Restaurants in Southern Norway
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Bryggerhuset
This engaging little café-cum-crafts shop serves terrific coffee, bakes its own bread and offers home-made food like crepes and waffles.
reviewed
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Stangholmen Fyr Restaurant & Bar
The Skerries just offshore are a popular excursion from Risør. The southernmost island of Stangholmen, with a pretty lighthouse dating from 1855, is the most popular; this may be due in part to the fact that it’s the only one of the islands with a restaurant, Stangholmen Fyr Restaurant & Bar, which is in the lighthouse.
reviewed
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A
Måltid
Part delicatessen, part restaurant and part wine bar, this outpost of casual sophistication is terrific. The tapas idea may come from Spain, but the food is Norwegian with so many tempting plates on offer and the waiters more than happy to help choose your tapas platter. For a light lunch the pasta salad or sandwiches are good options.
reviewed
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Bølgen & Moi
The best restaurant around the fish market harbour, the supercool Bølgen & Moi does a sublime fish and shellfish soup (Nkr145) and a tasty range of fish and seafood dishes as well as set menus (from Nkr385). In summer the outdoor tables are packed and it’s a good place for a drink after the kitchen closes.
reviewed
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Castelle Bar & Restaurant
Perhaps the classiest bar/restaurant by the Pollen harbour, Castelle is a chic place and a cut above the beer-and-yobbo culture that sometimes afflicts other waterside bars in Arendal. Meals are light (sandwiches, good burgers and pasta) and most drinks are possible, from 0.5L beer (Nkr64) to cocktails (Nkr99).
reviewed
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B
Snadderkiosken
We don’t normally direct you to the fast-food kiosks that are everywhere in Norway, but Snadderkiosken is one of the best of its kind in Norway. Near the town beach, it has an extensive and great-value menu, with things such as hearty meatballs and mashed potatoes or grilled chicken with rice and salad.
reviewed
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Fiskebrygga
Possibly the nicest place in Flekkefjord for a light meal, this café-style restaurant next to the tourist office does fish and chips (Nkr99), marinated spare ribs (Nkr129), delicious cakes (Nkr39) and ice cream. It has a certain urban sense of style, which is lovely in quiet little Flekkefjord.
reviewed
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Café Det Lindvedske Hus
With its mellow atmosphere and 200-year-old décor, this lovely place does light meals (grilled sandwiches and pasta), great coffee and has the ambience of a sophisticated but casual art café. The kitchen closes at 9pm, whereafter music of the Stan Getz kind takes over. A terrific place.
reviewed
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C
Rett I Garnet
Not quite as classy as nearby Bølgen & Moi but with good food, this place next to the fish market entrance is also all about seafood, serving trout, mackerel, salmon and monkfish. It also does a terrific seafood platter (minimum two persons) for Nkr265 per person.
reviewed
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Platebaren
This highly recommended coffee bar spills out into the street in summer and is a terrific place to tuck into decent-sized snacks (baguettes, bacon and eggs etc). Even better are the milk shakes (Nkr30), while coffee lovers swear by the iced coffee with ice cream (Nkr35).
reviewed
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No.9 Kaffe & Platebar
Another classy little café, No.9 is the work of Espen Larsen, a local jazz musician who sells a range of (mostly jazz) CDs and plays them while you sip your coffee or snack on a pastry – the perfect accompaniment to a lazy Arendal afternoon.
reviewed
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Pizza Inn
This pleasant harbour-side restaurant has breezy outdoor tables to pass a summer’s afternoon or cosy booths for a winter’s evening. The service is good, as is the food. The entrecôte with salad (Nkr129) is a good deal.
reviewed
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D
Kongens Brygge
Right on the waterfront, this place has a cruisy atmosphere and a wonderful pontoon terrace open that’s in summer. The pizzas are expensive but come in quite generous proportions and are bound to fill hungry travellers.
reviewed
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Madam Reiersen
One of the better restaurants ringing the Pollen harbour, Madam Reiersen is good value for lunch, especially its seafood platter (Nkr145). Then again, we did enjoy the crisp-fried Norwegian Arctic char (Nkr225) for dinner.
reviewed
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Apotekergården
The highly recommended Apotekergården is an excellent gourmet restaurant with a breezy outdoor terrace and a cast of regulars who wouldn’t eat anywhere else. It can be difficult to get a table here in summer.
reviewed
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Café Victor
In a prime waterfront position, Café Victor is another cool choice. Apart from the antique ceiling, the décor is sleek and modern, the service friendly and the food (sandwiches and pasta) and coffee excellent.
reviewed
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Roberto Gatekjokken
A cut above most Norwegian roadside kiosks, this well-run little place offers fish and chips (Nkr45), hamburgers (Nkr41 to Nkr116), steak sandwiches (Nkr47) and taco wraps (Nkr35). Eat at the shady adjacent tables.
reviewed
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E
Major-Stuen
Another fine place in Gamlebyen, the recommended Major-Stuen has an international menu, but specialises in Norwegian dishes, including whale meat with fried onions, stewed cabbage and potatoes (Nkr225).
reviewed
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Haven Brasserie
One of the few restaurants in town that allows you to sit at a table by the water, this appealing place serves Italian-inspired dishes as well as seafood like tiger prawns, monkfish and grilled salmon.
reviewed
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Dr Nielsen’s
Any cravings for Greek salads and grilled meats will be satisfied at this place, which also does pasta, chicken and some fish dishes. Every other restaurant in Mandal does seafood and not much else.
reviewed
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Pernille Cafeteria
Right in the heart of Evje, this upstairs place is popular with locals although the menu is not Norway’s most inspirational. Expect burgers and Bolognese alongside a few Norwegian dishes.
reviewed
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F
Lille Frederik
For burgers, snacks and coffee, Lille Frederik is just the place. It’s hugely popular in summer, when snackers descend on the outdoor tables like seagulls, and queues can be long.
reviewed
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Fish Market
In summer the most atmospheric places to eat are in the small, remodelled harbour around the fish market where you’ll find the freshest and best-value seafood.
reviewed
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G
Jonas B Gundersen
At this good restaurant the menus look like vinyl records, there’s an unmistakable New Orleans jazz feel and the food includes imaginative salads and mostly Italian dishes.
reviewed
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H
Restaurant Opsahlgården & Christians Kjeller
A few doors down from Kongsberg Kirke, this fine dining restaurant is complemented by a pleasant café where lighter meals are available at the outdoor tables in summer.
reviewed
