Lappish Food: What to Eat in Lapland and Where to Try It

Many people (including us at first) think Lapland doesn’t have much good food to offer. We were blown away. Lappish food is quite diverse, with unusual ingredients and a wide range of dishes, from Arctic berries and forest mushrooms to salmon and reindeer.

Over three winters in Rovaniemi, we’ve tried a lot of it. Below are the dishes we’d order again, the restaurants where we ate them, and one meal we’d skip.

👉 Our 5-day Lapland itinerary: where these meals fit into a week in Rovaniemi, from Nili on the first night to a farewell dinner.
👉 Lapland with kids: a realistic 7-day itinerary: the family version, built around our trips with our son.

Restaurant prices are from when we went.

Berries

Lapland has an abundance of them: strawberries, blueberries, lingonberries, you name it, they have it. There’s also a very special berry that’s native to the Arctic: the Arctic cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus). It’s orange and sweet, a bit of a delicacy, and it turns up in all kinds of dishes.

Lappish coffee with squeaky cheese: you put pieces of squeaky cheese and a spoonful of cloudberry jam in your cup of Finnish coffee (kahvi), then drink your coffee. At the end, you get to eat the warm, soft cheese, and the cloudberry jam balances the palate. It sounds awful, we know, but it’s actually quite nice, so do try it if you get the chance.

Berries play a big role in Lappish cuisine and culture. The people of Lapland have a deep connection to the forest and everything it offers, and under Finland’s everyman’s right, the forest is for everyone: anyone can walk in it and pick berries and mushrooms. That’s exactly what a lot of people do in the harvest season, freezing the berries or making them into jam to last the year.

Lappish berries are also special because of the conditions they grow in. For about a month in summer, the sun doesn’t set in Rovaniemi; it just moves up and down along the horizon, so the berries ripen very quickly and build up a lot of sugar. That’s what gives them their sweetness. If you’re visiting in late summer, walk into the forest and pick some, even if it’s just to eat them straight away.

Hot berry juice: the rest of the year, you’ll taste Lappish berries as jam or juice, and in winter, hot berry juice is everywhere, and we mean everywhere. It tastes amazing and warms you up on a bitter-cold January day. Definitely try it.

Salmon

Salmon is a staple in the North, and Arctic salmon is undoubtedly one of the better ones you can get. Finns have different salmon dishes, but most commonly you’ll get it as a soup or grilled.

Creamy Salmon Soup

You can find this soup (lohikeitto) in any traditional restaurant in Finland. Every place has a slightly different recipe, but it’s a very simple dish: salmon, potatoes, dill and cream, with big chunks of salmon that really melt in your mouth. It’s served with Finnish rye bread on the side.

We tried it in two different places, and both times it was absolutely delicious, and I don’t normally like soup. It reminds me a bit of chicken soup, only much better. For us, it’s the best warming dish on a cold Lappish winter day.

Grilled Salmon

Another traditional way to prepare salmon is to grill it and serve it with root vegetables and Finnish potato salad. It’s mouth-watering, the smell of freshly grilled salmon… mmm. You’ll find it in any traditional restaurant around Lapland, including the ones in our recommendations below.

The best grilled salmon we’ve had, though, was at Santa’s Salmon Place in Santa Claus Village, a tiny wooden hut where it’s grilled over an open fire right in front of you.

Smoked Salmon Spread

A slightly more unusual way to prepare salmon is to make a spread out of the smoked fish. Restaurant Nili in Rovaniemi gave us this as a compliment from the kitchen. You can buy the spread in the supermarket too, but even the more expensive ones can’t compare with a freshly made one in a decent restaurant. You typically eat it with Finnish rye bread.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are another gift of the forest, and Finns collect a ton of them; they even export porcini (ceps) to Italy. As with berries, everyone is free to forage for them, but don’t unless you really know the different types, so you only pick the edible ones.

You’ll find mushrooms on the menu in practically every restaurant, and a lot of them offer some kind of forest mushroom soup. Here are two ways to try them.

Creamy Porcini (Cep) Mushroom Soup

If you like mushrooms, a very good dish to try is creamy porcini (or cep) soup. It’s porcini mushrooms braised in sour cream, and most places serve it in the traditional Sámi cup, the kuksa, which is an experience in itself. The cup is handmade from birchwood, and every piece is unique.

Chaga Mushroom

Another staple of the North is the chaga mushroom. It’s a rock-like mushroom that grows on the bark of birch trees in cold climates. The Sámi have used it for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and many swear by its health benefits.

Finns normally drink it as a tea, and nowadays there are fancier drinks too, like chaga chai lattes or coffee with chaga chai syrup. We bought ours at Lauri Handicrafts in Rovaniemi and brew it at home.

Reindeer

Throughout history, hunting and preparing meat was essential for the Finns. Today, hunting is more of a hobby than a necessity, but meat is still a big part of the diet, and in Lapland, reindeer is the staple.

It’s rich in vitamins and packed with protein, but very lean, so you get all of the protein and not a lot of fat. It’s tender and succulent, and it’s prepared in many different ways; you’ll even find it in curries, burgers, pizza and kebabs. Here are the ones we’ve eaten ourselves.

Sautéed Reindeer

A very traditional dish is sautéed reindeer (poronkäristys on Finnish menus). Its origins lie in Lapland, and today it’s eaten across the north of Finland, Sweden and Norway. It’s served on mashed potatoes, with pickled cucumbers and lingonberry jam on the side. The meat is tender, but crisp.

Roasted Reindeer

Roasting reindeer is a lengthy process that includes braising the meat overnight to make it extra tender. Every restaurant has its own recipe and its own take on the dish: some serve it in a port wine sauce, others use a more traditional sauce, like thyme, and serve it over a potato terrine. Pick whatever sounds best to you; the reindeer will be fantastic whichever you choose.

Reindeer Burger

Now, this isn’t really a traditional Finnish dish, but I wanted to include it because I found it so good. It’s also a way to try the meat if you’re not big on fancy meals. You’ll find reindeer burgers in some of the more modern bistros and restaurants, and each has its own take on it (I’ve had one with lingonberry mayonnaise, for instance). Roka in Rovaniemi, below, is a good place to try one.

Dairy

Finns drink about 85 litres of milk per person a year, and about 130 kg of liquid dairy products in all (2024 figures from Luke, Finland’s Natural Resources Institute), which makes them one of the biggest milk drinkers in the world. Their supermarkets have an overwhelming choice of dairy, mostly what you’d find anywhere in Europe: yogurts, cream cheeses, semi-soft and hard cheeses. But one cheese deserves a mention of its own.

Bread Cheese (Finnish Squeaky Cheese)

This special cheese (leipäjuusto in Finnish) comes from northern Finland and is made from cow’s or reindeer’s milk; most of the brands in the supermarket are cow’s milk. It’s a fresh, semi-soft cheese with a fairly neutral flavour, and it squeaks against your teeth, hence the name.

You can eat it cold or warm: in slices with coffee, in your coffee, or as a dessert, fried until soft and served with jam, usually cloudberry. It’s one of those strange things at the core of exploring a new culture, so we’d definitely recommend it.

Our Restaurant Recommendations in Lapland, Finland

The restaurant scene in Rovaniemi and Lapland is on the up, but it can be a bit pricey. Expect about €80–100 for a three-course dinner for two, without drinks, and that held on all three of our trips, from January 2023 to January 2026. That’s still cheaper than the other Nordic countries, and the food is worth it.

You’ll find plenty of good places to try everything above. These are the ones we’ve been to and enjoyed, plus one tip from friends.

Our money-saving tips, packing lists and Finland basics, as one free download 👇

Restaurant Nili in Rovaniemi

📍 Valtakatu 20, in the city centre
💶 Four courses €45–60 à la carte, or €62 for the Chef’s Surprise Menu, without drinks; drinks €7–9 (November 2024)

This is probably the most expensive one on our list, but everything from the welcome to the bill was fantastic. We had dinner there on the last evening of our first trip, and went back in November 2024.

Book ahead, especially on a Friday or Saturday, as it’s usually very busy. No booking? Try your luck 10–15 minutes past the hour: they told us that’s when you have the best chance of a table, because of no-shows.

Restaurant Kotahovi in Santa Claus Village

📍 Santa Claus Village, just behind Santa’s Main Office
💶 Mains €20–35, desserts from €10 (November 2024)
🕘 Closed on Sundays

In our opinion, this is the best restaurant in Santa Claus Village. It isn’t very big, but it’s cosy, with an open fire in the middle, and tables turn over quickly, so even if it’s full, you shouldn’t have to wait long to be seated.

The menu is short (we think they had only five or six dishes), but you can try all the Lappish staples here: sautéed reindeer, salmon or mushroom soup. It’s also the place to try the Lappish coffee with squeaky cheese and cloudberry jam.

With a stroller: you’ll need to carry it up a few steps to the door.

Santa’s Salmon Place in Santa Claus Village

📍 Santa Claus Village
💶 €25–30 per person (January 2026)

It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but don’t let that fool you. This tiny wooden hut does just one thing: salmon grilled over an open fire in the middle of the room. It’s a lot for one dish, but it’s the best salmon we’ve had: simple, smoky and memorable. Don’t skip the squeaky cheese with cloudberry jam and the hot berry juice.

Go early or mid-afternoon: lines get long at lunchtime. It’s relaxed enough that nobody minds children moving around.

👉 Where to eat in Santa Claus Village: both places on the village map, and more restaurants there.

Roka Street Food and Bistro

📍 Ainonkatu 3, in the city centre

Another recommendation in Rovaniemi’s city centre. It’s more modern and cheaper than Nili, with street-food takes on many traditional dishes, plus some international options like risotto. This is where I had the reindeer burger with lingonberry mayonnaise.

You don’t really need a reservation for lunch, but in the evening it’s smart to book, as the place is very compact (about 25 seats).

Campfire Barista in Levi

📍 Levi centre in winter, usually by the Zero Point Christmas market or the Marian kappeli bell tower

We haven’t met him ourselves, but friends and other travellers we’ve talked to rave about him. He’ll make your favourite caffeinated drink (or tea) over an open fire, from espresso or kahvi to a chaga chai latte, so he’s the one to look for if you want to try chaga. Check his Instagram to see where he’ll be.

👉 A day in Levi: getting there from Rovaniemi, and why it’s better with a night there.

Café Uksakka in Luosto, which used to be on this list, has closed. If you’re going up to the amethyst mine, 1 h 20 min from Rovaniemi, Lampivaara café at the mine has snacks and hot drinks, but bring something with you.

Renting a car for Luosto or Levi: we compare prices on DiscoverCars, which lists the big brands and local companies at Rovaniemi airport side by side. Not sure you need one? Do you need a car in Lapland? weighs it up.

One Meal We’d Skip: The Snow Hotel’s Ice Restaurant

One last thing, so you can avoid a big disappointment and save quite a bit of money: the Ice Restaurant at the Arctic Snow Hotel.

A visit to the Snow Hotel is worth doing. Finding out how this incredible structure is built, different every year, is really interesting. But we’d very strongly advise you against booking dinner at the Ice Restaurant.

How it went for us: we had dinner there on our first trip, at €69 per person (January 2023). It’s way too expensive, and yes, you’re paying for the experience, not the food, but at that price you’d expect at least decent quality, and that’s not what we got. It was by far the worst place we ate in Lapland.

Dinner is now €89 with the entrance ticket (October 2026). To sum up: visit the Arctic Snow Hotel, skip its restaurant.

Visiting without the dinner: the Snow Hotel visit with transfer includes return transport from Rovaniemi and a short guided tour, with no dinner, from about €100 (October 2026). The Snow Hotel opens for the 2026–27 season on 15 December.

Final Thoughts on Lappish Food

If you only try a few things, make it the creamy salmon soup, the grilled salmon at Santa’s Salmon Place, sautéed reindeer and a Lappish coffee with squeaky cheese and cloudberry jam, and give the Snow Hotel’s dinner a miss.

We were very positively surprised by the variety of flavours in Lapland and really enjoyed getting to know its food culture. We hope this helps you plan what to eat on your trip.