On a remote island in the Arctic Circle halfway between the northern tip of Norway and the North Pole, where do the ~2,000 residents go out to eat? Would it surprise you to know one restaurant has a wine cellar with 20,000+ bottles?
There are a handful of restaurants in Longyearbyen, but I am only going to discuss three.
For our breakfast in the morning, we enjoyed coffee and pastries in Rabalder Café and Bakery, a cozy coffee shop with delicious food and drink. Baristas are pro here and the fruit smoothies and fresh-baked cookies are amazing.
Our favorite restaurant, however, was Kroa. We returned back from Pyramiden around 10:30p and were famished, having not had anything since breakfast. We walked into town and added our name to the waiting list — it would be about an hour before our table was ready. That seemed like a lot on a late Saturday evening when we were so hungry, but it was definitely worth the wait.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was amazing: a hip Norwegian hunting lodge with seats covered in animal skins and a long wooden tables. My uncle loved his steak and my cheeseburger was phenomenal.
The restaurant was just packed and I can see why. Lucky also enjoyed it.
The Norwegians ladies I walked around Pyramiden with highly recommended a restaurant called Huset. This is the “fine dining” restaurant in Longyearbyen and the one with the 20,000+ bottle of wine collection I mentioned in my opening paragraph. If I return to Svalbard, I look forward to trying Huset.
CONCLUSION
Don’t think just because you are on a remote island there will not be good food. With a big Thai population, there is also more reasonably priced Thai takeaway and a full-stocked grocery store if my somewhat pricey recommendations above don’t appeal to you. I was surprised at how great the food was on Svalbard.
Read more of my Scandinavia Trip Report:
Review: SAS A330 Business Class Los Angeles to Stockholm
Lounge Review: SAS Gold Lounge Stockholm
Review: SAS Business Class Stockholm to Oslo (Scenic Flight)
Lounge Review: SAS Gold Lounge Oslo
Review: SAS Business Class Oslo to Longyearbyen
The Advantage of AirBnB in Longyearbyen
A Boat Trip to an Abandoned Russian Mining Island
Review: Hotel Tulpan in Pyramiden
Why Pyramiden is a Must-See (Photo Tour)
Exploring Pyramiden at Midnight with Two Armed Female Bodyguards
Where to Eat in Longyearbyen
Lounge Review: SAS Café Tromso
Review: Radisson Stockholm Airport
Review: Hilton Stockholm
we were there last summer and we were amazed how great food was. Pyramiden trip was a blast too.
I think we had drinks in ice liquor glasses on our way there.
The bar looks like the one in the Walter Mitty movie 🙂
Great post btw.
Thanks!
Hi Matthew
Im packing for my Svalbard trip tonight. How cold was it there and pyramiden? Will I need thermals or is a t-shirt, jumper and medium-weight jacket sufficient? Will I need a beanie?
Thanks
It never dipped below 40ºF while I was in Pyramiden. It dropped to the high 30ºs my final day in Longyearbyen. I was fine without thermals, though I think they would have been comfortable. Beanie was not needed accept during the gusty boat trip to Pyramiden (though thermal suits were provided onboard boat).
The breakfast buffet at the Radisson Blu is extensive and quite good. It is included in most or all of the room rates.