6 Best Restaurants in Southern Norway, Norway

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.

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.

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.