Alas! Arakataka is a restaurant that I have visited way too seldom. I have always considered it one of my favorite spots in Oslo, and yet I’ve not eaten here enough. I have tried to drop by many times, but they used to have a weird policy that if you had not booked a table, you had to choose the three-course dinner. I don’t mind paying for a full menu, but I enjoy my freedom of choice. This summer, they closed for an extended time to refurbish the place. I booked a table in the opening week together with my foodie friend Linn. Talking to the head chef, Ronny Kolvik, I learned that they have added a new concept to the restaurant – “Matbaren” (the food bar), which is a drop-in-zone to the right when you enter. Here, you can sit down and order from a special bar menu. The kitchen is open until 12.30 am and the bar will serve you until 2.00 am. This is just what Arakataka needed!
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A Restaurant to Return to, Again, and Again!
The menu at Araktaka consists of a lot of small dishes – all fairly priced between 130 and 190 NOK. The idea is that you order two to four dishes depending on how hungry you are. If you’re very hungry and want five or more dishes, you get a discounted price of 119 NOK per dish. A nice idea but also a bit confusing. What if one person orders five dishes, and the other person orders only two? How will the bill look in the end? I also didn’t quite get whether the dishes were supposed to be shared or not. In my opinion, this kind of menu is perfect for sharing. However, a lot of the plates were not designed to be shared among several people. Personally, I love it when I can try as many flavors from the menu as possible. I hope Arakataka considers that in the future.
Most of the dishes we had were very good, with a great taste and a good balance between flavors as well as textures. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the new interior makes it a very pleasant place to enjoy an evening of good food, wine, and company. Now, Linn doesn’t call herself a foodie or food person, but rather a wine person. I disagree – she is a foodie. Sometimes, she even had a more critical point of view on the food than me. I guess her heart belongs more in the wine world, though. As such, I gave her full control of the wine choices this evening. I love wine too, but I am far from considering myself an expert in this field. I know a good wine when I taste it, but I don’t remember all the details or flavors.
For a peek inside the restaurant before they refurbished check out the report from my foodie friend Lars.
Have you been to Arakataka? Feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below.
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