing us with no acknowledgement or eye contact from anyone, we were frustrated. Concerned we weren’t acknowledged, we went inside which was almost empty. As soon as we did, we got a snappy comment from the waiter leaning in the door inside «do you have a reservation? If not you need to wait like the sign says». Since we had just sat down, we asked if the table was reserved at which point he then just left…So it became unclear if we should get up and wait again or if we should sit and wait. We decided to wait at the table since we had hungry kids and the same waiter came back inside and was about to go upstairs. We had still not received any comments or acknowledgement apart from the telling off. So we asked him if he was going to take an order. What followed, was another telling off about how they were busy and didn’t have time (peculiar that he had time for these sarky comments though). Honestly, all he needed to do was say «sure, just give me X minutes». Or «I’ll be without you in about X min as we’re busy». After an argument back and forth, where we were told we were in the wrong - we clearly had to leave and did so. We complained to the manager before leaving - who was super professional and apologetic. But the whole incident left a sour taste. It was avoidable and I’ll be happily skipping past this place in the future. If staff is too busy to say «hello» or «welcome», then there’s something wrong with the place. God knows when and if food arrives. We went to TGI’s instead - there you get free smiles, “hellos” and usually great...

I am a Brazilian tourist and today at 2 p.m., I had the worst experience of my life at the Jarmann restaurant. My wife has celiac disease and cannot eat meals with gluten or cross-contamination, so she always brings her own food. My 7-year-old son and I ordered two dishes, and my wife brought her food. However, when we started our lunch, the waitress commented that she couldn't eat there, and she had to leave the restaurant. Nowhere on the menu mentioned that the restaurant offers gluten-free options without cross-contamination. They should better train their staff to handle such situations. This was the worst experience of my life. I hope the restaurant learns from this and does not discriminate against people with celiac disease or offers options without cross-contamination (clearly stating it...