St. Lars restaurant — Restaurant in Oslo

A mixed experience. NEGATIVES: We were a group of 6, with a 5 o'clock reservation on Saturday August 9th. When we arrived, there weren't enough menus for all of us, not a great start. Several of us ordered the duck, but the restaurant had run out. This was surprising because we had an early dinner reservation (5 o'clock) on probably the most important night of the week for the restaurant (Saturday) so it was surprising there wasn't enough product in stock to get through the first few hours of dinner service. We were given some bread, the bread was really nice but there was only 1 small ramekin of butter between 6 of us. We had to wait quite a while for the main, around 50 minutes and when the food arrived the staff wanted us all to swap seats and relocate where we were sitting at the table so the food could all fit in the right places, because the table was so cramped, which we politely declined to do. 2 friends ordered the fish. There was nothing "wrong" with the fish, it wasn't burnt, undercooked or anything like that, it was just a bit bland, not very exciting, not very flavourful etc, it gave the impression the chef might have been a bit indifferent. The fish wasn't worth the money. My friend found some congealed gunk stuck to the inside of her champagne glass. After the mains, we were given the dessert menu. As the waiter was giving us the dessert menu we were told we could only pick one dessert, we all had to pick the same dessert and we had to finish it QUICKLY because the table was needed for the next reservation, this put us off so we just asked for the bill, especially because we had waited quite long for the main and were now being asked to hurry up. Two of us ordered the lamb for main, and were given it as a sharer instead of 2 individual portions. We are good friends so we didn't mind sharing, but it would have been nice to know in advance that it would be one big portion between 2, from the same chopping board and this wasn't made clear on the menu. The restaurant felt quite cramped, we were quite stuffed together and there wasn't adequate table or elbow space for us all to eat comfortably. If maybe just one table was taken out of the restaurant, the atmosphere would have felt much less "cheek by jowel" at our table and with the other customers sitting near us. POSITIVES: The lamb was really nice, it would have been nicer if it were a bit hotter inside when it came to the table, but it was still really good. The mashed potato with the lamb was also fantastic, the sauce that came with the lamb was also really, really nice and there was a good quantity of sauce. My friend ordered the steak and he was really happy with it, it was perfectly cooked, well seasoned and had a good sear. Leaving aside the cramped conditions, there was a nice "buzz" and energy in the restaurant and it was visually very charming, with nice lighting and decor. There was a really good wine list and the drinks arrived quickly after ordering. OVERALL: We left feeling quite disappointed. It was not worth the money. We wouldn't go back or recommend to...

DO NOT RECOMMEND. STAY AWAY! This whole experience makes me think that the other reviews here is a SCAM. Simply written by the restaurant to get a higher star score here on google, but I will tell you the truth.

We got a small portion of unprepared cold burned garbage for NOK 140, see picture attached. Tried eating it, thinking maybe it looks worse than it tastes, but it just made me sick. Most of it is onion skin and unpeeled carrot.

The restaurant is very scarcely lit so one may not notice how dirty it is. The rude terrible service has no attention to allergies and the place was extremely over priced. When the chef got out of the kitchen, he looked like he was in a bad mood. So I took my food to go, and you know when you get that feeling that you have to tip, just because you are simply not sure what they are going to do to your food. I got that feeling and tipped.

Waiter/bartender asked me to order a double portion because they have small sizes. When I then asked if I could get some butter on side, the waiter/bartender said they simply could not give that out and asked for the same amount of money that the whole dish costs just for some extra butter on the side!

When I got home, you can see what was in the box. They wanted NOK 140 for this (no meat, just some burned seemingly leftover garbage from vegetables). I have attached a picture of the unprepared, burned small portion (all though paid for double portion) it even has an ingredient that I asked them to leave out, because of allergies. So, all in all. I do not recommend this place, and one would do best...

St. Lars is a cozy and intimate restaurant with great atmosphere, friendly staff and a huge wine list. It's a place held in high regard by many, and unfortunately it's a reputation that St. Lars was not able to live up to this evening. There is limited seating space inside the restaurant. I found myself having to stand up or move for other guests multiple times in order for them to find their seat or go to the restroom.

Dinner had a promising start with a delicious elk tartare served on top of bread. Smoky and perfectly seasoned.

On the side we got served some bread with whipped butter. Unfortunately the bread had lost some of it's freshness and crisp in the crust by the evening. This can and certainly should be improved.

Then for the main course. Cote de Boeuf with seasoned fries, salad, bordelaise- and bearnaise sauce on the side. We were not asked how we would like the meat to be prepared when ordering, and we received an unevenly cooked steak where parts were grey and overcooked and other parts were medium plus. Both the bordelaise and the bearnaise (bearnaise was also too thick) were too acidic, overpowering the flavors of both the seasoning on the fries as well as the meat. The salad was also coated in an acidic sauce contributing to the acidity of the dish as a whole.

St. Lars is certainly a good restaurant, and I can't speak for their other dishes, but on this particular evening the "unique experience " we were promised was...