Oslo Court Restaurant
French restaurant · St. John's Wood
Charlbert St., London NW8 7EN, United Kingdom
Highlights
Old-school French dining with pink tablecloths and attentive service
Old-school French dining with pink tablecloths and attentive service
"Oslo Court is at the base of a Grade II-listed, art deco block of the same name in St. John’s Wood. It’s a nice part of town. Opposite Regent’s Park, a stone’s throw from Primrose Hill. It’s the type of area you might like to retire in and, in the case of Oslo Court’s regulars, many of them did that at least two decades ago. This restaurant is a time machine wrapped in a salmon tablecloth and buried with a bouquet of crudités on top of it. The food is a mish-mash of old-school French technique, overcooked vegetables, and chilled butter but, somehow, it works. Admire the doilies, hold the door open for someone finishing their dinner at 5pm, and embrace the hospitality of Oslo Court’s inimitable, part-of-the-furniture waiter, Neil." - jake missing, heidi lauth beasley
"Fun is subjective. And at Oslo Court, it begins with the words “come on in my angels”. This prawn cocktail time capsule of a restaurant is a proper character—one dressed head-to-toe in salmon who believes crudité never went out of fashion. Even midweek, the dining room is humming with dressed-up regulars and new revellers who can’t quite believe their favourite ‘70s Tumblr post has come to life. No one seems to mind that the highlight of the three-course French set menu is the chips, because while this St. John’s Wood institution may be a relic of the past, it’s one that belongs in the fun, frilly get-togethers of your future." - jake missing, daisy meager, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak, heidi lauth beasley
"The Verdict: You’ll enjoy a meal at Oslo Court if you’re hungry for nostalgia and the colour salmon. Just don’t expect good food. This St. John’s Wood institution opened at the bottom of a block of residential flats when Maggie Thatcher was still calling the shots. Since then, little has changed. The food is still French and everything is either undercooked, overcooked, served cold, swimming in marie rose sauce, or in desperate need of sodium CPR. But we don’t care and once you’re doily-deep in nostalgia, you won’t either." - sinead cranna, rianne shlebak, jake missing, heidi lauth beasley
"The best seat in the house: Any table that gives the option to side-sit in this St John’s Wood dining room and observe more salmon pink than you’ve ever laid eyes on. What you’re seeing: A plate of crudité that looks to have been foraged from a 1940s bomb shelter, what appears to be a toupée, and the most majestic serving of chips, mashed potatoes, and mushy peas anywhere in London." - jake missing, sinead cranna, rianne shlebak
"It’s in vogue to hark back to the old days of hospitality but Oslo Court isn’t prawn cocktail-coloured because it’s kitsch, it’s prawn cocktail-coloured because it’s never changed. Napkin arrangements, chilled white bread rolls, and artful curls of butter were du jour in 1975 and at Oslo Court, a time capsule French restaurant in St. John’s Wood, they still are. It’s not the finest little bread roll you’re going to be given via fork and spoon, but it’s a memorable one." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna
