Kuro Oslo

Since its opening in early 2022, Kuro has quickly established itself as a unique neighbourhood café in Grünerløkka, attracting a large flock of regulars in this young and vibrant leisure area.

Backed by a fashion brand named F5, which is owned by the family of three Krystad Marthinsen brothers, the coffee bar was planned from inception as an extension of the fashion brand universe, an open space where Scandinavian fashion design meets the coffee culture.

The shop manager, Nicolas Jara Marthinsen, cousin to the three Krystad Marthinsen brothers, is the one who came up with the concept as well as turned it into reality. The coffee bar’s name, Kuro (黒), meaning black in Japanese, is inspired by his trips to Japan and his experience of the Japanese coffee culture.

The shop’s interior decoration also testifies to the Japanese influence. Featuring purely natural coloured wooden furniture and creamy white paper lamps, the coffee shop infuses the Scandinavian minimalistic style with a touch of Asian elegance. Large glass windows along the long side of the room make the whole space bright and airy. Outside, along the glass windows, is a row of wooden benches, which can get quite busy during warm days.

On the menu, one can find coffee drinks brewed with premium beans from different origins across the globe, roasted mainly by the Stavanger-based Kokko roastery and the Oslo-based Fuglen roastery.

What sets Kuro apart from other specialty coffee shops are their seasonal menus. The 2024 winter menu, for example, features a non-alcoholic Irish coffee (71 NOK). Brewed with beans aged in a special whisky barrel and topped with lactose-free heavy cream and a touch of brown sugar, the coffee had a rich, rounded and creamy mouthfeel, with zings from wintry spices, and ended with a light and fragrant aftertaste. In short, it is a pleasant Irish coffee full of flavours yet without the side-effects of alcohol.

One can also find pour-over tea servings with premium quality teas sourced from the Oslo-based independent tea shop Spill the Tea. We tried the Kagoshima Kabusecha (かぶせ茶) on our lastest visit to the shop. Kabusecha is a class of tea leaves that is usually processed into a green tea. It goes through roughly the same processing—and has quite similar taste—as the Japanese sencha (煎茶), with the only difference being that the tea plants are covered with a porous material before the leaves are picked.

At Kuro, the tea is served in a transparent glass server together with a ceramic tea cup on a matching ceramic plate—all produced by the Japanese brand Kinto. The Kabusecha tea smelled fresh and had a bright green colour as well as a clear and sweet flavour. It left on the palate a soft, gentle and grassy aftertaste.

When it comes to cakes and pastries, Kuro purchases mostly from independent Oslo bakers whose products can be difficult to find elsewhere. On our latest visit, one can find cookies from Bakerina as well as pastries from Lyd’s Gluten Free. They usually have basque cheesecakes from Hernandez, a collaboration that pre-dated the opening of the baker’s own shop.

During the weekends, it can be difficult to find a seat in the coffee shop. People usally come in pairs or groups, together with their friends and loved ones, including their dogs and—if you forgive the juxtaposition—babies and toddlers.

This is exactly what we think is special with Kuro: a neighbourhood café that feels like an extension of the living room, “a place where one just wanna hang out”, said the manager Nicolas Jara Marthinsen in his interviews with local newspapers. He has achieved exactly that in an outstanding manner.