152 Best Restaurants in Norway

This chic, modern café-restaurant is popular for its sunny terrace and straightforward food that always hits the mark—think juicy marinated jumbo shrimp, lobster soup, and a large selection of pizzas served hot from a wood-fired oven. It's an equally good stop for lunch, dinner, or an afternoon coffee with a delicious dessert.

As its name suggests, this wine bar is straight out of Paris: the long white aprons on the waiters, the Art Nouveau flourishes in the dining room, the old French posters on the walls, and the closely packed tables all add to the illusion. The sumptuous menu includes the classics: steak tartare, entrecôte, and duck confit. There is also, in true Gallic style, a strong wine list. Built on levels, from the cellar to the third floor, each section has a distinctive ambience. Popular with the after-theater crowd, the restaurant's kitchen offers a full menu until 10:30 pm on weekdays. Reservations are a good idea.

Being one of the best restaurants in Geiranger may not seem such a feat (there's only a handful), but this place distinguishes itself with a stunning fjordside setting and excellent, no-nonsense cuisine that capitalizes on the area's abundant fresh, local seafood, artisanal cheeses, wild game, and produce, not to mention a huge selection of local beers.

The catch of the day often dictates the menu here, but crispy cod tongue is always available. For less adventurous eaters, there's also a variety of pasta dishes. The homemade waffles with chocolate have been made from the same recipe since 1959. There's an amazing patio where you can look out over the water.

Near the famous Holmenkollen ski jump, in the historic and recently renovated Scandic Holmenkollen Park Hotel, this highly regarded restaurant serves first-rate food in a grand setting, with stunning views over Oslo. Modern Nordic and international dishes blend classic ingredients with more exotic ones. The restaurant's famous tasting menu comprises dishes made with ingredients from small-scale Norwegian farmers and local food purveyors.

This restaurant, one of the best seafood restaurants in town, is named after the unicorn that adorns the doorway of the old wooden building in which it is housed. It may look old-fashioned, but there's nothing medieval about Enhjørningen's menu—it's contemporary Norwegian and it changes according to the day's catch.

Looking for all the world like a traditional chalet, thanks to the massive beams and honey-color wood floors, you'll feel the Scandinavian hygge (coziness) as soon as you walk inside. The restaurant focuses on fresh local ingredients while encouraging creativity among its chefs. This makes for an exciting menu where traditional flavors meet unusual cooking techniques.

If you're in Oslo for just one night and want an authentic dining experience, head to the city's oldest restaurant—housed in Oslo's first town hall, a building that dates from 1641. It is known for its traditional fish and game dishes that take full advantage of the city's access to the best seasonal produce. An absolute must, if you're lucky enough to be visiting in December, is the house specialty, the lutefisk. Reserve well in advance for the julebord (pre-Christmas) season.

You'll feel right at home in this lovely restaurant in an elegant 200-year-old log farmhouse three miles from Brønnøysund, and its equally beautiful garden. Along with the wood-paneled, tapestry covered dining room, the Angel Lounge's cozy chairs are perfect for enjoying coffee and dessert, and the Aquavit Bar invites you to sip a glass of wine at your leisure. Traditional gourmet fare is lovingly prepared with herbs and produce from a charming kitchen garden, which you are encouraged to enjoy while touring the beautifully landscaped grounds. In summer (mid-June to mid-August) you can enjoy lunch or teatime in the garden café. The restaurant encourages diners to call ahead with any special dietary requests and is especially welcoming to children.

At the top of Loen Skylift, this strikingly modern restaurant is perched off the edge of a cliff. On one side of the dining room is an entire wall of glass, so every table has a spectacular view. Expect Nordic dishes with the freshest local ingredients and a warm atmosphere.

A Trondheim institution and award-winning gastronomic dining room near the water, where you'll find all the best organic produce from farms around Trondelag in traditional Indian dishes, from tandoori to masalas to biryanis and dopiazas. As a nod to Northern Norway and Sámi culture, there's the notorious jahangiri with Røros reindeer.

This eatery doesn't just put you close to the water---it's actually floating just off the dock, providing views in nearly every direction. Decorated in maritime style, it has windows that can be rolled up to let you enjoy the summer breezes. The food is Italian, but with a definitely Norwegian touch. Some days they light up the grill and treat you to an open-air barbecue.

This waterfront restaurant, café, and bar in a pretty white clapboard house is a good bet for consistently well-prepared dishes and high-quality dining. The cozy restaurant focuses on a more sophisticated cuisine, and the offerings may include crayfish gazpacho and veal entrecôte on its prix-fixe menu. The café on the lower level is great for food that is less formal but equally good: imaginative salads and sandwiches, and their famous hamburgers. A waterfront view can be had from the lovely outdoor terrace.

With an artful location in the KODE 4 museum and next to the Grieghallen concert hall, Lysverket offers New Nordic cuisine that makes clever use of seasonal, local ingredients in dishes like roasted redfish with grilled lettuce or king crab with nasturtium puree. The restaurant only offers a 10-course tasting menu, and has one Michelin star. The spare dining room is the best of Scandinavian design, making a meal here a pleasure for both the eyes and the mouth.

Norwegian emigrants waited here before boarding steamships crossing the ocean to North America 150 years ago. The historic wharf house is now a popular waterfront restaurant and bar that was renovated in 2020 with the emigrant history still on its walls---and ceiling. At street level there is an informal brasserie where you can get barbecue spareribs. Upstairs is the elegant and more expensive Annen Etage dining room, with prix-fixe menus that change weekly and may include such entrées as grilled steak with garlic, or bouillabaisse with crayfish, halibut, and mussels.

In a picturesque white clapboard house that was Geiranger's first grocery store, this restaurant is a popular choice for sophisticated, modern fare. A bright, cozy dining room on the second floor focuses on small plates with an emphasis on local veggies, seafood, and meats: wild poached salmon with parsley butter, scallops, and cauliflower purée; venison medallions with bacon and buttered beets. In mild weather the terrace is a lovely place to dine, and there's live music on weekends.

Europe's first underwater restaurant, Under sits well below sea level, with a massive wall of glass that gives you a look into the icy waters of the North Sea. It's an architectural and engineering marvel, looking like a modern building tipping gently into the ocean and connected to onshore rocks by a bridge. The seafood here is among the best that Norway has to offer. The price is for an 18-course set menu focusing on seafood.

Sunny with a wow-factor and scrumptious. Don't sleep on this institution. Owner Lars Jon Amundsen converted an old soap factory into "the sunny side" back in 1993 after running award-winning shellfish festivals and sushi bars, and inspired by everywhere from Californian coastal gems to Parisian bistros. With its high ceiling and huge windows facing the sunny side of the capital, this summer-only seafood restaurant is housed in a former warehouse right by the harbor.

Here, it's an open-to-all, smart-casual affair where you'll see families, dates, and celebrities tucking into shellfish side by side. Follow the lead of the many locals who call this their favorite spot and indulge yourself with a plateau de fruits de mer (seafood platter, the house specialty) or opt for one of the other longtime favorites like the turbot with horseradish puree, the king crab au gratin, or the vegetarian-friendly salt-baked celeriac with walnuts.

In typical Oslo fashion the dining room isn't at all showy, allowing the seafood to shine. There are two sittings after 6:30, and the place is open May through September (closed Sunday) only making it all the more special.

For all the hyped natural wine bar-cum-bistros that now characterize casual-elegant, fun modern boozy dining in all major cities, there's one that sets the benchmark. In Trondheim (world-class chefs now flock/return to set up kitchens that feast on the land's fruits), Spontan is that one. Now in a much larger space, housing provocative art, open kitchen and visible wine cellar, this restaurant serves beguilingly fresh small plates that burst with color and character: char, scallop, chicken liver mousse, king crab.

Most dishes (note the cute, bric-a-brac pantry-like glass and earthenware) are served as melt-in-the-mouth bites, with radical accents and meticulously paired pours to compliment. Summer-in-a-bowl raspberries with milk ice cream and Comtè-filled petit-fours will leave you sounding off to fellow winer-diners around the world about this spontaneous find on a cobbled old street near the water.

A significant but worth it NKr 1,100 for the full tasting menu, NKr 875 for the generous wine pairing---with a smaller but just as robust and beautiful menu available for NKr 600/NKr 585 and bar snacks if you're just here for drinks.