With a discreet storefront, small dining room with minimal furnishings and a quiet atmosphere, Alex Sushi’s demure ambiance belies the restaurant’s stratospheric reputation. After the three-Michelin-stared Maaemo, Alex Sushi is often named Oslo’s best restaurant—but it comes with a price tag. The sophisticated interior features a boat-shaped sushi bar and just two small tables, where patrons can either order à la carte, or opt for the splurge-worthy omakase menu. The cuisine is simple—think spicy salmon and tuna rolls—but it is of the highest quality. The tempura salad starter—a toppling concoction with asparagus, radishes, cucumber, seaweed salad, spicy shrimp and several sauces—is one of the most popular dishes. There is a second outpost in the trendy Tjuvholmen neighborhood, but the original location is the place to go for the real experience.

Opened in 2010 with the hopes of serving Oslo’s best burger, this fast-casual spot has had much success and now has several locations. The most convenient location for visitors is the outpost set on the main street in Grünerløkka, which features retro, cafeteria-style booth seating and an open kitchen. The lengthy menu boasts many varieties of burgers (all of which can be made with veggie, fish or beef patties) with statement-making names like the Hot Mama Deluxe, which comes topped with bacon, cheddar, BBQ sauce, guacamole and jalapenos. And while it is not on the menu, the foie gras burger is worth asking for.

One of just three Michelin-starred restaurants in Oslo, Kontrast was awarded a star in 2016, only a year after moving locations to the up-and-coming Vulcan neighborhood. Helmed by Swedish chef Mikael Svensson, Kontrast is an epicurean delight with a seasonal menu that might include grilled white asparagus glazed in juniper vinaigrette and King Crab from Finnmark with beer and flowering dill (most products are sourced from Norway). The cuisine can be enjoyed à la carte or as part of a six- or ten-course tasting menu, and is served in the sleek, minimalist dining room, featuring a concrete floor, exposed pipes and an open kitchen.

Oslo’s most lauded restaurant, Maaemo is one of only two three-Michelin-starred restaurants in the Nordic countries (along with Copenhagen’s Geranuim), and an absolute must-visit for foodies. The tasting menu–only restaurant is a study in minimalism, with stark white walls, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, pastel ceramic plates and dishes that are simple, but innovative: think grilled spring onions served with a warm cream of pullet eggs or langoustines sautéed in pine butter and brushed with rapeseed oil. Of course, nearly all the produce is sourced from Norway, and all the ingredients are either organic, biodynamic or wild. Reservations should be made months ahead of time.

Modeled after great European food markets, Olso’s Mathallen opened in 2012 in the up-and-coming Vulkan, a small enclave that was built up in the mid-2010s along the Akerselva river and today is home to a few hotels and restaurants. But the development’s most enticing tenant is Mathallen, a soaring, two-story food hall with vendors hawking gourmet treats from small-scale Norwegian producers, casual restaurants serving everything from Spanish tapas to crêpes and a cooking school on the upper level. Visitors shopping in the nearby Grunneløkka should stop in for some culinary souvenirs or a meal at Hitchhiker (Vulkan 5; 47-954-51-466), the second-floor restaurant with a themed menu (Asian fusion, Jamaican) that changes weekly.

The casual counterpart to Sentralen restaurant, this café is a gathering places for locals that work nearby, and the perfect spot for an easy meal when you’ve tired of fine dining. The all-day eatery offers breakfast in the morning, midday lunch, one entrée between 4-6pm and an evening menu of delicious sourdough pizzas. Diners waiting for a table at the café’s hot spot sister restaurant can idle here with a glass of wine or cocktail.

It’s not often that a restaurant opens and immediately hits its stride. But Sentralen Restaurant (part of the Sentralen complex, a multipurpose space that is housed in two former bank buildings and home to concert halls and food and beverage outlets), was an Oslo hot spot—and an instant classic—upon opening in early 2016. If Maaemo put Oslo on the culinary map, Sentralen is responsible for popularizing it as a real foodie city, and one that is as much about both high quality cuisine as it is informal, social dining environments. The spacious, high-ceilinged dining room features exposed brick walls, graffiti-inspired drawings, an open-kitchen and an atmosphere that feels like a gathering place for friends to enjoy some of the best food in the city (all of which is meant to be shared). The restaurant is buzzing at both lunch and dinner, when diners can enjoy such flavor-packed dishes as 24-month-old Comté shaved into elegant curls and generously sprinkled over a sourdough crisp with sherry honey, or duck confit with pickled cabbage, brown butter, dill and fried shallots, served on a roll-it-yourself wrap.

The unassuming Smalhans is one of Oslo’s most beloved restaurants. With a casual, brick-walled dining room, rustic wood bar and upbeat music wafting throughout, the local favorite is the favored spot to dine in the St. Hanshaugen neighborhood. The lunch menu stars the Smalhans burger (which in a miniaturized version is offered to kids), while the dinner menu changes every two weeks. Patrons at dinner can choose between two family-style set menus, both of which are very well-priced and casual (think panzanella and gnocchi with Jerusalem artichoke) and comes served on trays or in pots and pans. Seatings are either between 6-6:45 or after 8:30. (Bonus: there is one daily dish offered from 4-6pm each afternoon.)