Mine beste tips til Oslo - av Rasheed Dodakh

Insiders guide to Oslo - by Rasheed Dodakh

You'll quickly discover the city's hidden (and not-so-hidden) gems with a little help from the locals. We have asked five Oslo residents who know the city inside and out to share their top tips on food, culture, and passionate individuals to check out in Oslo.

Rasheed Dodakh is HR-coordinator at Cousins

"We at Cousins make the best coffee within Ring 1, and we are dedicated to giving young people who have come to Norway, like myself, a chance in the workforce."

Photo: Anne Valeur

You can only eat at five places in Oslo for the rest of your life. Where do you go?
Cousins, of course! Farine in Kampen, Chicken House in Grønland, and coffee at Tim Wendelboe, but my favorite is cooking over a campfire in Marka.

Your top three cultural experiences in Oslo?
MatStreif's outdoor cinema is a lot of fun. I’ve also enjoyed church concerts at Kampen, and I love the Øya Festival.

Highlight someone who has done something important or great for our city!
We at Cousins were lucky to be part of the Crown Prince Couple's Fund for five years, and I saw how much the Norwegian Crown Prince did for young people in Oslo and Norway, so I’d say him!

What do you do, or where do you go, when you need a bit of international inspiration in Oslo?
I go to various cultural centers, like Mela! There are many great concerts there.

If you were mayor of Oslo for a day, what would you decide?
I’d ensure that more young people can get jobs. It’s crucial both for learning the language and finding their place in the city. I would also start an international food culture center. I come from Afrin in the Kurdish part of Syria, where my family has olive and pistachio trees, and I miss being able to share about this.

@cousinsoslo
@rasheeddodakh


Would you like great
tips to unique and independent places in Oslo? Get yourself a copy of Lysløypa Oslo 2025! The book gives great discounts to selected places. Think global, act local!


Read Tuva Syvertsen’s (freelance musician) best tips to Oslo’s hidden gems here!

Read Julie Ilona Balas’s  (cookbook author) best tips to Oslo’s hidden gems here!

Read Line Khateeb’s (Head of the Palestine Committee of Norway) best tips to Oslo’s hidden gems here!

Read Alexandra Archetti Stølen’s (festival director of Oslo World Music Festival) best tips to Oslo’s hidden gems here!


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Lysløypa 2025, The Oslo World Edition

Lysløypa is a small book that offers discounts at 30 independent and unique cafes, restaurants, and cultural spots in Oslo - made by locals! The goal of the book is to highlight these places and guide you to them, so we help preserve the variety of venues and experiences in our city!

The discounts - designed to entice you to head out and explore - make the book an amazing deal!

It's a great life hack for life in Oslo!

I would love to know more!
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