In January 2011 I opened St Lars restaurant together with a few of my friends and partners. The idea for the restaurant, located on Bislett in central Oslo, is simple: If it can be grilled, it must be grilled. We have an open charcoal grill in the kitchen, and a menu that is heavy on meats.

One of the things we try to do, is to highlight cuts that are not so much used. These “lesser cuts” often have their own qualities, not least more flavors. One of the staples on our menu is grilled shoulder of lamb. What the guests get is a big – very big – chunk of delicious Norwegian lamb on a cutting board, served with potato puree and glazed root vegetables. Many guests are a little taken aback at first by the fact that they are supposed to carve the meat themselves. But we think it works. And so do our guests, who almost always finish every last.

We also serve grilled langoustines, grilled salad, and a classic tartar of horse – untouched by fire. Our steak is dry aged, which is quite rare in Norway. We grind the meat for our hamburgers every day, and triple fry our fries – made from Norwegian almond potatoes – to get the best, most crunchy result.

We have an extensive and ever changing wine list, with an emphasis on smaller producers.
The restaurant is named after St Lars – or San Lorenzo, Saint Lawrence, San Laurentius – who was a deacon in Rome in the 3rd century, and was grilled to death. His famous last words were “I am done, turn me over and have a bite”. He is the official patron saint of grill chefs and comedians. We have a painting of him, made by our friend, the great painter Tor Arne Moen, freely interpreted after Titian.

You can book a table or check out the menu here:
www.stlars.no