Way Down South — Restaurant in Oslo

I went here with my wife last week as we were dying to know what a Norwegian interpretation of "Southern BBQ" would be. We have lived in North Carolina and that is our bbq standard. We got a sample menu which had just about everything they offer. Pork Ribs, Chicken, "Pulled Pork," and sausage. All of the meat was very well prepared. My only real issue with the cooking was that there wasn't very much smoke flavor in the meat. Nothing was dry the ribs were otherwise perfect the sausage was a bit greasy but good, though not impressive enough to order again. The chicken was perfectly moist and had the most smoke flavor but still not enough for me. The pulled pork was prepared close to North Carolina bbq however lacked NC sauce and not enough smoke flavor. Otherwise very good. They had about 4 sauces. Their primary BBQ sauce in no way resembles any kind of "southern" bbq sauce I have ever had. It was berry like not bad just confusing for Americans. They had a mustard sauce that was more like a standard mustard than a mustard based South Carolina sauce. There was a jalapeno sauce that was quite good and worked best for my tastes. The final sauce was a mango habanero that was too fruit heavy for me but had a good spicy kick. The sides were a slaw, tater tots, and buns. The slaw was vinegar based, very dill and fennel heavy we didn't care for it too much. The mac and cheese had truffle oil in it which is sort of gimmicky though it was ok. I believe they used a white sauce base with cheese added though I think a sodium citrate thinned cheese sauce would work much better. The buns as suggested by the waiter were good for making sliders with the bbq "pulled" pork. It would have been really great if there were red slaw and vinegar based sauce to complete the sliders. They were still quite good. The place seemed quite popular and I suppose the decisions made regarding sauces and amount of smoke flavor were more to suit local tastes rather than fully replicate BBQ of the American South. That being said I think there was a missed opportunity for this place to use more Norwegian meats like reindeer bbq elk bbq or...

★★★☆☆ – Still Smokin’, but Not Quite on Fire This Time

Way Down South, nestled just by Akerselva and Elvebakken, has long been my go-to pilgrimage site for proper BBQ. We’re talking low and slow, smoky goodness that whispers sweet nothings from across the Atlantic. I’ve eaten here multiple times, and I’ve always left with sauce on my face and joy in my heart—not to mention a solid buzz from their top-notch drinks and the ever-welcoming vibe.

This visit, however, left me with slightly mixed feelings.

Let’s start with the setting. We were seated “under cover,” though calling it that feels generous. Imagine a camping tarp flapping in the Norwegian breeze—more Scout camp than Southern comfort. Not quite the ambiance one dreams of when sinking their teeth into smoked brisket flown over from some unsuspecting Texan cow.

Now, about our waiter. While I appreciate a bit of cool aloofness in a French sommelier, it doesn’t quite work the same way in a BBQ joint. This chap had all the warmth of a rainy Tuesday in February. No smiles, no twinkle in the eye—just a healthy dose of tension and a sprinkle of passive aggression. Charming.

The brisket? A tale of two meats. A couple of pieces were buttery-soft—almost too buttery, sliding around the plate like a politician dodging a question. The rest, unfortunately, were the burnt end bits, dry enough to start a campfire. Not ideal when you’re expecting meat that’s been slow-dancing with hickory smoke for fifteen hours.

BUT—and here’s the saving grace—a wonderful lady server was on point all evening. Warm, attentive, and with a sixth sense for empty glasses. Pils, bubbly, coffee—she kept us topped up with the kind of care that makes you feel like you’re the only table in the world. She deserves a medal. Or at least a raise.

So, will I be back? Probably. When it’s good here, it’s very good. But like all smoky affairs, sometimes it just doesn’t...

I am half and half on giving 2 or 2.5 stars, because the food was not bad, but it was mediocre. I had sky high expectation about the restaurant because of the high reviews and also, when we walked past them the smell was amazing.

PROS: The location was amazing, right by the Akerselva river - scenic and lively. Their homemade peach iced tea and lemonade was amazing. We ordered the Family pickins, with the short rib upgrade. The short rib was very good, well seasoned with a nice crust and it was falling off the bone. The Mac n cheese and the coleslaw were also excellent. Their homemade hot sauces were also great. The sausage is ok. The service was friendly as well, though a bit slow. Overall, very generous portion that they gave us.

CONS: Here is the catch - the rest of the whole tray was BLAND. The tater tots were crispy on the outside but absolutely bland inside, and they were served with a bland aioli as well - I had to dip those into the hot sauces. The same thing happened with all other types of meat - the St. louis rib and the pulled pork were extremely lack of flavour. They don't have any flavour, savoury or smoky whatsoever - we had to rely heavily on the hot sauce to make them taste ok. The chicken thighs were the worst - they tasted really weird, bland inside and just a weird sweet flavour outside.

I guess it was our fault that we expected too much, thus the disappointment was immeasurable, as we paid so much for a dinner for 2, but got very little satisfaction. It might be because of the high amount of customers today (Pinseaften) that they could not make up for the quality...