Dining in Ålesund

In Ålesund, you can choose between exclusive restaurants with an international menu, or a variety of small cafeterias, coffee bars, pizzerias, snack bars and pubs.

Some restaurants have both Norwegian and international dishes on the menu, with ingredients taken from nature's own larder. The restaurants Sjøbua, XL Diner and Maki are known for their fish specialities, and many of the hotels serve tasty lunch or dinner courses. 

The shopping centres Kremmergaarden and AMFI Moa offer a wide choice of pizza, snack and coffee bars. Or you can simply buy prawns from one of the local fishing boats on the quayside, sit on a bench and enjoy them whilst admiring the sea view.

Ålesund is also home to the annual Norwegian Food Festival with bustling crowds displaying a real enthusiasm for food.

Dining in rural areas

Outside Ålesund, more culinary delights await in rural centres such as Ulsteinvik, Fosnavåg or Volda, or indeed in a variety of roadside venues throughout the Sunnmøre district. You might well find your favourite restaurant there. More on dining and nightlife in Sunnmøre.

Klipfish culture

Ålesund is Norway’s largest export port for klipfish (split, salted and dried cod) and the Norwegian Food Festival crowns the master klipfish producer in Norway each year - don't be surprised if the best klipfish meal you have id in an Ålesund restaurant.

The family company Njardar in Herøy carries out salting and smoking of herring in the good old-fashioned way and exports its products to more than 15 countries. It is part of the Slow Food movement. They show people around (by prior agreement), in addition to selling the firm's own herring products.