Oslo Court restaurant, in St John’s Wood, is one of my all-time favourites. I’ve been going there for ten years now, and have never had a bad meal or bad service. It’s usually busy, which is strange, considering that it is barely advertised and is situated at the bottom of a block of flats. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I think it’s one of those places that gets all its customers by word of mouth. (And don’t all of us in business pray for that!)
Many of the people who go there are regulars, and I would consider myself in that category now. I have read the reviews about Oslo Court, about it being old fashioned, and how the décor hasn’t changed in oh so many years. That the menu is not fashionable. You know what? I don’t care. I enjoy a restaurant where the prices are reasonable and I don’t need a magnifying glass to see what I am eating. Where I’m made to feel at home as soon as I walk through the door and nothing is too much trouble. Where I’m treated in exactly the same way as someone on another table who may have considerably more money than me.
It has a website now, which it didn’t when I first went there. It’s nice to read about how the restaurant started. Of course, I know Tony, the owner, and I knew he was Spanish but I didn’t know that he had trained as a chef.
It is true that, back in the early 1970s, few ordinary people in England dined out – Wimpy Bars, Fortes Cafes and fish and chip shops were about it, with the occasional Chinese restaurant as far as I recall. (I was brought up in Surrey, so I suppose London was a bit different. I do remember China town and Veeraswamy, the oldest Indian restaurant in London.)
http://www.oslocourtrestaurant.co.uk/about-us/
The actual block of flats is one of those portered blocks that was built without a kitchen, hence the need for a restaurant. (Strange, I know, I remember looking at one when I was first buying a flat.)
The restaurant is a family run affair, and even if some of the staff aren’t family, it feels as though they are. Lunch is still a very reasonable £36 per person for three courses, while dinner is £47. I make sure that I don’t eat breakfast when I go for lunch and I certainly don’t need anything to eat later!
It’s very hospitable here, I’ve sat at a table and got chatting to the people on the next table, and ended up having drinking competitions with them. Other times, just chewing the fat. No wonder it’s so popular.
St John’s Wood Village
I’m not sure that it’s strictly correct to call St John’s Wood a village but it has a very village-y feel about it. There are a couple of streets with several shops and then other little shops dotted around (including a very good fishmonger, just up the road from Oslo Court).
It’s a very affluent area, apparently the 5th most affluent in London in 2007, according to Forbes. (A one-bedroomed flat in Oslo Court was advertised at £425 pw, so yes, I’d say that’s pretty affluent.). It’s also home to Lord’s Cricket Ground and the Abbey Road Studios. The King’s Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery used to be based here, and there are still links in the area, in names like Ordnance Road, and so on.
St John’s Wood is also home to the only nature reserve in the City of Westminster – St John’s Wood Church Grounds, a disused graveyard and now a Site of Borough Importance for Nature Conservation.
Famous People who have lived in St John’s Wood
Lily Allen, singer and musician
Douglas Bader, World War II fighter pilot was born there
Sir Richard Branson
James Caan, entrepreneur
Vanessa Feltz, broadcaster
Lucien Freud, artist
Nigel Kennedy, violinist
Lillie Langtry, actress
Damian Lewis, actor
Sir John Major, former prime minister
Sir Paul McCartney, musician
Ewan McGregor, actor
Kate Moss, model
Keith Richards, Rolling Stones
Mark Ronson, musician and record producer
Mel Smith, actor
© Susan Shirley 2016
Live Like a Londoner 