Tjuvholem Sjomagasin Restaurant Oslo Norway

Tjuvholem Sjomagasin returaunt Olso

Tobias Gustavsson, the Swedish born head chef of Tjuvholem Sjomagasin restaurant, and Bjørn Tore Furset the owner of this and 7 other restaurants in Oslo sat down to talk during the calm before the storm on a recent Friday afternoon. The storm would begin with the first customer of the evening and continue unabated until closing this 190 seat establishment. Their mission is simple, provide the freshest sea food possible.  Maintaining quality is their hardest task.

80% of their fish is sourced locally, line caught in the wild, bled on the boat and immediately placed in an ice slush. This respect for freshness is obvious throughout  the kitchen. According to Tobias  everything in the Norway region grows slower and thus have more flavor. His cooking techniques enhance food rather than overwhelm it. He prefers lighter foam sauces and loves his “ Spanish grill” a mammoth cast iron oven like thing that reveals a bed of charcoals on the inside and cooks at a very high heat.

When I returned later in the evening for dinner, the restaurant was packed and exciting. There is a beautiful expansive open kitchen and a small army of chefs. Although the  laughter of happy customers filled the room, Tobias was not having a great night. The stress level of trying to produce perfect food plate after plate is intense especially when his commitment to natural flavors will not allow hiding behind heavy cream butter and salt. To his credit he cracked a smile as I photographed.

Huge platters of lobster and mussels and plates of crispy skin hake flew out of the kitchen. I had locally sourced Langostinos perfectly grilled in the shell. Pure and fantastic.

For more info on Tjuvholem Sjomagasin , check out  the Fursetgruppen Restaurant Group.