Kontrast - Oslo

This place deserve 2 michelin star. All the staff here are working hard to give unbelievably mind blowing yet very unique food experience and outstanding service. Hail to all the chefs, and to everyone who works on the floor to make this restaurant TOP LEVEL. It's a shame if you will not try Kontrast. We left this place full and happy

There wasn 't a single employee who spoke Norwegian, which is a bit strange for a Scandinavian restaurant . Good thing I was able to translate for my mom. That aside service was top notch, all staff very friendly, and the food was sublime! We went for the juice package which was something really special. I would encourage even the most hard core wine connoisseur to give it a try. Will come again! :

We had a medium kontrast menu. Food and wine-pairing were outstanding. The service was excellent. They had no problems adapting the menu to allergens. All in all, we had an excellent evening here. If there is anything that we would have liked differently, it would be the food presentation. The staff come from different countries and speak different levels of English, so when you try to pronounce difficult Norwegian names and ingredients, it can be difficult to understand it well. The other thing that would have been nice would be to receive a copy of the menu to take home.

Born in Skåne Mikael Svensson began his career in Oslo before stints with 3* Spaniards Quique Dacosta and Martin Berasategui, a focus on organic and ethically sourced Ingredients from within Norway seeing Restaurant Kontrast show off local producers and the Animals they raise. Stating “the end result is never better than the quality of the Product you start with,” a fact frequently overlooked in today’s low-cost and convenience driven market, it is through temperatures and textures frequently found in juxtaposition that Svensson builds layered bites tied together through the use of acid, fermentation and Herbs. A fifteen-course tasting that begins in the lounge, cement floors and exposed ceilings creating an industrial feel that magnifies noise from other tables, opening bites consist of bold flavors such as Scallops with bitter Vegetables and Shrimp with Horseradish before moving on to a delicate Donut followed by a Pork Blood Croustade topped in Vinegar-splashed Cheese. Going down the street for a Sunchoke and Tim Wendelboe Coffee before taking a seat in front of the open kitchen, just five Chefs running three seatings simultaneously, a vibrant White Wine from Hungary proved adept to handling first Turnips and Sea Snails with Caviar then poignant Crab Curry imbued with Garum atop Carrots and Sour Cream. Refusing to outsource Sauces, Mikael’s XO a three-year process made on-site, Crucifers spung to life before Wild Halibut and Chicken with Mushrooms, Soy and a complex reduction featuring Yellow Wine with Sweet Corn. Slowing as the room filled up, lengthy waits between courses seeing the final four items take longer than the first eight, aged Lamb brought plenty of flavor to match Cherries plus Coffee before frozen Kraftkar Bleu Cheese and Sunflower Seed Ice Cream shocked the palate in preparation for elegantly arranged Plums followed by Mignardises.

The food at Restaurant Kontrast was really incredibly good. I rarely feel like I actually find every single course delicious. There were many interesting flavors and textures, some unexpected combinations, clever wine non-alcoholic drink pairings... The only point I would note was that the service was a bit too over attentive, if that makes any sense. Right after each course or drink, at least one if not two staff members came to the table to ask how we liked everything. No question it was meant to be nice, but over the course of the entire dinner, it got a little tiring. Apart from that, however, we spent a really nice evening!