Havila Food Stories

Can tastes linger in memory? We believe so, and we know that good food and service make good memories and enhance the overall experience of your journey with Havila Voyages.

To ensure our guests the very best, we have developed a unique food concept that offers flavours reflecting the gastronomic cultures along the Norwegian coast – prepared with the best food ingredients our country has to offer.

Our approach is a respectful tribute to our regional culinary traditions, ensuring that the delicious flavours will be savoured in your memory long after your journey is over.

“Havila Voyages’ food concept is based on sustainability, pure and simple dishes, and sublime flavours. Developed by skilled professionals and enhanced by modern design and unique surroundings along the Norwegian coast. This is a dining experience that everyone should treat themselves to, at least once in a lifetime”.

_{(Quote by food expert and reviewer Simen Vatne for Nettavisen)}

The Flavours of Norway

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On board Havila Voyages, the menu is determined by the region. During the round trip – from Bergen to Kirkenes and back again – the ship sails through four different "food universes", each of which has its own flavours. The menus – for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – are changed every third day, so that you can get to know the different cuisines that we sail through. This doesn't mean that there is only a small selection. On the contrary, you can try something new from the menu every single day. There are also some fixed dishes on it, so you can pick your favourites throughout the trip.

The Man Behind the Food Concept

In 2008, the Norwegian chef, Gunnar Hvarnes, won the Olympic gold for his cooking skills. 12 years later, Norway stood on the podium once again, only this time with Hvarnes as the coach and team leader.

All the while this was happening, he was well underway with another exciting project; the development of an innovative food concept and menus for the world’s most environmentally friendly coastal cruise ships. His mission was clear: The guests’ food experiences must be just as good as the nature experiences they would certainly get on their trip.

Gunnar Hvarnes

“I want to show people the very best of Norwegian food and drinks”, said Hvarnes.

The search for good flavours also became a search for good food suppliers – small, big, and mostly local – who could deliver this standard of produce.

“The food should be at least half the reason why you travel with us!”, Hvarnes stated.

Gunnar Hvarnes

Our Dining Areas

Havrand Restaurant | Hildring Fine Dining | Havly Café

Havrand Restaurant

Welcome to our main dining room; open, elegant, warm, and relaxed. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served here.

The à la carte menus in our main restaurant, Havrand, give you as much freedom of choice as in any buffet; you simply order the dishes you want. That way, you avoid queuing, you get personal service at your table, and you (and we) avoid large amounts of food waste. In fact, we have set ourselves an ambitious goal of reducing food waste to incredible 75 grams on average per guest per day. We are not far from reaching that goal.

Havila Voyages offers a rich selection of delicious drinks to accompany the meals

Havrand opening hours:
Breakfast: 07:00 – 10:00
Lunch: 11:30 – 14:30
Dinner: 18:00 – 21:00

Breakfast

Imagine enjoying morning fresh ingredients while watching the magnificent coastal landscape glide by! Eggs from Sunnmøre with orange plums, Prager breakfast ham from free-ranged pigs, aged Norwegian cheese, fragrant, freshly baked bread, jam of the day… The options are many, and as soon as you get your hand-picked dishes on the table, your senses will quickly awake and come alive.

We recommend two to three options from the menu in addition to bread. You can choose between white bread, multi-grained bread (Shepherd’s bread), and dark rye bread.

See the breakfast menu

Lunch

For lunch, we have put together a varied menu of small dishes from which you can pick and mix all you like. This gives you the possibility to really explore Norway’s exciting treasure chest of food riches. We recommend three courses – and if you are still not quite satisfied, you can of course top off the meal with a delightful dessert.

Click on the links to see our lunch menus:
The Polar Land | The Islands | The Fjords | The Arctic

Three Course Dinner

Savour the flavours of the cold ocean depths, the sunny fields of berries, and the fresh mountain pastures.

Compose your own 3-course dinner by choosing your desired starter, main course, and dessert. The main course is served with the “Farmer’s market” consisting of the best garnish from the region.

Click on the links to see our dinner menus:
Polar Land | The Islands | The Fjords | The Arctic

Hildring Fine Dining

This exclusive, intimate restaurant provides a luxurious, classic, and elegant environment for your meals. The dinner consists of our five-course signature menu composed of the best ingredients Norway has to offer.

Hildring opening hours:
Breakfast for suite guests: 7:30 – 10:00
Dinner: 18:00 – 22:00
Make reservations on board.

See the Hildring menu for the northbound direction

See the Hildring menu for the southbound direction

Havly Café

Havly means “shelter from the sea” and back in the day, this was a sanctuary for thousands of fishermen and sailors on the Norwegian coast, providing them with food, warmth, and safety.

In harbor after harbor, you could find small cafes and guest houses carrying the name Havly, like a second home for fishermen working in tiny boats along the weathered coast. At Havly at Havila Voyages, we stick to those traditions – with good, unadulterated, and satisfying food.

From our onboard bakery, you can have your choice of baked goods such as buns and cinnamon rolls. Or what about our own Havly bun with chocolate and vanilla cream?

In the café, you get Norwegian favourites such as waffles and creamed cake, prawn sandwiches, and meatloaf sandwiches. However, you will also find pizzas and hamburgers on the menu, as they have become traditional foods, along with a creamy coastal classic; fish soup with salmon, cod, and prawns.

Several meals and baked goods from Havly Café, standard coffee, and tea from anywhere on the ship are included on the round voyage and the South/North Voyages.

Havly opening hours:
8:00 – 22:00 with adjustments to the sailing schedule.

See the cafe menu

Our Four Food Universes

Flavours of the Fjords

On the Bergen-Trondheim route, we source our ingredients from the sun-drenched mountainsides lining the fjords and from the depths of the sea. The flavours of apples and cherries intensify during the bright summer nights, and our good friends along the coast deliver fresh treats from the sea.

Flavours of the Polar Region

Between Bodø and Honningsvåg, we sail through the Lofoten Islands, so the menu includes Lofoten cod, Norwegian cod roe, dried fish, and cloudberries. If you fancy some meat, then why not try our free-range pork from the world heritage site of Vega?

Flavours of the Arctic

The voyage from Kirkenes to Svolvær takes you through the harsh, Arctic northern area. Here, long-legged king crabs crawl about in the cold dark depths of the ocean, and on land, herds of reindeer graze in the tundra. Naturally, crab and reindeer feature on the menu during this part of the voyage as well as cured leg of lamb, Arctic char, and seaweed.

Flavours of the Archipelago

From Rørvik and south towards Bergen, the voyage runs through an archipelago where the rich waters have always provided both food and livelihoods. You can try klipfish and herring, both of which have been valuable exports from Norway for centuries, and local treats such as halibut and brown crab.

The Norwegian Food Culture

The taste of Norwegian food brings to mind pristine seas, fresh winds, and bright, cool summer nights.

Norwegian cuisine is defined by cool springs and short summers. Although the seasons are short and intense, food must last throughout the whole year. Therefore, many traditional Norwegian dishes consist of preserved raw food materials.

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Cod fishing takes place during a few hectic weeks in the winter. The fresh cod is world-class, but traditionally it could only be enjoyed in the late winter. Thus, Norwegians began to dry – and sometimes salt – the fish to preserve this good raw material. Norwegian stockfish (dried) and klipfish (dried and salted) are world-class and have been exported around the world for hundreds of years.

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Fresh meat was only eaten during the slaughter season. However, it was also preserved, using traditional methods. Salted, dried, and cured leg of lamb is a Norwegian delicacy, and in some places, you may also find cured leg of goat, reindeer, and deer.

Norway – especially Northern Norway – is world-known for its sweet berries! Bright summer nights combined with mild temperatures allow photosynthesis to work “around the clock”, providing favourable growth and maturation for fruits and berries, which is why they become so sweet and juicy.

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Over time, new technology, methods, and habits have put a modern touch on Norwegian cuisine, but the best traditional dishes are those that are preserved and often eaten on special occasions. In addition, new generations of chefs are reviving culinary traditions, creating new flavours based on old methods, and making use of all of nature’s bounty. This has resulted in a range of exciting eateries on land – and now also at sea, on board Havila Voyages.

Are you ready to treat your taste buds with the voyage of your dreams?

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