These Were Our 7 Favourite Places To Eat & Drink In Bergen, Norway

Bergen, the beautiful, historic port town commonly referred to as the ‘gateway to the fjords’ is perfect for a Norwegian city break, combining historical buildings, lots of nature, a vibrant nightlife (only if you’re into that sort of thing!) and most importantly lots of excellent Norwegian food! Ahead of my full Bergen guide, here were our 7 favourite places to eat and drink in Bergen!

Local Seafood at Fjellskål in the Fish Market

Located on the harbour, Fjellskål is one of two restaurants inside Bergen’s fish market and the somewhat fancier one – Fish! located near the entrance is more casual and sushi inclined. Whilst it was not cheap by any means (Bergen, like the rest of Norway is a rather expensive destination to eat out so do budget tis into your travel plans!) I can highly recommend it for some of the freshest seafood you’ve ever tasted. Whilst we walked in for late lunches during the off-season, if you visit near Christmas, during the summer, or on a Saturday night I’d book in advance.

We went there for lunch twice: first fresh off the plane where J had a lovely plate of traditional pan-seared cod served with boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, smoked bacon lardons and a creamy white wine sauce, and where I went straight in there with the bigger of the two Norwegian prawn platters. They were do wonderfully sweet and fresh the provided lemon and mayonnaise would have ruined them; if you’re used to eating these prawns in the UK you would have tried them frozen then defrosted – it turns out I’d not realised they were losing 25% of their flavour in the progress!

For our second lunch we’d managed to get rather cold (it was -5C to -8C for most of our February trip!) so we gradually thawed under the heaters in their wonderful glass dining room overlooking the harbour and the historic Bryggen buildings with big bowls of soup: the vegetable soup of the day was tasty, but their slightly fancier version of Norwegian Fish Soup with chunks of white fish, salmon, leeks and carrots is the one to go for. Actually, the main course portion was far too big, so go for the starter sizes and don’t make our mistake!

Hot Dogs on Kong Oscars Gate

One place you can get a fabulous cheap eat in Bergen is the late night city staple: the hot dog stand on Kong Oscars Gate (find it at the end of the road nearest the Starbucks and the harbour!) I had the same first time I visited late at night and two days later it was so good, the classic reindeer hot dog (pictured left) topped with lingonberry sauce, spicy mustard and crispy onions. Juicy, juniper-spiced meat I adored, though also good was the game hot dog, topped with crispy onions, spicy mustard and ‘game sauce’ Whilst we did not partake, the stand also offers a cup of free lemonade with each hot dog!

Steaks at KöD

Whilst we love trying local flavours, we do have a habit of hunting down a good steakhouse in European cities (well, Norway is not technically in Europe, but you know what I mean!) as aside from the main meat and chips combination, you usually get more fun sides and starters than we do at home. KöD turned out to be a real winner.

After good cocktails, some tasty ground beef mini tacos and an exceptional steak tartare we shared a delicious, perfectly cooked rib eye, herby chips, blistered padron peppers with a jalapeno sauce, and an exceptional bearnaise sauce so thick you could stand your spoon up in it. Again, this is another one I’d book a table at during the tourist season or on a Saturday night (we just walked into a half full restaurant on a Sunday night).

Norwegian Meatballs and Cloudberry Pavlova at Bryggeloftet

If you’re looking for hearty, home-style Norwegian food that the locals actually go and eat that is actually rather affordable eating-out-in-Norway-wise, you need to book (no, really we failed to get a table on the Saturday night we tried without a booking!) at Bryggeloftet. Bergen’s oldest restaurant has been run by the same family since 1910 and you can’t go wrong with a glass of their house wine and a big plateful of Norwegian meatballs, served over mash with root vegetables, fried kale and a generous pot of lingonberry sauce. A bit like Swedish meatballs but much bigger, very tender and quite heavy on the white pepper, they come instead in a rich gravy. For dessert, share (it is quite big!) the cloudberry pavlova as the perfect way to enjoy this unusual local berry, soaked in their own liquor.

Traditional Norwegian Flavours at Bryggen Tracteursted

I think our favourite meal was at Bryggen Tracteursted, at the back of the famous Bryggen area on the harbour. They serve traditional Norwegian flavours with modern preparations, and you can choose between getting lots of small plates to share (or enjoy a combination of by yourself!) or use them in the traditional starter / mains / desserts format.

Pictured we have a simply stunning reindeer tartare with roast beetroot, egg yolk and brown bread (seriously, get this), cured lamb (tasted just like roast lamb in salami form) with pickled cauliflower and celery, and fermented cherry tomatoes from the small plates menu (the sweet herring is also just visible in the background!), and a frankly incredible piece of pan-roasted pollock on a bed of caramelised leeks, topped with caramelised onions from the main courses – with buttered potatoes on the side. Such an unusual pairing, but it really really worked!

For dessert, a Norwegian brown cheese (it is not quite cheese, more like a slightly sweet caramelised dairy product with the texture of cheese) tart with raspberry compote and freeze dried raspberries which was simply lovely, and much better than eating brown cheese plain.

Local Pilsner at the top of Mount Fløyen

Something not to miss visiting Bergen is the funicular ride to the view point on Mount Fløyen. There are lots of excellent walks and hikes up there, as well as of course a stunning view over Bergen. The reason I’m mentioning this in a food and drink guide is because there is also an excellent-looking restaurant up there as well as a fantastic bar be enjoyed in inside (where if you get there early for a window seat you can watch the sunset) or outside (wrapped in their provided blankets and sheepskins!) – get pints (they’re not what we measure pints as, but the bartender confirmed to me you ask for a pint in Norway) and take in the view!

Troika from the newsagents

After picking one up at the airport I fell in love with Troika, an indulgent Norwegian chocolate bar that is layers of raspberry jelly, marzipan and chocolate truffle encased in a thin dark chocolate coating. Whilst it sounds rather sweet, Norwegian chocolate is a lot less sweet than British chocolate bars, so these totally hit the spot. You don’t want to know how many I purchased at the airport on the way home…!!!

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