At Delicatessen you can find tapas for all palates – from the classics to menu novices.
Restaurant of the Month, Norway
Delightful delicacies in Oslo’s urban hotspots Merging Spanish delicacies, that have a central place in the hearts of Norwegians, with an inventive take on social dining, Delicatessen has been a popular place to gather in Oslo for some time now. Add its three locations, offering informal and urban culinary atmospheres in the city’s most prominent areas, and the success seems obvious.
taurant initially did,” he says. “Frequent trips to southern Europe had acquainted Norwegians with finger food-style dishes, but in the beginning it wasn’t obvious that we were going to succeed. This was, at the time, quite the novel concept.”
By Julie Lindén | Photos: andershusa.com
To owner Rodrigo Belda, however, success requires tenacious maintenance – something he ensures by visiting the restaurants daily. “I have an electric car. It’s easier on the conscience when I spend my days driving between eateries,” he laughs with a gentle nod to the line-up of restaurants under his ownership, as we sit down for coffee at Delicatessen Grünerløkka. That Belda is a hands-on type of owner is evident. “If the dishes need washing, I’ll do them. Helping out where it’s needed is a matter of course to me.” A course straight to culinary triumph, one might add. 82 | Issue 85 | February 2016
King of the tapas throne since 1999 A chef at heart, Belda’s engrossed way of addressing his life’s work may not come as a surprise. In 2000, six months into his employment as the head chef of Delicatessen, Belda saw room for improvement. The ‘little-bit-of-everything’-style menu could benefit from a niche, he believed. What emerged was – after some labouring with Norwegian palates – an aim to become a favoured meet-up location with a laid-back atmosphere and flavourful tapas. “The original menu did include tapas, but I believed we ought to focus more narrowly on tapas than the res-
The result of the bold move was a list of classic tapas, such as manchego, aioli, albondigas and pimientos de padron, weaved together with brand new takes on social sharing menus. The Spanish was combined with the Norwegian, creating dishes such as spicy Dijon chicken wings of Norwegian farm chicken, and sirloin of deer. Add a full Spanish wine list, and even the commonly non-daring Norwegian palate was thrilled. And, as the Aker Brygge branch was recently named Oslo’s best tapas restaurant in 2015 by national newspaper Aftenposten, Delicatessen holds an undisputed place on Oslo’s – and even Norway’s – tapas throne.