Food and mead at Viking festivals

Flatbread from a griddle, meat from a spit, soup from an iron pot, and mead in a horn or a cup. The food is one of the best parts of a market day, and mostly cooked over wood in front of you.

What is on the fire

Most food at a Viking market is cooked the way it is displayed: over wood, in iron, in front of you. The staples are the same from Ribe to Hafnarfjörður.

Flatbread. Unleavened barley or wheat bread baked on a griddle, eaten hot, often with butter or honey. Children live on it.

Grilled and spit-roasted meat. Pork, lamb and sausages over coals. Hafnarfjörður roasts whole lamb. Portions are generous.

Soups and stews. Barley, root vegetables, meat or fish in an iron pot. The most period-correct thing on offer, and the best value on a cold day.

Porridge. Barley or oat, sometimes with dried fruit. Breakfast for the camp; available to visitors at some events.

Fish. Smoked, dried or salted, more common in Norway and Iceland.

Modern stalls. The bigger festivals also have ordinary food trucks. Nobody will judge you.

What is in the horn

Mead. Honey wine, from dry to very sweet, usually around 10 to 14 percent. Sold by the cup at most markets and by the bottle at some. The honest ones are fermented honey and water; the cheap ones are white wine with honey flavoring. Ask.

Beer. Local craft or ordinary beer. A few events brew historically inspired ale.

Non-alcoholic. Juice and water are always there. Some stalls sell a honey drink without the alcohol for children.

Alcohol laws differ. In Sweden, sales at events need a license and are usually confined to a serving area. Denmark and Norway are more relaxed on site, but Norwegian prices are high. Iceland’s festival sells beer and mead from licensed stalls.

Is it authentic

Broadly yes. Bread, porridge, stews, dairy, pork, lamb, fish and honey are what the archaeology shows people ate. Potatoes, tomatoes and coffee are not, and the stricter markets keep them off the period stalls. Sugar was almost unknown; honey was the sweetener, which is why mead is everywhere.

What it costs

Meat from the spit with bread: about 100 to 150 SEK or DKK, 150 to 200 NOK. Soup: less. A cup of mead: 50 to 100. Norway is dearest, Sweden and Denmark similar, Iceland high for alcohol and moderate for food. Cards work at almost every food stall.

Practical

Bring a water bottle; refill points are rare. Vegetarian options are usually flatbread, porridge and vegetable soup. Allergen labelling is inconsistent at period stalls, so ask.

Last updated 2026-09-06. Prices and opening hours change; check the venue before you go. Back to Guides or the festival calendar.