Gladmat Festival
Gladmat Festival takes place Late Jun 2027 (dates TBC; 2026 edition ran Jun 24 - 27) in Stavanger, Norway. The dress code is Casual with a light waterproof layer for coastal weather. Free to attend; budget up to 80 EUR per person for hospitality and extras.
One of Scandinavia's largest food festivals fills Stavanger's Vagen harbour each June with producer stalls, cooking-stage demos and Norwegian seafood, drawing crowds in the hundreds of thousands over four days. Entry is free and you pay per taste, which keeps it democratic and easygoing. A strong under-the-radar stop for anyone touring Norway's fjord coast in summer.
- When
- Late Jun 2027 (dates TBC; 2026 edition ran Jun 24 - 27)
- Where
- Stavanger, Norway
- Dress code
- Casual with a light waterproof layer for coastal weather
- Cost
- Free to attend; budget up to 80 EUR per person for hospitality and extras.
- Weather
- 13 - 20C, breezy early-summer western Norway, showers likely by the harbour
- When to book
- No tickets needed; book Stavanger hotels 1 - 2 months ahead as festival week fills the city
- Getting there
- SVG (Stavanger Sola), 20 min to the harbour
- Where to stay
- Eilert Smith Hotel (intimate luxury, home to Michelin-starred RE-NAA), Victoria Hotel (classic 1900 harbourfront), Clarion Hotel Stavanger (modern value)
- Official site
- https://gladmat.no
How to attend
Just show up - the harbourfront is free to enter with no ticket, and you pay stall by stall. The 2026 edition (Jun 24 - 27) has passed; expect a similar late-June window in 2027, confirmed at gladmat.no. Stavanger is reached by direct flights from Oslo and several European hubs; book lodging ahead as the city fills.
The harbourfront is free to walk into with no ticket and you pay stall by stall; only the Kjokkenfesten chef dinners are ticketed, and the 2027 ones are not listed yet.
Insider tip
Use the festival for daytime grazing, then try for a bar seat or late table connected to RE-NAA - Stavanger's fine-dining scene is the quiet second act of the trip.
Get inside Gladmat Festival
Booking matters here: no tickets needed; book Stavanger hotels 1 - 2 months ahead as festival week fills the city. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.