United Bakeries [Mimi's World Tour]

Bakery: United Bakeries
Address: Karl Johans Gate 37-43, Oslo (+ a few other locations)
Website: http://www.united-bakeries.no/
Style: Pan-European, Norwegian
Price: $$

United Bakeries is yet another Oslo-based bakery chain, although they only have a few locations; in comparison to Baker Hansen, they're clearly trying to be a chicer, cafe-style serving more continental baked goods versus strictly Scandinavian... one reason why they ranked as the lowest on my bakery hunt in Norway; at first glance, their total hodgepodge of goods, from French croissants to cookies to foccacia to brownies, all not cheap (and even more so for people not used to Norwegian prices -- I bought a slab of tomato and olive foccacia for my brother's lunch and that was ~450kr (which is equal to a staggering $9 ;___;)) made me kind of want to turn around and uh, leave, since I was more on the lookout for tasty, Scandinavian goodies. Then again, I realized that I had seen only one other bakery (already reviewed), and so, for the sake of the cake tour, I remained.

After some deliberation, I settled for the cinnamon bun (something like 280kr?), although like other baked goods, was more an updated version with a bit of glaze and then a barely there smear of icing... all on a park bench at Akershus. ;) It was alright, but at the same time, I've had much more delicious versions during my Scandinavian baking hunts (aaand I still need to find out a way to get to The Beaches Bakeshop ;-;) in Toronto, which came as a bit of a disappointment. Maybe they do make the best croissants in the city (something which seems to be universally agreed on) or their huge patio is the place to be seen by people who want to see and be seen (lol, like that girl in the lower right who seems to be posing for the camera!), but personally, when in Oslo, I'm more of a Baker Hansen girl. :3

Rating: **1/2