Where to Eat in Rovaniemi: Local Food, Restaurants and Trail Snacks

Whether you are after a luxury experience or a low-budget eatery, Rovaniemi has it. Expect local specialities like sautéed reindeer, smoked salmon, and Karelian pies, plenty of fine-dining and budget options, and a few tricks for keeping snacks warm on outdoor excursions.

What do you need to know about Finnish grocery stores?

The smaller the store, the more expensive it tends to be. Bigger, cheaper supermarkets like Prisma or K-Citymarket sit a bit further from the city centre, and you may need a car to reach them.

If you really love the snacks from home, you can of course pack them, but buying local saves luggage space and the headache of planning it all beforehand. You will easily find snack bars, biscuits, dried fruit, and smoothies in any convenience store, along with a wide range of drinks: coffee, tea, juice, soda, and juice boxes. You can buy milder alcohol in grocery stores; for stronger spirits, head to the state alcohol store, Alko. For a trip outdoors, pick up individual cocoa pouches you mix with hot water or milk and carry in a thermos.

Every store has microwave meals, and slightly bigger ones usually have a counter with warm meals and sushi. Baby products are everywhere: diapers, wet wipes, and baby food (including non-sugary snacks) are best bought locally to save space.

What local foods should you try in Lapland?

The dishes to try are reindeer (especially sautéed reindeer, poronkäristys), salmon (smoked over a fire is an experience), karjalanpaisti (a slow-cooked Karelian stew), and rice porridge. I also recommend whitefish or fried vendace, Karelian pies with egg butter, and leipäjuusto, the so-called bread or squeaky cheese. If you want to do it like a local, add some cloudberry jam or dip it in your coffee. Rye bread is traditional too. Game is popular, though a little harder to find; if you can, try moose or forest birds such as wood grouse or willow grouse.

Finns love berries, and many pastries and desserts are filled with blueberry, lingonberry, or cloudberry. Did you know you are welcome to pick berries anywhere in the forest, as long as you stay clear of people's yards? Try the cinnamon bun korvapuusti too, and at Christmas the must-have is gingerbread with glögi, a traditional mulled drink you can have with or without alcohol.

Where can you have a fine-dining experience in Rovaniemi?

For a more fine-dining meal, options include Sky Kitchen and View (true to the name, the view from Ounasvaara is lovely), Restaurant Nili (Lappish food and atmosphere), Arctic Restaurant, Ravintola Rakas (next to SantaPark), Monte Rosa, and Gustav Kitchen and Bar. Each offers local dishes and a detailed menu.

Where can you find lower-cost eating in Rovaniemi?

For budget-friendly options in a more relaxed setting, try Roka Street Bistro, Siipiravintola Wingston, Friends and Burgers, Frans and Chérie, Pure Burger, Bull Bar and Grill, or Amarillo. For a chic lunch, try Café Bar 21, and for something more artsy, Korundi Kitchen and Café (lunch only, Wednesday to Friday).

If you are out at night and feeling a little peckish, hit a grill. I recommend Alakunnaksen grilli or Torikeidas: burgers that are not fancy but delicious, fries with all the condiments, and the Finnish favourite makkaraperunat, fries with pieces of sausage, or a hot pocket with sausage.

Rovaniemi also has plenty of international food: Yuca for Mexican, Massimo for a nicer pizza (try the lunch pizza buffet), Namu or Hanki for Korean, Ozaki Teppanyaki for sushi and an Asian buffet, Curry Masala for Indian, and Xiang Long for Chinese.

The restaurant scene here looks very different, and far more diverse, than in my childhood, when eating out was practically outrageous and "we have food at home" was every family's go-to line.

What food should you pack for outdoor activities?

Especially in winter, pay attention to what snacks you pack and how they hold up in the cold. A hot drink in a thermos is always a solid choice: bring hot water and you can make tea, hot juice from concentrate, hot chocolate, or coffee from powder. Cold drinks may start to freeze if they sit out too long, and candy and chocolate freeze too, which does not really ruin them but can give your teeth a hard time.

If there is a fire at a resting spot, a traditional snack is grilled sausages. You can also warm up plenty of things from the grocery store, such as hot pockets, paninis, or Karelian pies. Wrap most things in kitchen foil, and bring something to fish the food out of the fire with. There is often wood at the laavu (a lean-to shelter) for a fire, but the logs can be big and frozen, so bring some tinder just in case.

For a delicious dessert, try a firelight banana: bring chocolate and bananas, cut a slit down the length of the banana, and tuck pieces of chocolate inside. Wrap in foil and warm it up. Add a squirt of whipped cream if you are feeling fancy.

For the rest of your trip, see our complete Rovaniemi in winter guide.