The Little Pickle – Grünerløkka's bakery-turned-Bib Gourmand bistro

The Little Pickle occupies the corner where Trondheimsveien meets Jens Bjelkes gate, on the unpolished eastern edge where Grünerløkka slides toward Tøyen. By morning it runs as a bakery and coffee roastery; by evening the same room turns into a British-leaning bistro. The project carries a difficult history: conceived in 2021 by chef Luke Henderson, who had already opened The Tea Room and Imperial to acclaim, it was finished and opened after his death under general manager and founder Sandra Kristiansen, who still runs it today. It holds a MICHELIN Bib Gourmand, the distinction for cooking of real quality at a modest price, first awarded in August 2024 and renewed since. People queue for sourdough and espresso in the morning; by night the kitchen sends out terrines, pies and a Sunday roast that draws diners from well beyond the neighbourhood.

01The room and the setting

Original wooden floors and brick walls carry over from the building's earlier life, giving the dining room an unfussy, lived-in character rather than a designed one.

At the front, thick dark green curtains separate the bakery and café from the evening dining room behind them, and a service window lets the kitchen pass plates straight into the room so the cooks spend the evening in sight of the people eating what they have made.

02From tragedy to table

In 2021, chef Luke Henderson, who had trained at Maaemo before opening The Tea Room and Imperial, planned The Little Pickle together with general manager Sandra Kristiansen and co-owner Marco Mogueis.

Insider tip

Dinner Wed–Sat 17:00–22:00; Sunday Roast 15:00–17:30; bakery mornings Wed–Sun.

Henderson took his own life in May that year, aged 27, before the restaurant could open its doors. The project paused, then reopened under Kristiansen's stewardship on 19 January 2022.

She has since grown the address without changing its character: in 2024 she invited Japanese roaster Ayae Maki Fredheim to launch Hibi Kaffe on site, and a full bakery followed in 2025, staffed in part by bakers formerly of the sourdough house Ille Brød.

03The cooking

The reference points were explicitly British: London's St John and The Laughing Heart were the models when the project was conceived, translated into a kitchen built around honest, unfussy cooking and organic, local produce.

Meat arrives through Dagens, a company that links small independent Norwegian farmers directly to restaurants, and the kitchen takes in whole animals, using every cut across the menu rather than building around a single centrepiece joint.

In the evening that produce becomes modern European cooking with a British accent, offered à la carte or as a set menu with wine pairing; by day the same kitchen sends out lighter lunch dishes.

04What to order

Begin with sourdough and whipped butter or the house Little Pickle Plate, then a carrot and sesame salad or an egg salad on rye, finishing with British cheeses and quince jam.

On another visit, expect tomatoes with anchovy, a pork terrine, mountain trout tartare, carrots, a chicken pie, English cheeses, trifle and a madeleine.

On Sundays, the kitchen's set piece is a roast of beef, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese, horseradish and gravy. A lemon and raspberry trifle closes the meal.

05Drink and the pickleback

The wine list runs from natural producers to classic French bottles, with names like Heinrich, La Sorga and Ganevat among its small, considered selection.

True to the name, picklebacks sit on the drinks list too — a tequila shot chased with savoury pickle brine.

06When to go

The bakery opens Wednesday to Friday from 09:00 to 15:00, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 15:00. Dinner runs Wednesday to Saturday from 17:00 to 22:00, with the kitchen closing at 21:00, and the Sunday Roast is served between 15:00 and 17:30.

The restaurant sits on the edge between Grünerløkka and Tøyen, a few minutes' walk from Oslo's Botanical Garden, in a part of the city built for residents rather than itineraries.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.