Norway – Vegetarian Eats
While traveling through Norway, I found it generally very easy to find vegetarian eats, but more difficult to find restaurants with vegan options. In Oslo and Bergen, there were entirely vegan or vegan-friendly restaurants. However, if you book accommodations with Airbnb and have a kitchen to cook in, it is easy to find a grocery store in any of the smaller towns. This was our strategy for the majority of the trip, but along the way, we found some great options. Also, most restaurants that we visited had a vegetarian option.
When searching for vegan options while traveling, I usually utilize at least two tools. The first is going to the new area on Google Maps and searching “vegan”. This method is simple and generally effective, but not always thorough as some restaurants are not listed on google. Happy Cow is a website that lists all the vegan-friendly options with reviews and photos. It tends to be a bit more thorough with reviews to help you determine what dish to get.
Norway - Vegetarian Eats
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Norway Vegan & Vegetarian Eats – Oslo
Oslo was a hub for vegan and vegetarian restaurants. We were only in the city for a short time, but probably had the best meal of the trip at Nordvegan. Yum yum!
Nordvegan!!!!!!!:
Wow, this place was phenomenal. The location is perfect – only a few blocks from the Oslo Royal Palace, it is a great place to stop in while sightseeing. The cozy interior is well decorated with large street-facing windows. The center of the restaurant is a series of food cases, where an attendant helps you build your meal. Kind of like Chipotle, you start with what kind of a meal you want, then add on layers of flavors and textures. I got the Buddha bowl with noodles, broccoli, salad, crunchy toppings, nuts, and sauces piled on top. With a base of warm broth and noodles, all the toppings made each bite an exciting discovery.
It was delicious. My mother had the curry option, which was rich and creamy. We were quite chilled after walking around Oslo for so long, so both these dishes warmed us from the insides. My only regret is that I got way too full to try any of the desserts or the lasagna, which people rave about in the reviews.
Postkontoret:
Depending on where you are staying, Postkontoret might be out of the way. We found this little pizza gem because our Airbnb was right around the corner. It is a hip place to hang out with dim lighting, large windows, exposed brick, and seating at various heights. This restaurant is semi-casual, with an order/pick up at the register vibe. There is a full page of pizza options. We went with a vegetarian pie with veggies on top, but I am almost positive they have vegan options, but do some research before you go.
Norway Vegetarian Eats – Sognefjord Region
Whew, it was a lot harder to find vegan options in the small towns surrounding the Sognefjord. We actually stayed in Lærdal, which I loved our Airbnb, but I am not sure I would recommend for other travelers. It was cute and centrally located for our adventures, but so much of the town is no longer open after the high season that there was only one restaurant open (which had tour buses going to it every night) and a grocery store. We relied on grocery shopping in Lærdal, which was okay because we were off and running each day after a hearty homemade breakfast.
Flam Area:
Honor System Apple Stands:
If you’re driving around the region quite a bit, you’ll likely see a roadside stand selling farm-fresh produce. September is apple season and each of these stands had little buckets of apples on top. We stopped at a stand on our way to the Borgund Stave Church and the best-tasting apple of my life. Check out photos a the bottom of my Borgund Stave Church post.
Cafe Rallaren:
We did a downhill mountain biking ride through the Flam Valley using Cafe Rallaren bikes, but we also utilized their cafe to organize a takeaway lunch. They have a vegetarian option listed on their website and have more options in their cafe. If you are doing the “Norway in a Nutshell” Route, Flam Railway, or doing the mountain biking, Cafe Rallaren would be a good bet for some veggie options.
Balestrand Area:
Ciderhuset Cider Tasting:
Yay, cider is veggie option! Though it is not a place to eat, we did a cider tasting at Ciderhuset in Balestrand. The location is scenic, the ciders are flavorful, and the family-run business is darling. If you would like to hear more about it, check out this post.
Kviknes Hotel in Balestrand:
After tasting cider, we needed a meal before making the drive all the way back to Lærdal. Like Lærdal, the town of Balestrand pretty much shuts down after the high season. We tried going to two restaurants that were closed for the season before settling at the famous Kviknes Hotel, which has a fancy, but not necessarily veggie-friendly buffet and restaurant.
The staff was a tad dismissive, but with no other options, we ate in the bar area. There was a vegetarian pasta (don’t recommend) and veggie burger (recommend) on the menu that my mom and I split. It was all “okay” for the price point, but I am grateful it was there as it fueled our journey home.
Norway Vegetarian Eats – Bergen
Once we got into to Bergen, there were vegetarian eats galore once again! There are a few fully vegan restaurants in the city, but with the cold weather and rain, we chose options that close to downtown or near to our Airbnb. A small grocery store called “Extra” surprised me with a few different types of vegan burritos in their cold case, which served as a handy lunch or breakfast at the airport.
Troldhaugen Cafeteria:
At the Greig Museum, we enjoyed a cafeteria-style lunch before the lunchtime concert. I had a simple vegetarian wrap with nuts. So if you are going to visit the home of Edvard and Nina Greig, you know there will be a few snacks available. Check out the blog post I wrote about our experience.
Pygmalion:
The lasagna was delicious! Located right behind the central area of Bergen, this quaint restaurant serves meat but has a few vegan and vegetarian options. From reading the reviews on Happy Cow, it sounds like the lasagna was the right choice – however it is vegetarian instead of vegan.
Suppologen:
After freezing my little fingers in the Monstraumen fjord cruise, I had a one-track mind to find a soup place in town. I found Suppologen, which was cozy with at least one vegetarian soup. Their soups rotate, but I think they try to have one vegetarian soup.
McDonalds?!:
Originally stopping in to go to the bathroom, I happen to glance at the menu to see a veggie burger and nuggets. This is mindblowing because there is almost nothing I could eat in the American McDonalds. After an old-timed late lunch at Suppologen, we needed something for a late-night meal. This was relatively quick, relatively inexpensive, and surprisingly tasty. I don’t know if I fully recommend it, but it’s there if you are in a pinch.
Traditional Norwegian Foods That are Vegetarian
With the oceans being such a big part of their culture, it makes sense that fish make up a lot of traditional Norwegian foods. Since I am unable to partake in the fish and meat options and also because we were visiting so many grocery stores, I sought out the traditional foods that are vegetarian (not vegan).
Brunost!
This a brown cheese made from whey with milk or cream. Whew, this has a twang to it. It is very soft and flavorful. For me, the flavor develops from sweet to savory as you eat it. Not 100% I liked it but would give it another chance in a sandwich, where it would be adding flavor instead of being the centerpiece. 4/10 would eat it again.
Norwegian Waffles!
These adorable waffles are heart-shaped, relatively light and fluffy, and delicious with cream and jam. I can find no fault with this breakfast item – 10/10 would eat it again.
Lefse!
This is a type of flatbread made from potatoes, butter, flour, and cream. Some typical toppings include butter, sugar, and cinnamon. It was lighter and fluffier than I imagined it would be with not a lot of flavor of its own. I bet it would also be good with jam. 10/10 would eat it again.
Overall Thoughts
I’ll be the first to admit that this was not my healthiest trip in terms of what I ate. But that said, I found plenty to eat and when I found good vegan food, it was REAL good. Although many of the restaurants may not have a website in English, practically everyone we talked to spoke a high level of English. Without a real language barrier, it was easy to ask questions. The bigger cities, as expected, had more options with fully vegetarian or vegan restaurants and the smaller towns had grocery stores packed with stuff to make at the Airbnb.
Do you have any other veggie restaurants you would recommend in Norway?? I know there were so many more places in Oslo that we didn’t get try out. Leave a comment for me to visit in the future or other readers to know what’s out there.
Happy Travels,
Hanna
