Top Culinary Destinations in Norway
If you’ve been following last year's Travelogues series, you read all about Tonje and Douglas’ amazing summer holiday where they traveled from the south to the north of Norway. You might also have noticed that Douglas and Tonje are big food-lovers, so let's catch up with them to hear about their culinary experiences in Norway!
We thought to make a list of the best restaurants that we visited or ones we found and added to our list for next year in Norway! Last years holiday was amazing, check out the first article in our Travelogue series here.
Photo: Fjord Norge, Paul Edmundson
Stavanger
We were so hungry after the adventurous RIB trip on the Lysefjord, that we went to the nearest food stall. On the pier in Stavanger, there are a number of food stalls that sell street food from around the world. We got there at closing time and there were many stalls with long lines, and only a couple of stalls without a queue. Top tip, follow the lines! We ended up with a soggy baked potato that went almost straight in the trash for the seagulls to fight over. The toppings were tasty at least, but the potato not so much.
Had we had a little more time here, the restaurant RE-NAA with two stars in the Michelin guide (2020), is high on our wish list. Here you can stop by for a quick bite to eat, or enjoy an entire evening in beautiful surroundings at Eilert Smith Hotel.
Photo: Joar Aga
Hardangerfjord
In Hardanger, you will find some amazing culinary experiences. Fill your bellies with a traditional rustic stew made in the storm kitchen before you go on the boat that takes you over to Aga. Here we went on a Cider Safari with Fjord Tours to Aga Sideri sampling local cheeses and cider for an extremely fun day out. Check out all the exciting food and cider producers in Hardanger!
Photo: Jon Hunnålvatn Tøn
Voss
Hangurstoppen Restaurant on the top of Voss Gondola is a huge restaurant. With an incredible view over Voss and the surrounding area, we ate the most delicious, sticky barbecue ribs. The menu is packed with homemade meals, based on local ingredients from several farms in and around Voss. Due to the high focus on local ingredients, the menu changes almost every day. Highly recommended!
Flåm
After a trip up to the incredibly beautiful viewpoint at Stegastein, we went straight to Flåm bakery on the pier (in the yellow building, it can’t be missed) and bought what seemed like the whole store because we were so hungry. Pizza, pastries, and cakes brought our sugar levels up and boosted our energy. The sun was so hot this day that we passed out on the boardwalk after our feast for a late afternoon snooze.
Photo: Tonje Brattås
Jostedalen
The night before our glacier hike on Nigardsbreen, we stayed in a pretty little campsite far away from restaurants. We bought a one time grill and grilled hot dogs with wine in our plastic tour cups and candles on the doorstep of our cabin for the night while passersby told us how cozy it looked.
Fjærland
Fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Nothing can compete with freshly fried fish that we caught ourselves while swimming and fishing in the fjord. In Fjærland we made our own culinary restaurant on the rocks beside our favorite fjord of the whole trip.
We also visited the local book café, Kaffistova, and ate ice cream and drank coffee in the sun on the harbor with the most beautiful cafe-view we have ever seen.
Photo: Espen Haagesen/HovenLoen
Loen
When we were going to Loen it was sadly overfilled with Norwegian tourists (Loen was the number one destination for Norwegians last summer!) so we just had to drive through Loen. But we were planning on going to Hoven restaurant on the top of Loen Skylift. We will definitely go back next summer when things should be quieter!
Kristiansund
Bryggekanten Restaurant in Kristiansund is highly recommended. Here you can taste the best klippfisk (dried, cured, fish) probably in the whole world. But remember to book in advance, we sadly forgot, and had to find another restaurant. There are many good restaurants in Kristiansund, either you want sushi, Chinese or fish and chips. And being on a fish diet like Douglas and myself, we chose the fish and chips.
Photo: Matti Bernitz
Åndalsnes
We got a tip from our Guide on the Via Ferrata trip that the restaurant Bakgården Thai had super tasty food. Sadly that was closed when we got down from the mountain with sore legs, so our only option was to throw down two hot dogs from a gas station instead. Although we would typically feel differently about gas station hot dogs, at that moment, they were the best we have ever tasted.
Hurtigruten
With an all-inclusive ticket onboard Hurtigruten, we got served a three-course dinner both nights. Some of the dishes were better than others, so we would maybe consider a la carte another time. On the last day we had a pizza in the ala-carte restaurant which was super tasty!
They also served king crab, and you could say hello to the huge living crabs before it got cooked. We also enjoyed the bakery at the top floor a lot, but food on Hurtigruten is on the expensive side, so bringing some extra snacks is not a bad idea.
Photo: Thomas Rasmus Skaug
Lofoten
When in the fisherman’s paradise, there are more fish on the menu, both at the restaurants and when cooking at home, and we wish we would have time to visit Børsen Spiseri in Svolvær. For lunch, we ate a really tasty pizza at popular Trevarefabrikken and drank a fluffy cappuccino in Klatrekafeen in Henningsvær.
Norway is maybe not known for its food, but the country definitely hosts a huge amount of some of the best culinary experiences you can find from around the world. Many of them are placed in the capital of Norway, Oslo.
- Check out this article: Oslo for Foodies