Oslo Hackney — Restaurant in London

Quite possibly everybody, apart from me, has been to Oslo. One of Hackney's newer openings, its opening club night saw people queueing from 7pm, which is practically unheard of, and it hosts some pretty good live acts as well. But they're more than just a venue - they have an all day food menu and bar on the ground floor for that little bit of something else. They were testing out their new menu last night so we were invited along for the free food. Never one to turn down such an offer, we hotfooted over and got stuck in.

As the name suggests, there's a Nordic influence to this place with a huge wooden bar and vaulted ceilings that keep things airy and clean-lined. Concrete and industrial fittings keep this place firmly in the here-and-now of London openings but I liked how the softer touches such as fresh meadow flowers on each table kept things a little less sterile.

We ordered a bottle of red, despite the hot weather, but was pleased to see an English white and Nyetimber sparkling on the short list too. With a huge range of spirits behind the bar, they can knock up whatever you want and even a few hardshakes while they're at it too. The menus themselves are short, folded leaflet type things divided into sandwiches, salads, burgers, large plates and then small plates and sharers. With it being the test-run of the new menu, there were a few things we weren't allowed to pick such as either of the sharing 'smorgasbords', the pan fried bream or the spatchcock chicken, and the smoker hadn't arrived meaning smoked fries and the bone marrow was out of bounds too. But what there was to choose from was still good.

The boys went for burgers, predictably, which come served on a wooden board with mini chip fryers filled to the brim. The new Oslo is a big patty, cheese, bacon and onions in a brioche bun - no surprises there, and no prizes for creativity either but it was wolfed down pretty sharpish nonetheless. The Marrakech mixes things up with a lamb patty with pomegranate, onions and harissa yoghurt - asked how it was, Saaqs declared 'oniony'. And the Martinique? A buttermilk chicken breast, with mango slaw and Monterey Jack cheese. Ash was a little surprised that the chicken wasn't breaded or fried but I guess you gotta roll with the punches. And for me? I went for the fish of the day (hake) with the triple cooked fries (which I ate all of, for once) and the crab mayo (the best bit) with lots of fresh lemon to bring it to life.

The food was good but not mindblowing. Admittedly, it was a test run and we'd not exactly chosen the most exciting things on the menu (their current/old one looks quite adventurous actually, damnit!) but there wasn't really anything we weren't expecting. The staff were super friendly and chatty, however, and we did only pay £9 each for two bottles of wine so I guess I can't complain.

Will I be back? If the teething problems are ironed out, maybe. The menu's a little basic but Oslo's not trying to be a tip-top restaurant, it's an all singing all dancing...

Oslo Hackney is a multi-purpose venue set up as a bar, kitchen, venue and club in the heart of Hackney. In typical East London style, the interiors resemble a warehouse with high ceilings (it occupies the space of a redeveloped Victoria railway station), exposed brick work and a trendy atmosphere.

The fresh flowers on the table and the plush lampshades add a homelier feel and it was great to see so many families dining. There is also limited seating at the front of the venue (around 5 benches) to catch some sun rays.

As you walk in, you can see the selection of booze available stocked on the shelves. As expected, there was a decent mixture of beers, wines and cocktails. From the cocktails we tried the Oslo Spritz: italicus, prosecco, angostura orange bitters, fee brothers grapefruit bitters & soda (£8). For us, the cocktail did not have much taste to it which was a shame. However, from the “Perfect Serves” section we enjoyed a Monkey 47 with gin, fever tree Mediterranean, tonic, minute and cucumber (£11). It was strong and refreshing – perfect for a summer day.

It isn’t that often that we dine out for a roast as I make a mean one! However, we took a sunny walk through Victoria Park to try Oslo’s Sunday Roast in Hackney.

Served from midday until they run out, Oslo offers three options. Meat wise, you can choose between the 28-day aged Herefordshire sirloin of beef, poacher john’s hackney horseradish (£17.50) or the Half roast Suffolk chicken, chorizo and sage stuffing (£14.50). The vegan option of red pepper, leek and pecan but rose also sounded rather delicious (£13). All the above are served with roast potatoes, chantery carrots, greens and red wine braised cabbage. Oh and of course, lashings of gravy (meat / vegan).

When the plates arrived, we could not believe the size of the portions. The chicken was huge and so tender and flavoursome – some of the best chicken we have tasted. The accompanying stuffing packed a bit of a punch and was thoroughly enjoyed. We were also presented with two HUGE slices of sirloin beef which was tasty overall although we would have referred it rarer. Obviously, a roast is not complete without spuds, veg and a Yorkshire pud and, as you can see from the pictures, these were plentiful.

We somehow made room for desserts, mainly because we cannot resist a Sticky Toffee Pudding. Served with Vanilla Ice cream and caramel sauce, this was a steal at £5. The pudding was a generous square served with heaps of caramel sauce (just how we like it!). We also tried the Strawberry and Raspberry Mess with vanilla ice cream and meringue (£5) which was a lighter (but still delicious) end to the meal.

Oslo delivers a fantastic Sunday Roast in Hackney and one we would return for. It is a great bar to chill during the day and is open at weekends until 4am to party the night away. There are various live gigs / events throughout the year and £5 cocktails all night on a Thursday for “Request...

RACIST BUNCH OF PEOPLE !!! I visited the Oslo club for the first time yesterday , I went there with My mother , older cousin and some of my mother's friends , upon arriving at the venue I was told to wait aside I won't be able to get in yet, in which I very politely followed. After about 6minutes the barrier was then opened and the security guard said to us that we all have to leave , I was quite puzzled at first because I had done nothing wrong, I wasn't drunk or loud nor was I dressed inappropriately. I asked the guard what was the reason, he replied by basically not saying anything , after continuously asking him the reason why we wasn't getting let in, he said its the managers decision he can't do anything about it, I explained to him that I have done nothing wrong, I've never been here before what could your reason be for not letting me i, which he replied again I can't do anything bare in mind he is the HEAD DOORMAN I told him I been doing security for over 10 years what your doing right now is very wrong. I went to speak to the manager and asked her directly, while asking her the reason she wouldn't even look at me , instead she just kept smiling at not saying anything , while this was happening there was a bunch of white people just casually walking in, I called her a racist then I asked the head doorman if i could speak to the DP ( licence holder of the venue) he replied and said the DP is not on site, once i said that you cant have a venue open if you dont have a DP on the premisis ... that's illegal Head doorman refused to comment. Honestly I felt so humiliated , my mum and company are all regulars there and being the only coloured people in the queue we were told to leave . I left the the area and only after I left, the guard told my mother that I was a suspected drug dealer along with someone else ( IVE NEVER BEEN HERE BEFORE BTW) btw I'm a school teacher who also does security and My friend who was with me works in law...