Skansen — Restaurant in Oslo

I do not recommend this restaurant, especially if you are a tourist. They make it mandatory to add a 15%-20% tip at this place although you don't have to tip that much in Norway. When I asked what the tipping norm was, thereby giving them an opportunity to not follow through with the rude request, the waitress told me to tip 15%-20%. She was very insistent and made me add the amount to the credit card charge right away (she brought the mobile card reader to the table). Not wanting to make a scene, I added the tip. What troubles me is not the money / the inflated tip as such, but the lack of principle and the targeted exploitation of visitors from other countries. The behavior of the waitress shows that this restaurant staff specifically exploits tourists / English speakers. Plus, normally, in places such as the USA, the waiting staff do not even see the tip amount written on the receipt till you leave the restaurant. Here, they make you add a huge tip to the payment right away. It is disappointing to see this type of deceptive and exploitative behavior at this restaurant in a place like Oslo. I asked my Norwegian landlady about tipping, and this is what she said, confirming what I thought I knew: "All the waiters' salaries are included in the price you see on the menu. Normally the restaurants charge a small service fee if you eat at the restaurant. It's normal to tip if you are happy with the service but just around 5-10% or people just round up the bill." The same information is available on various online sites. Also, the food is so so. There was too much mayo (or something similar) in the open shrimp sandwich (Toast Skagen) to the point that you could not taste the flavor of the shrimp. The fish in the fish soup was hard and there were only a few small pieces in it in addition to a few shrimp and a couple of mussels. Additionally, although there were tables available when I went, they took a while to seat me. I had to stand at the entrance for quite a while. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area you should consider patronizing instead of this one during...

I visited this restaurant on March 16, 2025, and unfortunately, the service from our waitress, Sofie, was extremely unpleasant—especially towards us as Asian customers. All these things make me suspect she is racist.

From the moment we sat down, her attitude was unwelcoming. Within an extremely short time, she came over twice, pressuring us to order before we had even decided. However, when we were finally ready, she deliberately ignored our calls and took an unreasonably long time to return.

The most frustrating incident happened when we ordered the fish soup. Based on what we had seen, it was supposed to come with bread, but none was served. Halfway through our meal, we politely asked for it. Instead of simply acknowledging the request, Sofie widened her eyes in exaggerated confusion, pretending not to understand the word “bread.” It was only after we showed her a photo of another table’s order that she reluctantly brought it over—without a word or even a basic acknowledgment.

Beyond that, her body language was consistently rude. She avoided making direct eye contact, only throwing quick, dismissive side glances our way. When it was time to pay, she ignored us entirely, walking past as if we didn’t exist. We had to call another staff member before she finally came over. And in the final act of disrespect, she slammed the POS machine onto the table—a completely unnecessary and aggressive gesture that made her attitude toward us painfully clear.

This experience left a bitter taste in my mouth, and not because of the food. No customer should ever feel this unwelcome in a restaurant. If this establishment values its reputation, I strongly urge them to address how their staff treats customers—because this level of service is simply...

My family actually came here for both lunch and dinner on the same day when our day of exploring ended in the same area! Part of the reason was because we also wanted to try the restaurant's fish dishes that weren't available at lunch. It would be nice if there was a little more selection, but hey, I walked in after looking at the menu (prices and all) outside the front door, so there's you can't say they restaurant weren't being clear. I think the restaurant's prices are a little on the expensive side portion wise, but I did enjoy my quiche that I ordered for lunch and then the oven baked pumpkin for dinner. Comments my family made about their meal was the soups were good, fish dishes were generally well done but the beef in the beef cheek dish (dinner menu) was done a little too tough.

While walk-ins are welcome (both mine were), the place gets busy during peak meal times so it would probably be a good idea to book if you'd really like to confirm a spot.

Staff are friendly here and the...