This French-inspired restaurant is like stepping into a time warp of 1970s dinner parties
11:52, 28 Jun 2025Updated 08:13, 30 Jun 2025
Stewart Carr visited Oslo Court in St John’s Wood(Image: Stewart Carr)
I love the 1970s, me. Flashy, unbuttoned shirts showing half an acre of chest hair, flares in every colour and swooshing hair. I like to think I give off the vibe of Starsky & Hutch and Studio 54… hopefully not Del Boy on a night out.
But there’s another side to the decade. This is the time when Brits got interested in ‘cuisine’ – of cooking as something more than just putting food, any food, on the table. It saw the rise of celebrity chefs like Fanny Craddock and Delia Smith, and I remember my mother’s own copy of the ‘Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook’ – featuring recipes from none other than Mary Berry – sending families on their first forays into Mediterranean cooking.
For those of us who missed out on the 1970s, a restaurant in North London is a time warp into that long lost era. Oslo Court is a restaurant on the ground floor of an elegant tower block of the same name in St John’s Wood, opposite Regent’s Park. For over 40 years, Oslo Court has been run by Tony Sanchez and his family; and it features a menu of French-inspired 1970s dishes such as Crab La Rochelle (minced crab and mushrooms in a puff pastry, doused in brandy sauce), Melon Balls with Parma Ham, Veal Schnitzel and Crispy Roast Duck with orange sauce.
Hors d’oeuvres feature garlic butter with red and green peppers, olives, cucumber and cauliflower(Image: Stewart Carr)
Everything about Oslo Court is old school. The table cloths are a bright salmon pink that would send corporate designers into a frenzy, and the carpet is patterned blue. There are at least half a dozen waiters on duty, all dressed snazzily in suits and dickie bow ties, and all appear smiling and attentive. It’s quite leisurely and stress-free, perhaps a vision of how Fawlty Towers’ dining room was supposed to have functioned if it wasn’t run by Basil… I’m surprised there’s no Waldorf Salad on the menu.
There’s virtually no footfall anywhere near the restaurant, I’d say the nearest pub is at least 20 minutes away. And yet, Oslo Court is surprisingly very busy, with a largely older crowd. I’m seated in a cute corner table next to the window, with views overlooking the garden. My hors d’oeuvres are quickly served – Melba toast with butter curls, and garlic butter mounted on a bed of red and green peppers, olives, cucumber and, just to get in some 1970s weirdness, cauliflower. A colour riot if ever there was one.
Crab la Rochelle is a delight of minced crab and mushroom, with spicy brandy sauce
A three course meal is £48 for lunch and £56 for dinner. Starters include Deep Fried Calamari, Foie Gras Pan-Fried, Scotch Smoked Salmon and Yellowfin Tuna Tartare. Mains feature the likes of Halibut & Salmon En Croute (served with a Pernod sauce), Fried Goujons of Dover Sole Veronique (with Muscatel grape veloute sauce – £11.50 extra), Chicken Princess Oslo Court (with onions, mushroom, white wine & cream sauce) and Steak Diane.
I can’t resist the Crab La Rochelle, a quirky starter dish that I’ve never seen elsewhere. I’m in love with this puff pastry doused in dark pink brandy sauce – it looks like something straight out of my mother’s old Hamlyn cookbook. The minced crab and mushroom are satisfyingly full like a Greg’s pasty, and the brandy sauce has a spicy kick to it.
For an additional £12 to the set menu, I choose the Rack of Lamb – exquisitely served with mint sauce and red current jelly(Image: Stewart Carr)
For my main course, I choose the Rack of Lamb for an extra £12, served with mint sauce and red current jelly. I ask for it to be cooked medium-well done and I’m thrilled with how succulent and chunky it tastes and the red current jelly is ruby red and tastes as opulent as it looks. I’m slightly disappointed with two of the side dishes, the roast potatoes taste dried out and hard – they lack fluffiness inside – and the cheesy mash is also a bit dry. But beyond this niggling, the standard of food is top notch.
Desserts here are a delight, with ice creams, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Chocolate Mousse and Frangipane Tart on the menu. I go for Tiramisu with a scoop of chocolate ice cream, and it’s the perfect refresher after a heavy main course.
Tiramisu served with a scoop of ice cream is the perfect refresher after a heavy main course
Wines are £10.75 to £16 by the glass, and I choose a crisp Sauvignon Blanc, The Crossing from New Zealand, which tastes surprisingly potent. I manage to drink a single glass across all three meals in little sips.
For those ordering by the bottle, the wine list is extensive and runs page after page. Among my superpowers, I’m more than capable of downing a bottle of Beaujolais by myself and I look lovingly at the Morgon Chateau Gailliard on the menu for £49, but I suppress the urge.
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Perhaps what’s so refreshing is that none of this is how modern restaurants are supposed to work. Eating out in London is often a bundle of overworked waiters clip-clopping their heels on polished wood flooring, wipe-down tables, an insistence on opening up kitchens to show chefs ‘at work’ and an absence of any soft furnishings to give the feel of an echo hall. Yes, the service is efficient but it’s brisk; often you’ll pay your bill and then be ejected with all the care of an SAS trooper.
Oslo Court is eccentric and delightful, it’s done its own thing for over 40 years and somehow is still going strong on the London restaurant scene. There’s a received wisdom to how we should enjoy the pleasures in life – what’s good and what’s verboten. As my old lecturer used to say, “When everyone else goes zig, go zag” and this place certainly does that.
Oslo Court is located off Prince Albert Road in St John’s Wood. To book or for more information, see here.
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Dining and Cooking