Bergen City Map Anders Husa & Kaitlin Orr

Norway’s picturesque coastal city, Bergen, is known not only for its stunning location amidst mountains and fjords but also as a burgeoning culinary destination. Bergen stands out with its unique blend of traditional Norwegian cuisine and contemporary gastronomy.

In this city map, we have gathered all our favorite spots to create the best restaurant guide to Bergen. You’ll find coffee shops, natural wine bars, high-end restaurants, and more relaxed eateries. Navigate the map easily either by scrolling through the list on the right or by clicking the points on the map. Places are listed in geographical order.

Kaffemisjonen, literally the coffee mission, may sound like a semi-religious organization that is out to convert you to the true side of coffee making. In fact, that may not be too far from the truth, but, luckily, they won't preach at you here. If you enjoy high-quality coffee sourced from the best farmers, roasted for maximum terroir flavor by the country's top roasteries (Tim Wendelboe, Supreme Roastworks, Jacu, and others) before it's brewed to perfection, then you'll love Kaffemisjonen. Or their sister café Blom on the other side of town.

Det Lille Kaffekompaniet is the oldest and smallest coffee shop in Bergen. In terms of the interior as well as the cake selection, I got proper 90s vibes. When it comes to the coffee, however, which was brewed on a V60, it was remarkably juicy and elegant with a clean flavor and no trace of bitterness. Located on Nedre Fjellsmauet (the lower mountain alleyway), which is a cute little alley just above the entrance to Fløibanen (the city's famous funicular railway), lined with beautiful white-painted wooden houses.

No visit to Bergen is complete without a hot dog from the city's uncrowned king of sausages – Trekroneren (three kroner was the price of a Vienna sausage in 1978). Whether you're craving fat, meat and salt in the middle of the day or late at night, you can trust this food stand to be open. Don't get fooled by the simple exteriors – this vendor has a selection of 24 different sausages (usually 150g, but the largest are 250g) and an equal amount of toppings. Ask the owner, Dag Hjellestad, which condiment goes best with which "pølse." Thirsty? There's always a free glass of raspberry-flavored squash drink for you.

Whenever it's not raining in Bergen, which feels like one week of the year, you may get ice cream cravings. Statistically, 67% of days brings rain in this coastal city located between seven mountains. But should the sun pop out, you can always head on over to the best ice cream shop in town – Hallaisen. The name is a play on words, mixing the local slang term for hello ("hallaien") with ice cream ("is"). Get the Sicilian pistachio and cinnamon roll ("Skillingsbolle") flavors. All ice cream contains either top quality local produce or sustainable ingredients from around the world – especially South-East Asia since the owners have their roots there.

Colonialen Litteraturhuset is the largest and most easygoing eatery in the restaurant portfolio of Ken and Laila Skorge. I went here for lunch one day and enjoyed a very decent two-course meal, selected from the à la carte offering on the waiter's recommendation. Gnocchi with braised carrots and parsley roots, buttery toast, and ramson emulsion was the highlight. Tartar with red onions, crispy potato chips, and shaved cured egg yolk was not equally impressive, but tasty nonetheless.

Craving proper wood-fired Italian pizza? Head on over to Bien Centro, on the first floor of the art museum Kode1, for the best Neapolitan pizza in Bergen. The experienced restaurateurs behind Bien Snackbar and Bien Basar, opened their casual Italian eatery in 2017. The stone-oven was hand-crafted, following strict Neapolitan rules, by Stefano Ferrara from Naples. While the Margherita pizza I ordered was great and would make an Italian proud, I'd skip the pre-made and refrigerated desserts – they tasted more of fridge than fresh.

Smakverket is a casual café and coffee shop by chef Angus Hugøy from restaurant Marg & Bein and barista Olav Egeberg, located on the first floor of the art museum Kode2. Don't miss their signature Eggs Benedict, which is as classical as this dish can get, but decent. English muffins layered with a slice of ham and poached eggs with a runny yolk inside. Buttery Hollandaise sauce with the correct creamy consistency drizzled over, and freshly cut chives on top. I also enjoyed their filter coffee.

Blom is the sister café of Kaffemisjonen, situated on the other side of town at John Lunds plass on Fosswinckels gate, right at the edge of Nygårdshøyden below the University of Bergen. Here, you get the same good coffee as the flagship store offers, but with a different vibe. We shared a Chemex brew based on Ethiopian coffee beans, which was clean and juicy with a sweet and floral taste.

Restaurant Marg & Bein (marrow & bone) is a casual neighborhood restaurant with a nose-to-tail philosophy and a good selection of beer and natural wines. Head chef David McCarthy whipped up one delicacy after the other when I visited. Rustic, yet modern Nordic food, made from local and sustainable ingredients. A creamy mackerel salad with wild herbs and pickled vegetables, delectable crispbread with salty ramson butter, and braised ox cheeks with potato mash, burn carrots and crispy kale were the highlights.

Hoggorm is a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria located at Nygårdsgaten 29, directly opposite of the Grieg Hall concert venue, which is owned and operated by the guys from Lysverket. The concept is simple: natural wine and delicious pizza with (mostly) local ingredients. They also attempt to answer the age-old question: Does pineapple belong on a pizza? The answer is yes, especially if you make it with salty and fatty bacon to balance the sweet tropical fruit.

Lysverket has long been rumored to be the hottest Michelin star candidate in Bergen, and received a star in 2022. Head chef Christopher Haatuft previously wokred at high-end restaurants like the three-starred Per Se in New York. There's an optional tasting menu, and, possibly, the best Bergen-style fish soup in the city. Haatuft is passionately obsessed with his local suppliers. He invented the term Neo-Fjordic cuisine, originally intended as a joke, but the word stuck.

Nobel Bopel is a neighborhood café, vintage furniture store, hipster coffee shop, and natural wine bar situated at Møhlenpris on the "wrong" side of Nygårdshøyden. The coffee was good, and I loved the vibe with all the Scandinavian design elements, but I wish the selection of wines by the glass was larger. Maybe they could invest in a Coravin? The venue regularly hosts pop-up food concepts, intimate concerts, and quiz nights.

BKB, or Bergen Kaffebrenneri, is Bergen's own coffee roastery, located at Møhlenpris in an old industrial building with a large outdoor patio facing the Norwegian Business School (BI). Founded ten years ago by two amateur home roasters (at the time), Carl Johannesen and Kenneth Rasmussen, the now-professional roastery supplies some of the city's top restaurants and cafés with freshly roasted coffee beans. The roasting profile ranges from light to dark-roasted, depending on the origin of the coffee. I particularly enjoyed a cold-brewed Kenyan coffee on the hot summer day when I popped by BKB for a caffeine fix.

Colonialen Kranen is situated a good 15 minutes walk from Bergen city center in an old crane (hence the name) which has been reconstructed to an elegantly-designed casual eatery with Scandinavian-style interior. Apparently, this used to be a busy industrial area, but today it's all apartment buildings and hungry residents who need a neighborhood restaurant. Head chef Pablo Zotelo (originally from Argentina) whips up a fun selection of Norwegian tapas-style dishes with Latin-American influences. Highlights included tomatoes from Hanasand with mackerel and crispy bread, chicharron with apple salsa, and schnitzel with creamy potatoes and mustard seeds.