Salt-cured, dried lamb ribs soaked overnight then steamed slowly over birch sticks until the meat falls off the bone. Served with mashed rutabaga, almond potatoes and aquavit.
Pinnekjøtt (stick meat) is the Christmas Eve centrepiece across most of Western Norway, the steaming method named for the birch sticks that hold the salt-cured lamb ribs above the pot's water. The dish became a national Christmas table standard through the 20th century; surveys put it on roughly three in four Norwegian Christmas Eve tables today. Oslo's traditional kitchens at Engebret Café, Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri and Asylet all run a defensible version through Advent.
3 editor picks for Pinnekjøtt in Oslo, ranked by editorial score. All Oslo signature dishes · Pinnekjøtt across every city.
Engebret Café ★ 4.8
kvadraturen · Bankplassen 1, 0151 Oslo
Engebret Café at Bankplassen 1 is Oslo's oldest continuously operating restaurant, founded 1857 by Engebret Christoffersen, in a 1760s listed building.
Asylet ★ 4.1
gronland · Grønland 28, 0188 Oslo
Asylet on Grønland in Oslo's old town is the wood-panelled 1730 merchant-yard timber building, one of the city's oldest, serving kjottkaker.
Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri ★ 4.0
sentrum · Grensen 1, 0159 Oslo
Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri at Grensen 1 occupies a 1699 listed building one corner from Stortorvet square, with a la carte Norwegian classics, a courtyard.