Waiter preparing table with view under the sea in the background
Photo by Ivar Kvaal | Visit Norway

4 min read

Published 26. March 2025

By Fjord Travel Norway

Hungry for something surprisingly tasty? Take a big bite of Norway

From star-studded chefs to bold new takes on old traditions – Norway’s culinary scene is officially worth travelling for.

According to an old saying, Norwegians are born with skis on their feet.

While that might be a bit of a stretch – imagine the delivery room logistics! – it captures how the world has long viewed Norway: as a land of snow, mountains and sporty types gliding around like it’s no big deal.

A natural wonderland? Absolutely. A gourmet hotspot? Less so.

But here’s the plot twist: Norway has quietly elbowed its way into the global culinary scene. What on earth happened?

Let’s dig into the five tasty reasons why Norway deserves a spot on your foodie bucket list.

1. Norway is a young, but hungry food nation

To be honest, Norwegians are late bloomers when it comes to food. But there’s an explanation to that, and it’s rooted in our long history as farmers and fishermen. 

For thousands of years, Norway’s food traditions were driven by necessity – harsh winters and limited resources meant food was primarily about sustenance. Preservation methods like drying, fermenting, and curing were essential for survival. 

In other words: taste was never our main focus. Which made for a pretty bland and unremarkable diet. 

Photo by Thomas Rasmus Skaug | Visit Norway

boiled and split sheep's head on the plate

In the last few decades, however, we’ve embraced our culinary heritage while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of fine dining, as a part of the New Nordic Cuisine movement. 

Fast forward a few decades, and we’ve gone from “just edible” to “just incredible.” As part of the New Nordic Cuisine movement, we’ve started embracing our roots while turning tradition on its head.

Which takes us to the next point – our rich and varied food sources.

Photo by RE-NAA | Henriette Heimdal

Reindeer and milkbreak at RE-NAA

2. It’s all about killer ingredients

Before Norway turned into a modern nation, the long coastline was our primary livelihood – both in terms of providing us with food and turning us into a trade nation. 

While seafood remains one of the major Norwegian exports, the fruit of our cold, clean waters – so fresh it practically swims to your plate – is an essential part of the menus of our top restaurants. Delicious Atlantic cod (“skrei”), salmon, trout and the mighty king crab are among the stars on the menus of the top Norwegian restaurants. 

Catching skrei is an important part of the culture in Lofoten, join us and catch your own fish.

Photo by Fredrik Ahlsen | Visit Norway

fisherman gutting and cleaning a cod

Of course, there’s more to Norwegian gastronomy than seafood, which is at its finest in the winter. All of our delicacies are to some extent dictated by the seasons, which change dramatically throughout the year. 

Autumn is a season characterized by tasty, rich flavours where game, mushrooms and berries are some of the main players, while spring offers lighter pleasures – lamb, asparagus, wild garlic and fresh potatoes are mouth-watering staples of the season. Summer, on the other hand, is the time for wild berries, sour cream porridge with cured meats and outdoor cooking.

Photo by Statholdergaarden

Fine dining from Statholdergaarden

3. The most-winning nation in the world chef championship Bocuse D’or? Take a wild guess

Crazy, but true: Norwegian chefs have dominated the prestigious Bocuse d’Or competition, named after the legendary French chef Paul Bocuse – and still do. Since 1991, Norway has consistently placed among the top contenders, with multiple gold, silver, and bronze medals. Not bad for a nation better known for snowboarding than soufflés.

Most of the gold medalists are present on the Norwegian food scene. Bent Stiansen, who won the first Scandinavian gold medal in 1993, has been defending his Michelin star at the gourmet restaurant Statholdergaarden in Oslo since 1998.

Photo by Statholdergaarden

Staff at Statholdergaarden.

Geir Skeie runs the fish restaurant Brygga 11 in Sandefjord, while Charles Tjessem’s Villa Skeiene is found in a picturesque parsonage in Sandnes, Western Norway. Ørjan Johannessen has returned to his Western roots as well, embracing island gastronomy at the restaurant Mirabelle south of Bergen. All three restaurants are worth a detour!  

As recent as in 2025, Håvard Werkland, the assistant chef at the Michelin-starred restaurant Speilsalen in Trondheim, won the award for best Theme on Plate with a dish consisting of eagle fish and lobster, accompanied by ingredients such as celery root, truffle seaweed, celery and fennel. Yum!

In the kitchen at Britannia Hotel - Trondheim.
Photo by Maverix | Visit Norway

Chef in the kitchen at Britannia Hotel

4. Luxury dining experiences across the country

Although the first Michelin guide was published way back in 1900, it took 84 years for the first Norwegian restaurant to earn a star. Did we mention we’re late bloomers? 

At the time of writing, there are 20 Michelin-starred restaurants in Norway. 11 of them are found in Oslo, including the three-star gourmet heaven Maaemo, which is probably the country’s most famous restaurant (the other three-star restaurant is Re-Naa in Stavanger).  

But Michelin restaurants are found from all the way south in Lindesnes, home of the stunning underwater restaurant Under, to Trondheim in the north, where you’ll find Fagn and the aforementioned Speilsalen).

Photo of restaurant Under | Photo by Ivar Kvaal | Visit Norway

Waiter preparing table with view under the sea in the background

For an experience way off the beaten track, restaurant Iris is the place to go – it’s located inside the art installation Salmon Eye in the middle of the Hardangerfjord. A bit like eating dinner inside a science fiction movie – but with better wine.   

There’s obviously a certain focus on contemporary Nordic cuisine in many of these restaurants, but there’s also room for other impulses. Sabi Omakase, located in both Oslo and Stavanger, offers an authentic Japanese experience with local seafood.


The Oslo restaurants À L’aise and Bar Amour celebrate French and Portuguese cuisine respectively, and will probably make you scream “délicieux!” and “delicioso!” out loudly and happily.

For those seeking the pinnacle of sustainable fine dining, Kontrast in Oslo balances its two Michelin stars with the prestigious MICHELIN Green Star, crafting innovative seasonal menus that showcase the pristine ingredients from Norway's fjords, forests and farmlands.

Photo of Salmon Eye - Restaurant Iris | Tobias Lamberg Torjusen

Sunset behind Salmon Eye in the Hardangerfjord

5. Adventurous visitors are rewarded with unique flavors

Some dishes, traditions and tastes are only found in Norway, and many of them are rooted in the preservation techniques mentioned earlier, like drying, curing and fermentation. Some of them might seem weird, but as with all things, the will to try out new things has a tendency to pay off.  

If you’re really, really, really brave, you’ll try smalahove – the traditional Western Norwegian dish that literally gives you the evil eye. It consists of a sheep’s head, boiled or steamed, and typically served with rutabaga mash and potatoes. The best part, according to the smalahove fans, is the eyes and the tongue. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Photo by Thomas Rasmus Skaug | Visit Norway

father and daughter in smoking loft with smalahove

A bit further on the more conventional side of the scale are the fish classics lutefisk, rakfisk, tørrfisk and klippfisk – the two latter are variations of dried cod, with tørrfisk being unsalted and hung for drying in the wind and the rain outside. 

Rakfisk is fermented freshwater fish served raw with flatbread, sour cream, potatoes and onions around Christmas, which is also the season of lutefisk – dried fish that soaks in lye until it transforms into something halfway between fish and jelly, and served with bacon and peas.

Photo of tørrfisk - by Fredrik Ahlsen | Visit Norway

Stockfish rack in Lofoten

After these somewhat intense taste experiences, you’ve surely earned the right to enjoy something sweet and uncomplicated, right? 

Enter brunost, our beloved brown cheese. Made by boiling whey until it caramelizes, it’s sweet, sticky and weirdly addictive. We slap it on crispbread, waffles, bread – honestly, anything with a surface.

One bite, and you’ll get it. Resistance is futile.

Photo by Maverix Media

Waffles with brown cheese

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