Trattoria Popolare — Restaurant in Oslo

Date of visit: 09.05.23

Went out with my partner for a date night for her birthday, and while the food was good, our server left a lot to be desired...

We were seated by the window, which was quite nice, but when our server approached us, she simply put down water and left without saying a word. No greeting, no listing the day's specials, nothing. Once she returned, she simply asked "Are you ready?" in a very matter of fact tone, to which we replied, not quite, as it had only been a few minutes. She returned again, once more asking "Are you ready?". I then mustered the courage to ask for the day's main dishes/specials, to which she very shortly listed them while sounding very annoyed.

Throughout the dinner she was continuously very "short" with us, and turned away to walk as she ended her sentences, and in general made us feel as if we had done something wrong by simply showing up. We wanted to ask for recommendations for grappa pairings for our dessert, but after her response to us asking for the daily dishes, we didn't want to...

She also removed our shared desert bowl while it still had some food left in it, without asking if we were finished...

The food was alright to good. My partner ordered the caprese, where "Basil" was listed as an ingredient, and she was served a single sprig of basil with the entire dish... The beef ravioli was quite good, though.

The atmosphere could have been better, as it was very loud and not that well suited to dinner, more towards lunch, and I felt it was difficult to converse.

All in all, a quite average experience, but our server soured the entire experience quite a bit. She was short with us, at times almost rude, and not...

Me and my girlfriend visited Trattoria Populare with 4 other people. We've walked past this restaurant many times and thought to our selves that we should try it. It was quite a warm day in the middle of July, with loads of people. We hadn't reserved a table, but didn't have to wait a long time to get one (maybe 10 minutes). Service was quick, service-minded and polite. We got what we ordered fairly fast. They have great wines, and amazing table bread. Very lovely area to sit and enjoy a glass if wine, but unfortunately we thought the pasta and the food in general was way too salty. The only gluten free option they have is a grilled mackerel, which was also way too salty and a bit of a let down. It felt as though they had dropped a whole bottle if salt in the dishes. *Many italian style-restaurants have more than one gluten free option. Mostly risotto, but here, the risotto was not gluten free. Which sadlg left only one option. We asked for a side salad with the mackerel - got a few green leaves and some chopped red onion...

The restaurant has really great potential, but we were actually a bit let down after the first visit. We might visit again, but only to enjoy a glass of wine in a great area.

Not...

Ended up here when I botched my reservation for another restaurant. Was kind of pissy about it, but this place managed to turn my frown upside down. You have a second and first floor. I dinned on the first, that seems to have a slightly smaller menu.

The service was good, helpful staff and all that. Could have gotten a little more help with the wine though. The food was what turned me around. A simply divine osso buco being the best part. We ordered a fixed menu option, priced very fairly and that arrived in good time. We ended up choosing the wine ourselves, as mentioned. The selection was very good, particularly good at Italian wine, as expected. The beer selection was all right. But, considering it's a Italian restaurant, why wouldn't you go for wine?

The food was as mentioned, great. The menu apparently changes regularly, which is a good thing. Excellent quality all round, especially considering the price. Please notice how I said the prices are fair, NOT cheap. This is not a "eat every day" place, (not for me at least) but, far from overpriced.

With all the factors counted in with price and the enjoyable atmosphere, it rightly deserves five stars from me. To put it simply: highly...