NB6

Bakklandet's Drinking Culture and Where NB6 Fits

Trondheim's Bakklandet district has long operated as the city's pressure valve: the neighbourhood where the formal conventions of the centre dissolve and the pace slows to something more human. The wooden buildings along Nedre Bakklandet attract a specific cross-section of the city's population, the kind of mix that only forms organically when a place resists easy categorisation. NB6, at number six on that same stretch, sits comfortably inside that pattern. It draws sommeliers finishing a late shift, chefs with flour still on their sleeves, and the loosely defined cohort the city's younger residents tend to call its creative class. That mix is not an accident of marketing; it reflects what the space actually provides: a bar that takes its back bar seriously without insisting that you do the same.

Norway's smaller cities have developed a bar culture that differs meaningfully from Oslo's more competition-driven scene. Where a venue like Himkok in Oslo operates in a context of high craft visibility and sustained international attention, the bars of Trondheim, Bergen, and the mid-Norwegian coast tend to build reputation through consistency and community rather than through programme-led theatrics. NB6 belongs firmly to that second tradition. For comparison across the Norwegian coast, Dråpen Vinbar in Bergen, Amtmandens in Tromsø, Huset i Gato in Mosjøen, Køl Bar & Bistro in Molde, and Kork Vinbar & Scene in Rørvik each reflect this same regional instinct: depth of selection over spectacle, regulars over tourists, atmosphere earned rather than designed.

The Back Bar as the Real Argument

The editorial angle that defines NB6 most clearly is the one least visible from the street: what sits behind the bar. In a city of NB6's size, the decision to invest in curation over volume signals something deliberate about what kind of drinker the venue is trying to satisfy. Spirits collections at this tier tend to develop through years of selective purchasing rather than through a single wholesale relationship, and the result is a back bar that rewards repeat visits in a way that a standardised list cannot.

Norwegian bar culture around spirits has historically been shaped by the state monopoly on alcohol retail, which means that any serious back bar in a Norwegian venue reflects genuine effort and editorial intention on the part of whoever assembled it. The bottles present at NB6 are not simply what a distributor proposed. The selection reads as a collection in the proper sense: accumulated, considered, and occasionally surprising. For a traveller arriving from the more structured craft cocktail programmes at venues like Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu, where the format is tightly codified, NB6 offers something looser and arguably more personal: a bar where the depth of the shelf invites conversation rather than directing it toward a fixed menu experience.

The Atmosphere and What It Produces

Approaching NB6 along Nedre Bakklandet, the visual register is consistent with the rest of the street: timber facades, uneven cobbles, the kind of built environment that signals age without performing heritage. Inside, the atmosphere tracks the same logic. The space is described across its following as homely and inviting, and those words are doing specific work here: they mean that nothing about the interior is trying to impress you, which in turn means you settle in faster and stay longer.

The crowd that assembles across different times of day is a reasonable indicator of the venue's actual character. A bar that draws sommeliers and chefs as regulars is, almost by definition, one that takes its product seriously. Those guests have access to better options and choose this one anyway. At the same time, the absence of a formal or dress-code culture means that the same space accommodates someone on a first visit to the city with no prior research, arriving in whatever they were wearing on the train. That range of guest, across knowledge levels and intentions, is harder to sustain than it looks.

Within Trondheim's bar circuit, NB6 occupies a specific position relative to its peers. Blomster og Vin leans more explicitly toward wine; Raus Bar and Rive Gauche each carry their own character along the city's drinking axis; and Spontan represents the fermentation-led corner of the scene. NB6 sits across from all of them as the venue where the categories blur: spirits are present alongside wine and beer, and the format is open-ended enough to accommodate an afternoon coffee or a late-night session without either feeling incongruous.

Planning Your Visit

NB6 operates at Nedre Bakklandet 6 in Trondheim's Bakklandet neighbourhood, a ten-minute walk from the city centre across the Old Town Bridge. The venue's own positioning as a place you can visit at any time of day, in any state of mind, suggests flexible hours and a relaxed threshold for arrival. No reservation appears necessary for standard visits, and the atmosphere actively discourages the kind of advance planning that more formal venues require. That said, the Bakklandet area becomes busier on weekend evenings when the neighbourhood's collective draw pulls in visitors from across the city, so arriving with some flexibility in your plans is advisable. For a fuller picture of where NB6 sits within the city's wider eating and drinking circuit, see our full Trondheim restaurants guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the must-try cocktail at NB6?

NB6's value is less in a signature cocktail than in the back bar itself. The spirits collection is the draw, so the better approach is to describe what you favour and let the bar lead from there. Venues where industry professionals drink regularly tend to produce more considered recommendations when asked directly than when guests order from a fixed list.

What's the standout thing about NB6?

The cross-section of its regular clientele is the clearest signal of what NB6 does well. A bar that draws sommeliers, chefs, and neighbourhood locals simultaneously in a city of Trondheim's size is operating at a credibility level that no amount of interior design achieves on its own. The back bar depth reinforces that standing.

Do I need a reservation for NB6?

NB6 positions itself explicitly as a drop-in address, and no reservation system appears to be in place for standard visits. The venue's own framing encourages arriving without prior planning. Weekend evenings in the Bakklandet area attract higher foot traffic, so earlier arrival on those nights gives you more space to settle in comfortably.

What's NB6 a strong choice for?

It works well as an entry point into Trondheim's bar scene for a visitor with limited time, precisely because it does not demand a particular posture or level of knowledge. It also works for a longer, unstructured evening where the back bar is the entertainment. The combination of serious curation and informal atmosphere is the specific thing NB6 offers that more formatted venues in the city do not.

How does NB6 compare to other bars in Trondheim's Bakklandet area?

Bakklandet supports several distinct drinking formats within a short radius, from the wine-focused approach at Blomster og Vin to the fermentation-led programming at Spontan. NB6 occupies the most format-agnostic position among them: the back bar includes spirits depth that the others do not prioritise, and the all-hours, all-guest-type positioning makes it the most versatile address on the street for someone whose plans are still forming.