Cafés in Sagene & Torshov

Getting there

Vogts gate is the busiest street in the borough, and the trams along it run on lines between Majorstuen and Kjelsås.¹² Park areas follow the Akerselva for its whole course from Grønland up to Maridalsvannet, so you can walk in along the river from Grünerløkka.³ The river was badly polluted by the 1970s after 150 years of industrial and sewage discharge; a local clean-up began in the 1980s, and salmon now run and spawn in its upper reaches.³

Vogts gate and Torshov

Café Stamboul is at Vogts gate 45B and Café Teater at Torshovgata 33, and Kaffe Gram on Stockfleths gate has Wi-Fi. Åpent Bakeri, at Åsengata 42, feels like a neighborhood café, with a red leather sofa and big windows; a mocha cost 68 kr there in January 2026.⁵

Torshov’s stages include Soria Moria, in a building from 1928, and Det Andre Teatret, venues for alternative theater, music and Oslo’s improv scene.¹⁴

Sandaker and the river

Røverkaffe, at Grefsenveien 26, is a Red Cross project: its coffee is roasted by prisoners and former prisoners as a route back into work and everyday life.⁶ The café opens on weekdays from 10:00, until 19:00 on Thursdays.

Common Grounds Company on Sandakerveien opens daily 09:00–16:00. Raade’s hagekafe, a garden café at Maridalsveien 112, opens on Sundays only, 12:00–17:00.

Wooden houses and old names

Small wooden houses along Maridalsveien and Sandakerveien survive from the settlement of the 18th century. The author Oskar Braaten grew up among the mills and drew on them for his books.¹ Sagene Church, a Gothic Revival building whose altarpiece copies the one in Antwerp Cathedral, was consecrated in 1891.¹

Torshov takes its name from an old farm, Torshov gård, from the Old Norse Þórshof, “Thor’s temple”. Its public school was built in 1878, and Torshov Church, consecrated in 1958 in Torshov kirkepark between Åsengata and Nordkappgata, seats 400.²

Nazar and the later hours

Nazar café-bar, on Kristiansands gate, was founded in 2005 by Ayse Balam, who wanted a place where families could sit down in peace. Still family-run, it cooks Turkish and Mediterranean food from family recipes and bakes focaccia every morning.⁷ It is open daily 10:30–23:00, the latest hours in Sagene and Torshov.