Food & Drink

Weather and soil conditions make it difficult to grow vegetables and fruit in the Faroe Islands. Consequently, animal products dominate Faroese cuisine. The island's traditional meat dishes are quite unique. Try the Skerpikjøt, fermented mutton meat prepared by drying sheep's legs in a hjallur, a ventilated shed. Garnatálg is prepared with cured sheep intestines and sheep tallow, air dried, cut into slices, pan-fried and served over air-dried and fermented fish called ræstur fiskur. Popular fish dishes use salmon, halibut, haddock, and plaice. Other meats to try are whale blubber and sliced whale meat. The typical Faroese breakfast you can expect at hotels is a cold table of hams, cheese, cereals, herring, yogurts, fruits, and Danish pastries.

Alcohol was banned in the Faroe Islands until 1992. Beer is widely available in bars and restaurants, although some venues have a half-license allowing the sale of beer and wine, and not other alcoholic beverages. The sale of all legal alcoholic beverages is permitted in venues with a full licence. Spirits sold must not be of a higher percentage than 60% vol. The only place to buy alcohol, wine, and spirits is a rúsan, a state-run alcoholic beverage retailing body.