KUMI Oslobukta — Restaurant in Oslo

Bland Offerings with a View. I’m a vegetarian of 35 years living in Oslo, a European capital that has been painfully slow to embrace plant-based alternatives, thus Kumi is a rarity. Sadly it’s also rather disappointing, which I’m very sorry to write. But here’s why… My dining companion and I decided to book a table for lunch. We arrived on time and were shown to our spot at the end of a long, shared table by courteous staff who quickly brought us a carafe of water whilst we perused the menu and admired our view of the nearby Munch museum. The interior of the cafe/restaurant is a minimalistic pastiche of cold whites and beige, with chunky bleached wood furniture. There’s no artwork on the walls, no greenery (odd for an establishment that pays homage to plant-based food?), the only softness comes from translucent drapes that are pulled back from the cafe’s towering windows. But as it’s a relatively cramped space the idea may be to draw one’s gaze outside to the small bay around which new apartment blocks are sprouting. World music plays at a discreet level in the background. The staff took our order promptly via the electronic call button, and our drinks arrived quickly. A craft beer from Lofoten = excellent, and a passable white wine. The cafe was relatively quiet on this rainy Friday, and our food arrived within 10 minutes or so. My Tofu burger came in a paper wrapper, the side of sweet potato fries in a small ceramic bowl with sriracha mayo. The burger patty itself was bland and uninviting, only the toppings and sauces providing any hint of flavor, whilst the so-called fries were soft and limp, no crunch at all. It was modest burger-joint offering at best. My companion ordered the avocado toast with a single poached egg and a lime wedge. It was underwhelming to say the least - the egg itself minuscule - and not as filling as the Åpent Bakeri version across the street (two eggs there). The portions being small, we ordered a dessert to share; orange cake served with a splodge of vegan whipped cream and a sliced crescent of fresh orange. If you closed your eyes and concentrated very hard you could just about discern the afore-mentioned orange. My espresso was average and forgettable. After settling up, a visit to the bathroom required a sense of humor. It’s about the size of a dolls house with an enormous hosepipe sticking out over the wash basin. It’s really a shame that their menu is so unimaginative, and frankly offering nothing that can’t be found elsewhere. If you want great falafel then walk 10 minutes to Grønland. A veggie burger? Just around the corner. The city is full of barista cafes with healthy pastries. I expected more creativity here, more flavor. Kumi delivered neither, and that’s a real shame because Oslo...

Kumi is nestled in an almost perfect spot over looking the Oslo Fjord. Tucked just off the main square, the place has this tight, elegant charm about it. Often there are many people sitting outside in the sun, drinking cocktails and talking happily. The music is also normally pretty good.

The food is normally stellar, the portions are not too small which can be the case for restaurants like these, and whilst it is pricy, I think it is more or less worth that price, especially for Oslo.

The issue is the service. I have been three times with my partner, and the wait is always long. We have been during busy hours, when the building is packed, and at times when we are the only people ordering, and always the service is slow. I don’t mean the food. Food takes time to make, and I don’t know how long that process takes.

I do mean most of everything else. The waiters are often busy talking together, and are seemingly not very well trained. One time we had to get up to ask if they would come and take our order because we had been sitting for twenty minutes waiting. The restaurant was empty. When I order coffee and my partner ordered juice, I heard them go back to the conversation. Not making the coffee, just talking.

The people are often very cool, and the energy of the place is clean but relaxed, but sometimes it feels like you pay for the look, and not the service in the end.

One last thing, the building is quite loud if it is busy. There is not a lot to dampen the sound, and even if you go as a pair, you will normally end up sharing a table with other guests. This can be quite overstimulating if you have issues with sound or attention, or if your guests are on a first date and he is failing to convince her of his charm with his skiing stories. So if you have sensory issues I recommend steering clear, or eating outside in the summer 🌺

If you don’t mind rocky service, the food is good and atmosphere is strong. But know that you could be...

Today, we had one of the worst experiences ever going for brunch / lunch in Oslo. After we were seated, we received the menus. This is where it all went downhill: it was impossible to get any of the staff to notice us to take our order. Everyone is literally walking by without as much as looking at the tables. After a good 20 minutes we went up to the bar ourselves to ask for someone to come and take our order. Unfortunately no one came and another 10 minutes later we finally managed to grab the attention of a waitress about to walk out. She took our order, but forgot half. We then had to wait another 15-20 minutes for the coffee and drinks to arrive. Another 20+ minutes go by before finally the food arrives.

Mind you, when reserving the table they mention until when you have the table (1,5h). By the time the food came, we had already been there for more than 1 hour. We ordered avocado toast, pancakes and the salad.

The food is served, but no cutlery. The girl serving us the food just kept walking by with food for other tables but no one came with cutlery. Again we walk up to the bar to ask for cutlery and 3(!) different waitresses have to go and look for cutlery after which we’re being told: yes we’ll bring it to your table soon. We already had food that was turning cold.

About the food: there was a hair in our food, and one of the dishes recommended to us (a tofu salad) turned out to be a full cabbage cut up, with 5 pieces of tofu (199 NOK!). We did get our food dishes replaced.

In summary: unbelievably slow service, OK food,...