Never underestimate the power of the sun at 20°C. After spending the whole morning walking around Vigeland Park, I nearly felt like I was getting heatstroke. To top it off, we had to walk further to reach The Salmon restaurant at Tjuvholmen. By that point, I was exhausted and ready to collapse. Luckily, the area had several shopping centers where we could take a quick break indoors. We arrived at the restaurant just in time for our reservation, and since we had booked in advance, the staff promptly seated us.

When I made the reservation, the restaurant’s website asked how long we planned to stay, with a maximum option of two hours. I found it a bit odd at first, but once we got there, it all made sense. The restaurant is located in such a prime spot by the harbor that if they didn’t set a time limit, people would probably sit there for half the day just soaking in the view.

The menu was really fun—it looked like a newspaper, filled not only with the dishes but also plenty of information about salmon. Since we don’t drink alcohol, we ordered a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling tea, which was a refreshing and innovative choice. With so many tempting options, we decided to start with a variety of appetizers: oysters, scallop sashimi, salmon roe sushi, and fried salmon skin.

When the oysters arrived, I’ll admit I was a little disappointed at first—the four oysters were small and thin. But once I tasted them, I was hooked. They were so fresh, with a perfect texture. The scallop sashimi was excellent, and the salmon roe sushi was exactly what you’d expect. The fried salmon skin, topped with salmon roe, diced onions, and sour cream, was a creative combination that balanced the fried flavor really well.

Since we enjoyed the appetizers so much, we decided to order more: salmon soup and grilled salmon, both of which were equally satisfying. Even though we were exhausted from all the walking, the meal made it feel completely worth it. This restaurant is definitely top-notch among its kind. I have to give special mention to the servers —they were incredibly patient and never tried to upsell anything, making the experience feel as natural and relaxing as the harbor setting itself.