Katla, in Oslo, offers inventive cuisine using local ingredients to create dishes that combine flavors from different regions of the world. Surprising, but a success.

You’ll find a summary of articles about this vacation in Vietnam at the bottom of the page.

Concept

The chef’s specialty is combining the typical flavors of different countries in a single dish, all with ingredients from the Nordic countries. It’s all inspired by the chef’s travels in Asia and South America, as you’ll see on the menu.

As for the name, Katla, it comes from one of Iceland’s largest volcanoes.

The setting

Modern and simple: wood, concrete, a dark atmosphere, exposed metal ventilation ducts leading out from the huge open kitchen.

Friendly and no fuss.

The menu

The restaurant only offers a 7- and 5-course tasting menu.

• Chicharron with bacon mayonnaise
• Tostada and crab
• Turnip with lemon
• Shrimp and steambuns in chili-garlic oil
• Turbot with nam-jim and sticky rice
• Duck breast with Mexican mole and celery root
• Chilli ganache with homemade purée and coconut sorbet

The dinner

I arrive on time for my reservation. From the outside, it doesn’t look like much.

I’m seated at my table and asked if I’d like an aperitif. I’ll have the yuzu margarita.

The said margarita will be good but will take some time to be served. While we wait, a waiter comes by to explain the menu and ask me if I’d like to choose the wine pairing or if I’d prefer to order glasses of my own. Really very kind.

He informs me that the service won’t start until I’ve finished my aperitif, so I can take my time without rushing.

Chicharron with bacon mayonnaise

The mayonnaise is light, fine and very tasty. The result is something light, crisp, smoky, tasty and very good.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had such good mayonnaise.

Tostada and crab

Turnip with lemon

Once again, something very light and present on the palate. Unfortunately, the taste of the yuzu is a little too strong, so much so that you can barely taste the turnip. Perhaps a little too salty too.

Shrimp in chili-garlic oil and steambuns

Chopsticks are brought along to eat this dish. First eat the shrimp, then dip the bun in the sauce.

Again, something light and balanced, a little spicy. I’m surprised at how light the bun is.

So far, the dishes follow on from each other, leaving a presence in the mouth without weighing down the stomach and without giving the impression that the quantities are insufficient.

Turbot with nam-jim and sticky rice

The skin is perfectly caramelized.

The cooking is perfect and the flesh just as firm as it should be. Add to that the coriander and Thai sauce, and you’ve got a real treat.

Duck breast with Mexican mole and celery root (Photo forgotten)

Certainly the least impressive dish of the dinner. It lacks freshness, it’s a bit heavy and the taste…is not to my liking.

Chilli ganache with chocolate tostada and coconut sorbet

Excellent. The chocolate is light and crisp, and the chilli makes a perfect marriage with the ice cream.

All in all an excellent dinner. At the start, the dishes are quite surprising (but the restaurant makes no secret of its inspiration), but in the end, unexpected but perfectly successful blends of cuisines from different parts of the world.

The service

Efficient and very kind.

The atmosphere

Lively without being noisy, 80s pop music loud but not annoying.

Bottom line

An excellent experience for this last meal of my Scandinavian-Vietnamese trip. A cuisine that surprises at first, but doesn’t disappoint at all. Creativity sometimes has its limits, but here the chef knows how to stay within the bounds of good taste, resulting in dishes that are light and full of flavor.

The articles about this trip to Vietnam

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