Review: Bass (2017) You Can Order the Whole Menu at This Restaurant (Closed Permanently)

My first visit to Bass was last year, on the 17th of May – Norway’s national day. Despite being a busy day, and the opening week of the restaurant, we enjoyed a very good meal there. A few months later, we returned to Bass again, this time to celebrate that I had sold my apartment. Seated at the bar, our meal didn’t quite measure up to the previous one, unfortunately. More than a year would pass before we revisited. This time, on a summery July day with our good friends Kristin and Aleksander. With most restaurants in Oslo being closed for the summer, it was packed at Thorvald Meyers gate 26 C.

Note: This restaurant has closed permanently.

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BASS

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Thorvald Meyers Gate 26C, Oslo, Norway
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A Relaxed Neighborhood Wine Bar

I like the relaxed neighborhood atmosphere at Bass. In fact, with its extensive wine list, the place reminds me more of a wine bar where you can enjoy good food than a full-scale restaurant. Bass is a popular eatery, though, and I would advise booking a table if you plan on going there. What I love the most about Bass is that you can easily order the whole menu, even as a party of two, and thus get a taste of everything. We were four people this evening and decided to order two of each item on the list. We also had an oyster each, since Kristin, who was in charge of ordering wines, had kicked off the meal with bubbles. Specifically, Longitude Blanc De Blancs from Larmandier-Bernier.

Something Great And Something Forgettable

Of all the dishes, I enjoyed the chicken nuggets, the Tzar tartare, the cabbage with katsobushi (another sort of Bonito flake), and both desserts the most. They were all very simple, but well-balanced and with good flavors. Atli’s Karaage chicken at Pjoltergeist is just slightly more addictive, but that’s a huge compliment. On the other hand, I did not fancy the smoked eel with pickled cucumber and papadum bread as much. Both the taste and presentation was off. Whale with endives and mango was also rather forgettable. The rösti potatoes would normally have been a big hit around this table, but failed to impress me and the others with its soft texture. Both main courses, beef with daikon, and wolf fish with bell pepper sauce, were decent, but neither were of the kind that sticks to your memory for a very long time. Luckily, we ended the meal with two splendid desserts that left us craving for more. That’s always a good sign.

The Wine List at Bass is Even Better Than the Food

The wine list at Bass is a good mix of conventional and natural wines, with a lot of my favorite producers represented, like Bénédicte et Stéphane Tissot, Egon Müller, Patrick Desplats, Anne & Jean-François Ganevat, La Sorga, Gut Oggau, Phillipe Bornard, and Jean Foillard. Based on what I could tell from the wine list, the mark-up for most bottles is roughly double of retail prices at Vinmonopolet (the Norwegian wine monopoly). Slightly more for the cheaper wines, and a bit less for some of the more expensive vintages. That’s really good, considering many restaurants will multiply the price three times, and even four or five times. I need to go here more often to drink wine primarily, and just have some snacks in the bar, because the wine list is even better than the food.

Have you been to Bass? Feel free to leave a comment below with your opinion about the food here.