Svanen pours craft cocktails inside Svaneapoteket, Oslo's oldest pharmacy building from 1896, at Karl Johans gate 13 in the city centre. The World's 50 Best Bars list ranked it No. 72 in 2024, and the project comes from Yunus Yildiz, who managed Himkok when that bar first cracked the global ranking.
The room
The room keeps the apothecary bones, with cabinetry and detailing from the old pharmacy carried into the bar design. Seating is intimate rather than large, which suits a drinks-led night over a loud one. The setting does real work here, since few cocktail bars open inside a listed 1896 interior.
What to order
Order from the seasonal menu, which bar manager Karel Varga and his team rebuild around a tight set of ideas rather than a long list. The drinks lean precise and balanced in the Himkok lineage, so ask the bar to steer by spirit and style. The format rewards trusting the menu over ordering a classic.
Who it is for
Svanen fits a date that wants a serious cocktail in a notable room, a drinks enthusiast tracking the World's 50 Best names, and a centre-of-town nightcap. Skip it if a casual, high-volume bar is the goal, since this is a measured room. It rewards people who came for the drinks.
Best time to go
Tuesday through Thursday evenings are the calm windows for a seat and the bar's attention. Friday and Saturday fill the small room from early evening, so a walk-in is harder late. The central Karl Johans location makes it an easy first or last stop on a night out.
The bottom line
Svanen is central Oslo's pharmacy-turned-cocktail bar, a listed 1896 room from a Himkok alumnus that landed on the World's 50 Best list in 2024. The draw is the drinks and the setting together. Come midweek, take a seat at the bar, and let the seasonal menu lead.
Keep exploring with our best cocktail bars in Oslo guide. the full Oslo bar guide. and our edit of cocktail bars worldwide. Pair Svanen with Himkok in Oslo, Torggata Botaniske in Oslo, Revolver in Oslo.
Sources: The World's 50 Best Bars (2024); Svanen official site (svanenoslo.no); Anders Husa; Falstaff; Google Maps reviews.
