Aarstova

RATING: 4.7/5.0 STARS

WIFI: YES

BATHROOMS: YES

EXPENSE: $100 pp

Aarstova is quintessential Faroe Islands.  Everything about the restaurant screams authenticity.  As you walk up to the obviously old, brown, traditional house you can see fish drying outside and smell a home cooked meal being prepared inside.  Not every restaurant I review will have excellent ratings, but Aarstova deserves one of the highest. 

Aarstova is simple yet elegant.  The beverage selection is wine or Faroese beer, and the food selection, in many ways, is even more straight forward.  In the summer they had two options: fish or lamb.  The meal came with a side of root vegetables and potatoes, gravy, and a choice of dessert. With a group of four we ordered two entrees and it was more than enough; in fact it felt like Thanksgiving dinner.  The food that came out was not plated, Americanized, or dolled up for appearance.  It was an entire leg of lamb, cooked for over 8 hours and served to perfection.  The meat was tender, juicy, and delicious and the gravy on top satisfied any desire you may ever have for a home meal.

Equally as satisfying was the dessert; a rhubarb pie with homemade whipped cream, granola, and fresh rhubarb.  Despite the mouthwatering sweetness of the dessert, we eventually were too full to even consider eating another bite.  I guess that happens when you devour an entire leg of lamb.

There are two very important aspects of your visit here.  One is that is will probably cost you around 100 USD, possibly more if you drink.  Trust me, the price is worth it.  The second thing is that, like most places in the Faroe Islands, you absolutely need reservations.  In the spring time you may be able to walk right in, but in the summer there is almost no chance.  Like most European places, there is no rush to turn a table over so it seemed to me that they only did two settings a night.  We love Aarstova so much we actually came here twice during our visit, and is was worth it both times.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns do not hesitate to reach out.  I hope this helps but most of all I hope you visit Aarstova during your visit to the Faroe Islands!

 Website: https://aarstova.fo/aarstova/

Phone: +298 33000

Location: Downtown Torshavn (by the harbor)

Email: aarstova@aarstova.fo