Oslo
Polished, precise, civilised. Oslo's best hotel-bar drinking — picked for craft, not concierge buzz.
Sentrum · $$$
Fru Haugans Hotel Bar draws a steady local crowd in Sentrum. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Sentrum · $$$
Sky Bar at Thon Hotel Opera draws a steady local crowd in Sentrum. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$$
The Thief is the cocktail bar of The Thief Hotel on Tjuvholmen waterfront. The room is polished and serious — leather banquettes, dim warm lighting, contemporar
Sentrum · $$$
The Villa draws a steady local crowd in Sentrum. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Sentrum · $$$
The Vineyard draws a steady local crowd in Sentrum. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Grunerlokka · $$$
Aku-Aku Tiki Bar draws a steady local crowd in Grunerlokka. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
a former kiosk in Grünerløkka. Twenty seats · $$$
Andre Til Høyre — meaning 'Second on the Right' — is a tiny cocktail room in a former kiosk in Grünerløkka. Twenty seats, two bartenders, a short menu that chan
Grunerlokka · $$$$
Arakataka draws a steady local crowd in Grunerlokka. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
City centre · $$$
Bank Bar inhabits a 19th-century banking hall near the National Theatre, and the building does the heavy lifting before a single drink arrives. The original vau
City centre · $$$
Bar Bocca occupies a prime position on the Aker Brygge waterfront, where Oslo's old shipyard district has evolved into the city's most stylish dining and drinki
Hotel bars solve specific problems. You need a bar near your room. You need somewhere quiet to take a meeting. You want the drink right the first time and you don't want to negotiate a wait. Every recommendation below clears those three bars. Most are open to non-guests; we've flagged any that aren't.
Best for: business travellers, late-checkout drinks, hotel-room negotiations made civilised, anniversaries that deserve a hotel jacket. Pricing skews higher than the city average — that's the trade. The rooms below justify it.
Civilised, polished, not pretending to be a club. Pick by neighbourhood and proximity to where you're sleeping.
Looking beyond Oslo? See our guide to the best hotel bars worldwide, or compare hotel bars city by city.