Fuglen Oslo has been named the world’s best coffee shop by the British magazine Monocle, placing the Norwegian café brand at the top of a global list focused on coffee, design and community. Founded in the Norwegian capital in 1963, Fuglen has grown from a local Oslo institution into an international brand with cafés across Asia.
Fuglen Oslo tops a global coffee ranking
The ranking, published by Monocle as part of its June issue, lists 25 of the world’s best coffee shops run by “next-generation owners”. Fuglen takes first place, ahead of cafés from several other countries, with the magazine describing the Norwegian brand as a “cross-continental champion”.
The recognition highlights how Oslo’s coffee culture has become part of a broader international conversation around specialty coffee. Norway is often associated with light roasts, careful sourcing and minimalist café design, and Fuglen has played a visible role in bringing that profile abroad.
According to Monocle, Fuglen stands out not only for its coffee, but also for its business model. The magazine points to the brand’s combination of quality coffee, design awareness and a strong sense of place, elements that have helped it expand without losing its original identity.
From a 1963 Oslo café to an Asian coffee brand
Fuglen was founded in Oslo in 1963 and remains closely linked to the city’s café and design scene. The brand currently has two cafés in Oslo and has built much of its international growth outside the traditional Western coffee capitals.
Under owner Einar Kleppe Holthe, who bought the business in 2008, Fuglen chose a different route from many European café brands. Instead of focusing first on large cities in Europe or North America, it expanded into Asia.
The first overseas Fuglen opened in Tokyo in 2012. Since then, the brand has opened cafés in Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, including locations in Tokyo, Seoul, Kyoto and Bali. New openings in Fukuoka and Bali followed this year, while the brand also expanded in Kyoto and Seoul last year.
This strategy has helped Fuglen position itself as both a Norwegian coffee brand and an international design-led café concept. Its success reflects the appeal of Nordic coffee culture in markets where craft, atmosphere and interior design are central to the café experience.
A Nordic coffee model based on values and design
Fuglen’s rise also shows how small Nordic brands can grow internationally without adopting the scale-first logic of large coffee chains. The company’s image is built around specialty coffee, vintage Scandinavian furniture, careful interiors and a slower café culture.
“We’re showing that you can build a very good business, based on values, that doesn’t only think about profits,” Holthe told Monocle.
The quote captures the way Fuglen presents itself: as a business where commercial growth is tied to cultural identity, quality and long-term relationships. That model fits a wider Nordic branding pattern, where international recognition often comes from the combination of design, trust, sustainability and understated communication.
For Oslo, the ranking is also a soft-power success. Coffee shops are increasingly part of how cities are perceived abroad, especially by younger travellers, remote workers and design-conscious consumers. Fuglen’s recognition gives the Norwegian capital a stronger place in the global specialty coffee map.
Oslo’s coffee scene gains international visibility
The Monocle ranking does not make Fuglen the world’s best coffee shop in an objective or technical sense. It is an editorial selection, shaped by the magazine’s interest in design, entrepreneurship and urban culture. Still, the recognition matters because it places an Oslo-born brand at the centre of a global lifestyle and business trend.
Fuglen’s story is also a reminder that Nordic influence abroad does not only travel through politics, welfare models or green technology. It also moves through everyday spaces such as cafés, bakeries, restaurants and design stores.
From its original Oslo base to cafés in Tokyo, Seoul, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Bali, Fuglen has turned a local coffee shop into an international brand while keeping its Norwegian identity visible. For Norway and the wider Nordic region, that makes the ranking more than a lifestyle note: it is a small but telling example of how Nordic urban culture continues to find audiences far beyond Europe.
