24 Best Restaurants in Bergen, Norway

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.

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.

In a 300-year-old building on the wharf, it's no surprise that the charming To Kokker has crooked floors and off-kilter molding. Ranked among Bergen's best restaurants, it serves excellent seafood and game prepared the traditional way with a contemporary twist. The menu---think fillet of venison with blackberry sauce---changes with the season and is always based on seasonal produce.

The elegant but spare mirrored dining room at this local favorite puts all the emphasis where it should be: on the creative dishes coming out of the kitchen. And you'll get to sample quite a few of them, depending on whether you opt for the "half menu" consisting of 7 courses or go all the way with an 11-course extravaganza. These traditional recipes are works of art, thoughtfully conceived and brilliantly presented. Bare has one Michelin star!

Hearty Norwegian country fare suits the cozy dining room, which has a handsome fireplace, oil paintings depicting the city's maritime past, and wooden display cases filled with model ships and other artifacts. A reindeer fillet in a cream sauce comes highly recommended, as do the monkfish and the venison. Dining here on lutefisk or pinnekjøtt in the holiday season (mid-November to Christmas) is a time-honored tradition for many Bergensers, and tables for this time period are booked as early as the January before.

A classic, this eatery sits in a pretty clapboard across from the National Theater. During the day it's the place to grab a bowl of fish soup for lunch or more substantial fare like panfried salmon for dinner. It becomes more of a bar later in the evenings, and can get crowded on the weekend.

Located in Bergen's bustling fish market, this eatery takes advantage of the fresh seafood in icy display cases not far from your table. In warm weather, the umbrella-shaded terrace is the place to be, and the best seating is at the tables is located in the two glass cubes with unobstructed views across to Bryggen. The kitchen has a strong focus on sustainability and uses only local suppliers who share that philosophy.

This popular organic bakery makes scrumptious cinnamon rolls (several different kinds) and delicious open-faced sandwiches to order.

In a former sardine factory, Kafe Kippers specializes in seafood dishes like arctic char with artichoke, radish, and dill or steamed mussels with herbs and garlic. This large outdoor café on the waterfront is a pleasant stop for lunch or at sunset when you can warm up with a cozy wool blanket and enjoy a spectacular view of the North Sea.

With a view of the Lille Lungegårdsvann Lake, this longtime favorite offers delicious, authentic Thai dishes---some, like chicken soup with lemongrass, that you already know, and others, like steamed mussels in a pineapple sauce, that you might be meeting for the first time. There's an unusually wide range of vegetarian dishes.

Kulturhuset is a hub for music, art, design, architecture and food. The restaurant's main focus is being green and sustainable, and it offers a wide range of vegetarian and vegan dishes, but also serves meat and fish. 

The casual, uncomplicated dining room at Marg & Bein is just a taste of what you're going to experience: a meal where the dishes are simple and straightforward. The kitchen here focuses on keeping the old food traditions alive and utilizing all parts of the animal, like the cheek and the marrow. The menu changes week to week, and sometimes even more often when the chefs are inspired.

At the end of Torgalmenningen, the massive square where everyone in town seems to meet, this is the kind of place where you should ask for a table by the window or in the glassed-in terrace so you can people-watch. Using the best local ingredients, the kitchen is inspired by cuisines from around the world. On the weekend, the restaurant transforms into a club after the last meals have been served.

The city's most popular Japanese restaurant---the name means "fresh and raw" in Japanese---has garnered enthusiastic good reviews for its izakaya (traditional pub) atmosphere, its robatayaki (barbecue) dishes, and, of course, its wide array of sushi. On one of the smaller streets just behind Bryggen, it's stylishly decorated and has huge windows that let in lots of light.

A couple of café tables on the sidewalk draw you to this storefront eatery, which is just as appealing on the inside, thanks to exposed brick walls and wide-plank wood floors. The menu is casual fare, including sandwiches and salads.

Serving authentic Chinese fare, this restaurant encourages guests to dine family-style and enjoy a wide range of dishes. Asian architectural flourishes mix well with the modern Scandinavian design.

An authentic Spanish gastronomic experience with seafood, cheese, cured cold-cuts, and pintxos. Cozy seating area spread over two floors in the vibrant street Skostredet.

The moment you step inside this authentic trattoria, the sweet and smoky smell of wood-fired pizza fills your nostrils. The homemade pasta dishes are also a specialty. The rustic interior of the dining room is a refuge on chilly evenings, but when the weather is warm you'll want to eat in the alley under umbrellas the colors of the Italian flag.

Housed in an 18th-century wine cellar, this atmospheric restaurant is known for its convivial atmosphere and unpretentious, authentic Norwegian fare. This is a good place to try reindeer steak or whale carpaccio. In the evening you're likely to spot local authors, actors, and musicians meeting over a glass of beer.