Restaurant in Oslo, Norway
Oslo's Asian-Nordic hybrid, multiply awarded.
Happolati combines Scandinavian sourcing discipline with Asian culinary influence in central Oslo, and its wine list earned the Star Wine List #1 ranking in Norway in 2025. Booking is straightforward — a week or two of lead time is usually enough. Go if you want something outside the standard New Nordic playbook, and treat the wine programme as a destination in its own right.
Yes, book it — particularly if you have already covered Oslo's more obvious Nordic fine-dining circuit and want something that combines Scandinavian precision with Asian culinary influence in a single, well-executed package. Happolati sits at St. Olavs Plass 2 in central Oslo and has earned repeated recognition from Star Wine List, including the #1 ranking in 2025 and multiple top-three positions in 2024. That wine programme alone makes it a serious destination for anyone who treats the glass as seriously as the plate.
Walk in and the room immediately signals a dual identity: the interiors carry both Asian and Scandinavian design cues, and the menu delivers on both. This is not a fusion gimmick. The kitchen draws on Scandinavian sourcing discipline — the same respect for seasonal, regional ingredients that drives the leading of Oslo's Nordic dining , and applies it through an Asian culinary lens. The result is a menu where ingredient provenance is doing real work, not just acting as marketing copy on the back of a card.
For a returning visitor, this is the venue that rewards closer attention on a second or third visit. If you went once and worked through the menu, the wine list is the logical next focus. Star Wine List has ranked it among Norway's leading, and at the #1 position nationally in 2025, it outperforms the cellars of several better-known Oslo fine-dining addresses. The list is worth studying before you arrive: ask for pairing recommendations or come with a specific producer or region in mind and see how the team responds , wine-forward guests will find the staff well-equipped for that conversation.
The sourcing philosophy here connects directly to the price proposition. Venues that hold this level of wine recognition and maintain a kitchen working across two distinct culinary traditions tend to price accordingly. Exact current pricing is not confirmed in our data, so verify on arrival or when booking, but position your expectations at the mid-to-upper end of Oslo's dining range.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. Oslo dining at this level , multiply-awarded, centrally located, with a distinctive concept , can fill mid-week during peak season, but Happolati does not require the months-out planning of, say, Maaemo. A week or two of lead time should cover most scenarios outside holiday periods. There is no confirmed online booking link in our current data, so contact the restaurant directly at St. Olavs Plass 2 to reserve.
| Detail | Happolati | Kontrast | Hot Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | St. Olavs Plass 2, Oslo | Central Oslo | Central Oslo |
| Price tier | Not confirmed | €€€€ | €€€ |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Moderate | Easy |
| Wine recognition | Star Wine List #1 (2025) | Strong | Moderate |
| Kitchen concept | Scandinavian-Asian | New Nordic | New Nordic |
See the full comparison section below.
Happolati occupies a specific position in Oslo's restaurant scene that no other venue in this comparison set quite mirrors. Maaemo is the city's prestige three-Michelin-star address and demands months of advance planning at considerably higher spend. Kontrast is the city's clearest expression of modern Scandinavian fine dining with strong sustainability credentials. Neither blends Asian culinary influence with Scandinavian sourcing the way Happolati does, and neither has matched Happolati's wine list ranking in 2025.
If your primary interest is the wine programme, Happolati is the clearest choice in Oslo right now. If your priority is a pure New Nordic tasting menu experience, Kontrast or Hot Shop are more direct expressions of that tradition. For a more relaxed, lower-spend evening with Nordic influence, Arakataka is the practical alternative. Oslo's fine-dining circuit also extends beyond the capital: RE-NAA in Stavanger, FAGN in Trondheim, and Under in Lindesnes are all worth planning a trip around if you are travelling Norway specifically for food.
For the full picture of where Happolati sits among Oslo's restaurants, bars, and hotels, see our full Oslo restaurants guide, our full Oslo bars guide, and our full Oslo hotels guide. If you are building a broader Norway itinerary, Iris in Rosendal, Gaptrast in Bergen, and Boen Gård in Tveit round out a strong national dining itinerary. For comparison against venues internationally that blend precision technique with Asian influence, Atomix in New York City is the obvious reference point; for wine-forward fine dining at global level, Le Bernardin sets the benchmark.
The menu merges Scandinavian sourcing with Asian culinary technique, so the dishes that reflect both influences most directly are the ones to prioritise. Beyond food, the wine list is a genuine draw: Happolati holds the Star Wine List #1 ranking in Norway for 2025, so wine pairing or a well-chosen bottle should be part of your visit. Ask the team for current recommendations , they are well-placed to guide you. Specific dish names are not confirmed in our data, so treat the menu as something to explore on the night rather than pre-select from online.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy, so a week or two of lead time covers most visits. During Oslo's peak summer season or around major public holidays, add a few extra days of buffer. This is a meaningfully less pressured booking than Maaemo, which requires months of planning. Contact Happolati directly at St. Olavs Plass 2, Oslo , no confirmed online booking link is available in our current data.
No dress code is confirmed in our data, but Happolati's award profile and central Oslo positioning suggest smart casual is the practical default. In Oslo's mid-to-upper dining tier, you will rarely feel overdressed in a jacket, and rarely feel out of place without one. Match the formality of the occasion: a wine-focused dinner at a nationally ranked restaurant warrants more care than a casual lunch.
No specific dietary policy is confirmed in our data. Contact the restaurant directly before your visit, particularly if your requirements are complex. At a kitchen working across Scandinavian and Asian culinary traditions, ingredient lists can span both sets of pantries, so advance communication is more useful here than at a venue with a tighter, single-tradition menu.
Seating configuration is not confirmed in our data. Given the dual Scandinavian-Asian concept and the quality of the wine programme, bar seating , if available , would be a good single-diner or two-person option for a wine-led visit. Check directly with the venue when booking. For confirmed bar-format dining in Oslo, Bar Amour is a strong alternative worth considering.
Seat count and private dining options are not confirmed in our data. For groups of six or more, contact the restaurant directly to understand what configurations are available. Central Oslo addresses at this price tier sometimes offer a private room or semi-private section for larger bookings , worth asking about when you reserve. For larger group dinners with confirmed private dining options in Oslo, check our full Oslo restaurants guide for alternatives.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Happolati | When entering this restaurant in central Oslo, you immediately think that it has to be something Asian, but the interiors also give promises of something Scandinavian. Both are true: the menus – both...; Star Wine List #1 (2025); Star Wine List #3 (2024); Star Wine List #2 (2024); Star Wine List #1 (2024); Star Wine List #2 (2023); Star Wine List #1 (2023); Star Wine List #3 (2022); Star Wine List #2 (2022); Star Wine List #1 (2022); Star Wine List #3 (2021); Star Wine List #2 (2021); Star Wine List #1 (2021); Star Wine List #1 (2020) | 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.
Group capacity specifics aren't in the current record. For parties of 6 or more, contact the restaurant well in advance: awarded Oslo restaurants at this level often have limited large-table inventory and may require a set menu for groups. Solo diners and pairs are likely the smoothest booking scenario here.
Bar seating details aren't documented in the current record. Given the wine list pedigree (Star Wine List #1, 2025), a bar or counter area where guests can order by the glass would make structural sense, but confirm with the restaurant directly before planning a walk-in around it.
Aim for at least 2-3 weeks ahead for weekend sittings. A centrally located Oslo restaurant with multiple Star Wine List top-three finishes in 2024 and the #1 spot in 2025 attracts a consistent crowd, including wine-focused guests who plan ahead. Mid-week may be more flexible, but don't rely on last-minute availability at this level.
Specific dietary policy isn't confirmed in the current record, but a restaurant operating at Star Wine List #1 level in a Scandinavian capital almost always handles dietary requests as standard practice. check the venue's official channels at booking to flag requirements — don't leave it to arrival.
The dual Asian-Scandinavian interior signals a room that takes itself seriously without being stiff. Smart casual is a reasonable baseline: well-put-together but not black-tie. Oslo fine dining generally skews understated over formal, and nothing in Happolati's positioning suggests otherwise.
Menu details aren't confirmed in the current record, but the concept is explicitly Asian-Scandinavian, so expect dishes that pull from both traditions rather than one dominant identity. The wine list is the clearest strength on paper: Happolati ranked #1 on Star Wine List in 2025, so lean into the wine pairing if offered. Ask staff for the current tasting format when booking.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
