It’s been three years since we’ve had a “normal” Christmas table season in the country.
Due to restrictions on numbers, distance rules and a ban on drinking during the corona pandemic, people have not been able to go out and play at Christmas in the usual Christmas party fashion since 2019.
Because even if someone managed to bring a Christmas party last year, strict corona restrictions and a nationwide ban on alcohol have been introduced again from mid-December.
Now the happy Christmas party guests have taken over the restaurants, and if the restaurants themselves are to be believed, people have had a revival during the pandemic.
CHRISTMAS TABLE TIME: The Christmas table season is in full swing and the restaurants are very busy. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB
– Happy guests
At Engebret Café in Oslo, the feedback is that guests are well behaved. They’ve even noticed that guests seem happier now than they did before the pandemic.
– They’re elated to get their friends together again. We see a joy we have never seen before. People are kinder, less stressed and much happier to hang out, says general manager Kay Johnsen.
HAPPY: Kay Henning Johnsen runs the venerable Engebret Cafe in Oslo, and says people are less stressed now than before. Photo: Anders Stensås / TV 2
And even though it’s been three years since the last time, people manage to stick to Christmas parties, says the general manager of the Bristol Hotel in Oslo, Lars Petter Mathisen.
– There was good behavior and we had an “all time high” I would say. There was a good flow and a steady stream of Christmas parties and guests. They come and have a good time, and then they leave again, says Mathisen.
At the Gamle Raadhus restaurant in Oslo, guests have done exceptionally well, says general manager Jørn Lie. But sometimes someone comes along who is too drunk.
– There is always someone who has absorbed too much before arriving. So we have no choice but not to accept them or refuse them service. Some people are always afraid of not getting enough. But mostly it’s going very well, she says, and adds;
UNUSUALLY GOOD: Jørn Lie is restaurateur and chef at Gamle Raadhus restaurant and says guests have done exceptionally well this year. Photo: Fraud Sunde / TV 2
– What is perhaps a challenge is that a lot of Christmas food is associated with booze. It’s something people may not be at all used to drinking.
Lie also notes that many are willing to spend more when they’re out.
– Now there has been a tremendous price hike on everything. It is no longer unusual for people to pay around a thousand crowns for a bottle of wine. People are probably willing to pay more and are aware that prices have gone up.
At Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri, the impression is also that the Christmas tables are going well.
– There is a lot of lutefisk served and a good atmosphere. It’s pretty much the same as it was before the pandemic when it comes to alcohol consumption, but it’s still going in decent ways. It has a good old fashioned feel.
– People are more controlled and moderate
In Bergen, the feedback from the industry is that they see positive change after the pandemic.
– We think the attitude towards waiters, alcohol and general behavior has received a boost. I want to brag about our guests, says Kjetil Smørås.
He owns several restaurants that organize Christmas parties, including Wesselstuen.
BETTER ATTITUDES: Kjetil Smørås thinks metoo has made people behave better at Christmas parties. Photo: Frode Hoff / TV 2
They also sense that people are more controlled and restrained than seen before the pandemic.
– This is a time when it is common for guests to cross borders and harass waiters, but I have not received any reports of this type of incident so far, says Smørås.
He believes that many people have “taken metoo to heart”.
– It makes people more polite and more thoughtful. We have very few problems with binge drinking, people take better care of themselves.
