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Oslo takes techno, sushi to new level
Big time DJs often spin at small club, which is popular with night owls and electronic music fans.

Wendy Case / Special to The Detroit News

If there is an indisputable signifier of urban renewal, it's the first sighting of a techno sushi lounge. For Detroit, that moment came in 2004 when Oslo opened for business downtown.
Mainly a sushi restaurant (and a very handsome one), Oslo has also become a popular hang for hipsters and night owls as it features a small, subterranean nightclub accessible from the stairs in back.
Simple in design, but ambitious in practice, the small club attracts some of the hottest names in electronic music to its cozy confines.
If you're looking for something different in downtown Detroit, you'll find it at Oslo.

Sleek but not pretentious
The long, corridor-style design of the restaurant gives it an almost "box car" feel. Sporting black, lacquered, wooden walls and slate floors, Oslo combines modern and industrial design along with classic touches that add up to a classy, but not stuffy, dining experience.

Heart-pounding music
Downstairs, two unusually shaped rooms contain a simple dance hall and an elegant bar that cater to Oslo's late-night dance crowd. There is ledge seating, sparse lighting and an enormous bass speaker that pushes the air around it with sounds ranging from African legend Fela Kuti to hometown rapper esQuire.

Star gazing
Live performances and parties happen with varying degrees of frequency, but techno, and the DJs who perform it, rule the roost here.
"It's more a venue (for the DJs) than a club," says bartender Katalin Lemos, 29. "We get some big names in here."
Oslo has become a regular haunt for star DJs. Josh Wink, Ghostly International, Minx and DJ Houseshoes have all spun here and heavy hitters just come to hang out.
Wendy Case is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.

Oslo
1456 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Call: (313) 963-0300
Dress code: Urban cool. Cargo pants and workman's shirts will cut it, baseball caps and cutoffs won't.
Smoke factor: Restaurant is non-smoking, but smoking is permitted in the club.
Safety factor: Woodward is well lit, but caution is always advisable.
Parking: There are structures and lots in the area, as well as street parking.
Specialty food: Try the "sushi combination" or the "deluxe sushi combination."
Prices: Comparable to other sushi restaurants.
If this bar were in a movie : It would be in "The Matrix."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060728/ENT01/607280402/1032/ENT

has anyone been there before? i love sushi and sounds like the music is good.

http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/7605/bildelj0.jpg


Oslo takes techno, sushi to new level
Big time DJs often spin at small club, which is popular with night owls and electronic music fans.
Wendy Case / Special to The Detroit News
If there is an indisputable signifier of urban renewal, it's the first sighting of a techno sushi lounge. For Detroit, that moment came in 2004 when Oslo opened for business downtown.
Mainly a sushi restaurant (and a very handsome one), Oslo has also become a popular hang for hipsters and night owls as it features a small, subterranean nightclub accessible from the stairs in back.
Simple in design, but ambitious in practice, the small club attracts some of the hottest names in electronic music to its cozy confines.
If you're looking for something different in downtown Detroit, you'll find it at Oslo.
Sleek but not pretentious
The long, corridor-style design of the restaurant gives it an almost "box car" feel. Sporting black, lacquered, wooden walls and slate floors, Oslo combines modern and industrial design along with classic touches that add up to a classy, but not stuffy, dining experience.
Heart-pounding music
Downstairs, two unusually shaped rooms contain a simple dance hall and an elegant bar that cater to Oslo's late-night dance crowd. There is ledge seating, sparse lighting and an enormous bass speaker that pushes the air around it with sounds ranging from African legend Fela Kuti to hometown rapper esQuire.
Star gazing
Live performances and parties happen with varying degrees of frequency, but techno, and the DJs who perform it, rule the roost here.
"It's more a venue (for the DJs) than a club," says bartender Katalin Lemos, 29. "We get some big names in here."
Oslo has become a regular haunt for star DJs. Josh Wink, Ghostly International, Minx and DJ Houseshoes have all spun here and heavy hitters just come to hang out.
Wendy Case is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.


Oslo
1456 Woodward Ave., Detroit
Call: (313) 963-0300
Dress code: Urban cool. Cargo pants and workman's shirts will cut it, baseball caps and cutoffs won't. Smoke factor: Restaurant is non-smoking, but smoking is permitted in the club.
Safety factor: Woodward is well lit, but caution is always advisable.
Parking: There are structures and lots in the area, as well as street parking.
Specialty food: Try the "sushi combination" or the "deluxe sushi combination."
Prices: Comparable to other sushi restaurants.
If this bar were in a movie : It would be in "The Matrix."

has anyone been there before? i love sushi and sounds like the music is good.

Yes. I have DJ'd there before and I've got friends of mine who throw parties there and what not. I also know the chef and the manager of the joint, as well as some of the bartenders.

Anyway, I don't eat sushi, but I heard it's really good. Kaku does a really good job with it, from what I understand. If you're into techno and what not, the REAL stuff, not that crap you hear on the radio, then there's all kinds of good events that go on down there.

I will say, though, that the service isn't all that sweet. The problem is the wait stuff is a bunch of "scenesters" who would rather look cool and know everybody, than provide good service. Also, the clientel is rather interesting. At any given night, you would think you stepped into a Flock of Seagulls video.

But all in all, if you're into sushi and want to check the joint out, it's definitely good to check out. Don't just go off of my opinions, i kind of know how the place runs behind the scenes, not with my manager buddy, but with the owner, so I could be a bit jaded. However, I have had plenty of fun there and will still go there for certain events. Plus, I tend to get a couple free drinks a night there, which is a positive. ;)

What do they have besides sushi? Their website (http://www.osloworld.com) is oh-so informative... NOT!

I enjoy sushi (the real stuff -- raw fish, not California rolls), but usually as a side dish along with something else (udon, a rice bowl, something warm). I tend to avoid the "sushi as a lifestyle" places in favor of "good Japanese eats" (e.g. Ajishin and Cherry Blossom in Novi, the Noble Fish places), but I enjoy techno in doses so I may give it a whirl.

There's a really cool Funk and Soul party going on Saturday night at Oslo. Todd Osborne and Brian Gillespie are going to be playing some sweet as funkd and groove records. The party is called Hook and Sling. Here's the flyer for it (yes, it's supposed to look cheesy as hell):

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cool, thanks for the heads up, bangpow. i haven't had good sushi in a while. i had a sushi fix one night and went to Krogers to pick up the sushi they have there. blech.

cool, thanks for the heads up, bangpow. i haven't had good sushi in a while. i had a sushi fix one night and went to Krogers to pick up the sushi they have there. blech.

No problem. Although, I never eat there, I usually just go to hang out in the club in the basement and drink. ;)

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sounds like my dream hangout. i looove sushi. one of the best places in the country is here where i live, so my expectations are high. (jmk nippons) next time im in detroit ill hafta check that place out, techno and sushi... what more could i want?

DAMN......looks like the place closed down before i had a chance to check it out.

http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=10006

DAMN......looks like the place closed down before i had a chance to check it out.

http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=10006

Yeah, the people they quoted, Rob and Matt, are friends of mine. Funny.

I know from first hand experience that they wrote bad checks to my work and that they didn't pay their employees. Another friend of mine used to be the manager there and when he was there, bills were getting paid because he would make damn sure that he took the money with him out of the drawer to make sure the liquor and food distributors were getting paid. He eventually quit for obvious reasons.

What's also not in the article is that most of the money went up the owners nose.