Bab Touma is a Syrian restaurant and bar on Grunerlokka, run by a married couple who took over the premises of Bakgarden pa Lokka and opened in September 2025. The name belongs to a quarter of Damascus known for its food and its nightlife, and there is a mural of that quarter on the wall. The courtyard the previous place was named for is still there, and the bar calls it the cosiest backyard on Grunerlokka.
The kitchen works from family recipes. Mezze, fatayer, main dishes and desserts, with a bar list alongside them.
The queer side of the place is the evening programme: drag brunches, Arabian nights, belly dancing, music bingo, quizzes, karaoke, stand-up and DJs drawn from Oslo's queer community. The room is also lent out for private events at no charge. It was launched properly as a queer venue in January 2026, at a point when several of the city's queer bars had shut, and the opening night drew a crowd that was largely queer and largely of colour.
