Restaurant in Oslo, Norway
Oslo's best-value wine bar. Book it.
Frances Vinbar is Oslo's strongest case for Mediterranean and Middle Eastern small plates at the €€ price point — Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, with the city's top-ranked wine list to match. Chef Tzahi Anidjar's all-day wine bar in Frogner is the clearest recommendation for first-timers who want serious food and wine without the commitment of Oslo's tasting-menu circuit.
At the €€ price point, Frances Vinbar is one of the most credentialed small-plates spots you can book in Oslo right now. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) and back-to-back Star Wine List rankings (#2 in 2024, #1 in 2024) confirm what a 4.7 Google rating from 72 reviews suggests: this is a venue that over-delivers for what you spend. For a first-timer looking to eat and drink well in Oslo without committing to a four-figure tasting-menu evening, Frances is the clearest recommendation on the city's wine-bar circuit.
Frances opened in late 2023 on Henrik Ibsens gate 48 in the Frogner neighbourhood, one of Oslo's more residential and well-heeled western districts. The format is a wine bar that doubles as a coffee shop in the mornings — a flexible, all-day rhythm that is less common in Oslo than in Mediterranean cities. By evening, the focus shifts to small plates shaped by Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences under chef Tzahi Anidjar. That culinary orientation , warm spices, produce-forward cooking, a sensibility more Levantine than Nordic , gives Frances a distinct identity in a city where New Nordic still dominates the fine-dining conversation at venues like Maaemo and Kontrast.
Visually, what you walk into is a wine-bar room: bottles on display, a counter presence, the kind of setting where the drink list is as much the point as the food. For a first visit, that means arriving with the expectation of sharing plates across the table rather than ordering individually , the small-plates format rewards grazing and works leading with two to four people who are willing to order widely.
Frances's Mediterranean and Middle Eastern framing means the kitchen's strengths track the seasons differently from a Nordic-produce restaurant. Summer and early autumn tend to be the peak window for this style of cooking in Oslo: markets are at full capacity, stone fruits, tomatoes, and fresh herbs are available locally, and the lighter, sharper flavours of the menu's Mediterranean side come through with the most clarity. If you are planning a first visit and have flexibility, the late-summer months give you the leading version of what the kitchen does with produce-driven small plates.
In winter, the menu will naturally shift toward warmer, richer preparations , spiced braises, roasted roots, dishes where the Middle Eastern influence carries more weight. That is not a lesser experience, but it is a different one. The wine list, consistently ranked at the leading of Star Wine List's Oslo selections, remains strong year-round and is arguably the most reliable constant on the menu. For a first-timer in the colder months, the approach should be to let the sommelier or floor team steer you , the wine programme here has been independently validated twice in the same year, which is a meaningful signal about the depth and curation on offer.
What to order specifically is something the database does not confirm in detail, and inventing dishes would be misleading. What the Bib Gourmand recognition does tell you is that the kitchen delivers quality at a price that Michelin's inspectors found notable , the award is given precisely to venues where the food is good enough to warrant attention without the price climbing into the top tier. Order broadly, include something from both the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sides of the menu, and match to the wine list rather than treating the drinks as secondary.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. Given the Bib Gourmand profile and the Star Wine List recognition, Frances does attract attention, but it is not in the same reservation-pressure bracket as Oslo's destination tasting-menu restaurants. Plan ahead for weekend evenings, particularly in the summer tourist season, but mid-week and off-peak times should be accessible without weeks of lead time. No booking method is specified in the venue record; checking directly via the address at Henrik Ibsens gate 48 or searching the venue name for an online reservation system is the practical first step.
Oslo has strong Mediterranean-influenced options but the wine-bar format at this price is less crowded. Bar Amour and Mon Oncle operate in adjacent territory for convivial, drink-led dining, while Hot Shop sits a tier above on price with its New Nordic modern menu. For visitors whose primary interest is Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavours rather than Nordic produce, Frances fills a gap that the city's most-discussed restaurants do not cover. If you are building a multi-day Oslo itinerary, pairing Frances with one of the city's Nordic-focused spots gives you a more complete picture of what Oslo's restaurant scene offers right now. Our full Oslo restaurants guide covers the broader field, and if you are exploring beyond the capital, RE-NAA in Stavanger and FAGN in Trondheim represent Norway's Michelin-starred options outside Oslo. For comparable Mediterranean small-plates experiences in other European contexts, La Brezza in Ascona is a useful reference point.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frances Vinbar | Mediterranean Cuisine | €€ | Elegant wine bar (coffee shop in the morning) serving up delicious small plates influenced by both Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine. Frances opened its doors late 2023, and hit the ground runn...; Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Star Wine List #2 (2024); Star Wine List #1 (2024); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| Maaemo | New Nordic, Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Kontrast | New Nordic, Scandinavian | €€€€ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
| Hot Shop | New Nordic, Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Statholdergaarden | Modern European, Classic Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Arakataka | Nordic , Norwegian | €€ | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Oslo for this tier.
Frances Vinbar's Mediterranean and Middle Eastern small-plates format generally lends itself to flexible ordering, with vegetable-forward dishes common across both cuisines. check the venue's official channels before your visit if you have specific allergies or requirements. The small-plates structure means it is typically easier to work around restrictions than at a fixed tasting-menu format. No detailed dietary policy is documented in available data, so confirm directly.
Frances operates as a wine bar, so bar seating is part of the venue's core format rather than an afterthought. For solo diners or pairs, the bar is a practical entry point and fits the casual side of the €€ price range. Star Wine List ranked Frances #1 and #2 in 2024, which makes bar seating here a stronger proposition than at most comparable Oslo spots where the wine list is an accessory rather than a focus.
At €€, yes. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) are the clearest external validation that Frances over-delivers for the price point. The Bib Gourmand designation specifically recognises good cooking at moderate prices, so the value case is documented, not just implied. Among Oslo wine bars in this bracket, the combination of Mediterranean small plates and a Star Wine List-ranked cellar is hard to match.
Frances Vinbar is primarily a wine bar with small plates rather than a traditional tasting-menu format, so if you are specifically seeking a structured multi-course progression, Kontrast or Maaemo are better fits. The strength here is flexible grazing alongside wine, not a chef-guided sequence. At €€, the small-plates approach gives you more control over spend and pacing than a fixed menu would.
The kitchen draws from both Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions, so dishes with those influences are where the menu is most coherent. No specific dishes are documented here, but the Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition signals the kitchen is executing at a level above the price point. Ask staff for what is current when you arrive — the format suits seasonal small-plates rotation, so the best choices shift.
Frances is a wine bar with a small-plates format, which suits groups of 2–4 more naturally than large parties. For groups of 6 or more, contact the venue in advance to check capacity and whether the layout can be arranged accordingly. The Frogner location on Henrik Ibsens gate 48 is a neighbourhood setting rather than a large event venue, so manage expectations for big group bookings.
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