You can eat lots of good food in Norway on a budget. Norway has a reputation for having very expensive food. However, in Norway they don’t tip (servers get paid a living wage) and the tax is already in the price so what you see listed on the menu is all you will pay. With recent inflation in America, except for our meal at the hotel and one special meal in Flam, I don’t think we spent any more than we would eating out in America for equivalent food. There is sticker shock when you first see a sandwich on the menu for $14 but remember that will be your total. We often got ethnic foods like Indian or Middle Eastern and our totals were always under $40 for both of us. Most days we spent less than a $100 for both of us on 3 meals out, sometimes with drinks and at least one cappuccino break.
Incredible Hot Dogs at Convenience Stores
A wonderful way to have affordable food in Norway is to visit a convenience store and have one of their amazing extra long hot dogs/sausages. I was obsessed! You can get one with many topping options for only around $2.50. Their ketchup and mustard are both a bit sweeter than what we have in America and they have mayo as an option. You can also top them with onions, potato salad, something pink that we didn’t try and that didn’t translate, and fried onions. My favorite was lots of mustard, a little ketchup, and the fried onions. A great inexpensive lunch or breakfast.
Grocery Stores in Norway
I always like exploring grocery stores in other countries. It’s fun to see the regional specialties and what foods are prominent. We ended up only doing breakfast in our Airbnbs but you could cook a dinner for much less than going out to eat if you wanted to save money. For breakfast we bought high quality eggs, a fresh loaf of bread, jam, coffee, and half and half and only spent $20. It lasted for 3 breakfasts and we had some left over. You could easily buy sandwich fixings, chips, and fruit even if you are staying in a hotel for less than a lunch out.
You can only buy beer or cider under 5% at grocery stores. Convenience stores don’t sell any alcohol. All wine, higher octane beer and spirits are sold in state sponsored stores. We never visited one so I’m not sure about prices. We had a layover in London on our way to Oslo and bought a bottle of Jack Daniels at the duty free which lasted us the whole trip. In restaurants drinks were about 25% more on the menu. Taking in tax and tip again though, it probably works out to be fairly equivalent to what you pay in America.
Viking Themed Pub in Flam
When you do “Norway in a Nutshell” and spend the night in Flam, eat at Aegir BrewPub. Like much of Flam, it is 100% for tourists. However, we had a great time embracing the viking theme and enjoying the onsite brews and fantastic food. We shared the fish soup which ranks up there with the best soup I’ve ever had – tomato and coconut based with mussels and tender pieces of local fish. Jim had the pork shoulder that melted in your mouth. I had roasted root veggies on hummus with the side of pulled lamb and flat bread – very flavorful and so much of it. I had it for lunch the next day too. They not only brew beer but also distilled gin. Their organic gin was amazing.
Food in Oslo
The Mathallen food hall in Oslo is worth a visit. There are a variety of affordable options including: Norwegian, Asian, American, Italian, French, and even Hungarian. With a central bar and open tables, it’s like Ponce City Market in Atlanta for those who are familiar.
Don’t eat at Punjab Tandoori in Oslo. It is mentioned in multiple guide books and Trip Advisor but I found the food mediocre at best. Our clothes also smelt like onions all day.
Food in Bergen
I loved Daily Pot in Bergen. It’s basically a bowl restaurant with soups, bowls, and sandwiches in different sizes with different topping options. I had the medium red coconut soup with mushrooms, feta, and pickled onions (which were really strong – I don’t recommend those). Jim had the small meat soup with mushrooms. The food was healthy, filling, and warmed us up on a freezing day all for less than $25.
Waffles (more like crepes) with brown cheese and butter are very popular. The brown cheese is technically not cheese but a byproduct made from the whey left from cheese-making that is cooked down until almost caramelized. It was surprisingly sweet and a bit of an acquired taste.
American Gluten vs. European Gluten
In America, I have a gluten sensitivity and generally avoid it. I didn’t seem to have any issues with the gluten in Norway. I have found this to be true in other European countries as well. Apparently, our process and wheat varieties are different here in America. It was lovely to not have to worry about avoiding gluten and enjoy some delightful pastries!
When you visit Norway I hope the places I have recommended are still open. All of them are prominent and easy to find. I mentioned in Airbnb Hunters – Oslo Edition that we wanted kitchens so we could cook in case meals out were too expensive. Other than cooking a few breakfasts because we wanted some protein, we found that we could stick to our budget and still enjoy eating good food in restaurants in Norway.
