At Maaemo, this is not a lunch to be taken lightly: first, you'll need to make a reservation months in advance, and second, most of us will need to put money aside. But go if you can, not for the three Michelin stars or other accolades, but for Esben Holmboe Bang's 20 or so dishes, which are one of the most compelling culinary experiences in the world and a sensual expression of what it means to be Norwegian.

You'll eat with a small group of people, either upstairs at the six-person chef's table or below in the glass-and-steel dining room, which has eight tables beneath Christian Houge's dreamlike, Norse-mythology-invoking photographs. As you might expect, the service and wine are impeccable. Wine pairings cost 1800kr, while juice pairings cost 950kr.

Rate: 4.7/5.0; 420 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Schweigaards gate 15
Phone: 22 17 99 69
Website: https://maaemo.no
Hours: 6pm-midnight Wed & Thu, from noon Sat & Sun
Price: menu 2600kr

With some of the biggest names in the wine industry involved in this casual Tyen corner locale, Brutus might easily be classified as a wine bar. However, this would be overlooking the fact that the cuisine is among the most fascinating and accessible in the city. Earthy, knowledgeable, quirky, rock and roll, the space is pure Oslo.

Raw bricks, richly painted wood paneling, basic old chairs, and salon-hung contemporary art are just a few examples at Brutus. The open kitchen's dishes are flavor bombs that emphasize uncommon local products and blend pan-Nordic influences. Staff are uniformed in black metal-style Brutus T-shirts. You can come here only to drink and munch, as the wine list contains some of Europe's top natural growers.

Rate: 4.3/5.0; 352 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Eiriks gate 2
Phone; 22 38 00 88
Website: www.barbrutus.no
Hours: 5pm-1am
Price: dishes 85-255kr, snacks 55-90kr

At Lysverket, chef Christopher Haatuft is developing his own brand of Nordic cuisine, which he refers to as "neo-fjordic" — that is, mixing modern techniques with the greatest fjord-sourced ingredients. His cuisine is highly seasonal (menus change daily), incredibly inventive, and full of unexpected textures, flavors, and combinations. Take time to savor each bite.

The restaurant is built in the offices of the city's power company (the name means'light works'), and there's lots of stylish but discreet industrial styling throughout, from the brass pendant lamps to the massive, deco-esque windows. If you don't want to go for the sharing menu experience, the midday smorgasbord sharing menu is a great price/flavor compromise.

Rate: 4.3/5.0; 422 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: KODE 4, Rasmus Meyers allé 9
Phone: 55 60 31 00
Website: www.lysverket.no
Hours: noon-1am Tue-Sat, to 3pm Sun
Price: lunch mains 165-195kr, lunch sharing menu with/without dessert 295/395kr, 4-/7-course menu 745/995kr

One of the nicest eating experiences in Oslo, Sentralen Restaurant is also one of the most laid-back. City employees, travelers, and natural-wine-obsessed locals all flock to a vast dining room packed with vintage social-club chairs and painted in deep, earthy green tones. The small-plates approach, which is expertly prepared and presented, makes it simple to experience the enticing New Nordic menu.

The dishes are generally variations on Norwegian classics and feature Norwegian ingredients, but they also incorporate international influences in subtle and surprising ways. Although the combinations are striking, everything has a lightness and beauty to it. The wine list of Sentralen Restaurant is one of the city's most interesting, and the experienced, courteous staff will gladly walk you through it.

Rate: 4.2/5.0; 675 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Øvre Slottsgate 3
Phone: 22 33 33 22
Website: www.sentralen.no
Hours: 11am-10pm Mon-Fri, from noon Sat
Prices: mall plates 95-245kr

It's a bit of a hike up at Huset, but it's well worth it. The café offers casual dining with reasonably priced meals such as reindeer burgers and reindeer stew with lingonberries. The coal-grilled hamburger (160kr) is the restaurant's hallmark dish: a meaty burger with all the fixings, said to be so juicy that lonely scientists in tents fantasize about it.

The highly respected restaurant in the same building provides meals such Svalbard reindeer terrine, reindeer fillet, and quail. It has about 20,000 bottles of wine in its cellar. From Isfjord cod and bearded seal to Svalbard reindeer sausage and common eider egg, the Nordic Tasting Menu has it all.

Rate: 4.5/5.0; 414 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Longyearbyen 9171, Svalbard và Jan Mayen

Phone: 79 02 50 02
Website: www.huset.com
Hours: bistro 4-10pm Sun-Fri, 2-10pm Sat, restaurant 7-10pm Tue-Sun
Price: bistro mains 150-220kr, restaurant mains 295-369kr, Nordic Tasting Menu 900-1100kr

This glitzy restaurant is the new home base for Arne Brimi, the town's best chef, and it's where everyone wants to eat when they visit. It's ostensibly Scandi (all huge glass windows, plain wood, and open plan), and it's the ideal environment for the cafe's specialty: gourmet ham, cheese, and fish platters, as well as flame-grilled meats.

An onsite store sells cookbooks, souvenirs, and a large variety of handcrafted chutneys, jams, local cheeses, and flatbreads. The evening grill, which is frequently hosted by Arne himself, is a highlight; reservations are required.

Rate: 4.5/5.0; 417 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Sognefjellsvegen 13, 2686 Lom
Phone: 468 54 262
Website: www.brimiland.no/brimibue
Hours: 9am-9pm
Price: mains around 180kr

This ramshackle, rough-and-ready eatery in a clapboard building off Steinkargata is small in size but big on ambition: the food is modern, inventive, and bang on trend, with an emphasis on freshness, seasonality, and Asian-inspired flavors. There is no set menu; instead, items such as wild trout, kimchi, braised ribs, and Asian slaws are chalked above the bar. The only disadvantage? It's not cheap to eat at Egget.

Dishes can be served as main courses or tapas, with wine recommendations from the server. Prices vary from day to day, but keep in mind that expenses can quickly add up.

Rate: 4.2/5.0; 149 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Steinkargata 23

Website: http://www.eggetstavanger.no/
Phone: 984 07 700
Hours: 6-11pm Tue-Sat
Price: dishes from 800kr

This establishment is the epitome of what a small-town cafe should be. Mix-and-match furniture, regular beer tastings and events, and a blackboard menu brimming with wonderful, handcrafted, locally produced food, ranging from indulgent chocolate cake and kraftkar (blue cheese) burgers to healthier options like Asian salmon salad. It's run by three nice ladies, as the sign states, and the welcome is warm.

Sødahl-Huset, which serves as a social centre for the community, also sells local artisans' goods, such as sheepskins, leather, knits, vintage clothing, jewelry, and pottery.

Rate: 4.6/5.0; 434 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Romsdalsvegen 8

Website: https://www.sodahlhuset.no/
Phone: 400 66 401
Hours: 11am-7pm Sun-Fri, to 2am Sat, shorter hours in winter
Price: mains 120-200kr

The Three Brothers is the social hub of Voss, and for good reason: it's everything a small-town cafe should be. There's wonderful coffee from Tim Wendleboe in Oslo and Jacu Roastery in Lesund, as well as a great selection of microbrewed beers from the nearby Voss Brewery and an on-trend cuisine of salads, soups, wraps, burgers, and Asian-inspired foods. What's not to appreciate about that?

On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, Tre Brør holds regular bands and DJ sets. A delightful shop with tantalizing delights such as local jams, chocolate, chilli nibbles, and coffee is also available.

Rate: 4.3/5.0; 656 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Vangsgata 28
Phone:951 03 832
Hours: cafe 11am-8pm Mon-Wed, 11am-2.30am Thu-Sat, 11am-8pm Sun
Price: sandwiches & light meals 85-185kr

This crimson-clad restaurant is about as traditional as restaurants in Norway get, but it's been around for 25 years and is still going strong. Frode Aga, a celebrity chef, oversees the kitchen, which serves rich, classic meals such skraplse (lamb sausage in butter sauce), grilled grouse breast, herb-baked trout, and reindeer fillet with game sauce.

Although the meal may be too rich for some, there are few better venues to experience the authentic flavor of old Norway. Halling-Stuene should be noted that some of the meals contain minke whale.

Rate: 4.8/5.0; 143 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Geilovegen 56
Phone: 32 09 12 50
Website: www.hallingstuene.no
Hours: 1-10pm Mon-Fri & Sun, to 11pm Sat
Price: mains 320-415kr

When an ex-Maaemo owner leads a business, you know the food will be exceptional, and it is. The brief menu features a combination of pan-European meals prepared with a contemporary playfulness that avoids being weird, thanks to the Australian chef's attention to detail.

Day and night, Kolonialen's almost-Mediterrean-feeling dining room and footpath tables swarm with happy Bislett inhabitants. While you'll almost certainly need to make a reservation, it appears to be a place where you may go for dinner and then return for lunch the next day.

Rate: 4.3/5.0; 14 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Sofiesgate 16
Phone: 401 03 578
Website: www.kolonialenbislett.no
Price: mains 240-290kr

Henningsvr's culinary claim to fame is this stylish dockside restaurant, which is a favorite of the Norwegian royal family. The superb fish soup (210kr) is a must-try, but the menu also includes everything from fish and chips to fried cod tongues. In the summer, Fiskekrogen exclusively serves fish soup and seafood stew between 4 and 5 p.m. That's also correct.

Next door, Bar Nord (open from 7 p.m.) provides beautiful waterside views and is a short walk away for a post-dinner drink.

Rate: 4.5/5.0; 797 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: Dreyersgate 29
Phone: 76 07 46 52
Website: www.fiskekrogen.no
Hours: noon-10pm Jun-Aug, shorter hours rest of year
Price: mains lunch 195-265kr, dinner 210-330kr

Invit serves the greatest coffee in central Lesund and is the city's most fashionable lunch place. The daily-changing sandwiches and salads are super-fresh and imaginative, the healthful soups are hearty, and the nutty, aromatic pastries are created from scratch. Spread out below at one of the magnificent wide oak tables if the streetside bar is full.

If you happen to be in town on a Thursday evening, make a reservation for their weekly seafood buffet and carefully selected glasses of wine. They also provide barista training.

Address: Apotekergata 9
Phone: 70 15 66 44
Website: www.invit.no
Hours: 8.15am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 6pm-midnight Thu, 10am-4.30pm Sat
Price: sandwiches 35-55kr, mains 85-165kr, seafood buffet 300-450kr

This wonderful shop, which is part delicatessen and part waterside cafe, sells all kinds of stockfish snacks, Kong Oskar sardines, and entrees like very good fish soup, fish cakes, fresh shrimp, and fish burgers, many's favorite is the pulled-salmon burger. Don't be afraid to try the seagulls' eggs...and don't be deterred by the terrifying dried cod heads outside.

At Anitas Sjømat, you can pick up their free Norwegian stockfish recipe brochure, which includes five recipes, if you enjoy stockfish as much as they do.

Rate: 4.6/5.0; 1043 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address: E10
Phone: 900 61 566
Website: www.sakrisoy.no/sjomat
Hours: 10am-8pm mid-Jun–mid-Aug, shorter hours rest of year

This flagship fine-dining establishment, which is part of an ever-expanding culinary empire, presents the best of New Nordic cuisine. Sure, it's lively and daring, but the underlying flavors are classic, and it uses only the best Norwegian ingredients, particularly from the west coast. The presentation is flawless, with delicious flowers and surprise elements galore. It's odd that it's on the seedy side of town.

If you choose the wine pairings, the tasting menu price is quadrupled at Colonialen Restaurant.

Rate: 4.9/5.0; 11 reviews(Source: Google.com)

Address; Kong Oscars gate 44
Phone: 55 90 16 00
Website: www.colonialen.no/restaurant/
Hours: 6-11pm Mon-Sat
Price: 6-/8-course tasting menu 895/1195kr