Arguably the best way to really experience any culture is to integrate with the locals.

Heimablídni is a Faroese word that translates directly as “HOME HOSPITALITY” and all across the Faroe Islands you can enjoy the hospitality of locals and dine in their own homes offering authentic and homemade dining experiences. You are served traditional local food and at the same time, the host will entertain their guests with local stories giving you the feeling of being part of the local community for a while.

These small underground restaurants, that pop up in tiny villages and on tiny islands, are not part of the common food regulations that apply to for example restaurants. The special guidance for Heimablídni issued in 2010 by the Faroese Food and Veterinary Agency specifies that food served under the Heimablídni concept is not part of the normal regulations of the Food and Veterinary Agency and states that the food shall be prepared in the home of the host and served in the same home. The purpose of the latter is to let the tourist know that the food is prepared in a private kitchen.

These unusual restaurants offer guests who travel to the Faroe Islands and locals the opportunity to sample new food, often dissimilar to the food usually served in restaurants, in personal environments that give them a proper taste of Faroese culture, the motto being that “sometimes a perfect stranger is the best dinner host”.

Some of the hosts of Heimablídni are Anna and Óli, who live in the small village of Velbastaður, situated 10 minutes drive from capital city Tórshavn.  Their home is a modern and stylish farmhouse where they serve a 5-course meal of their own produce. They have their traditional recipes from their ancestors but interpret the dishes in a modern way.

-The sausage that we serve for the appetizer is my grandmother’s recipe, Anna says, and the lamb served for the main course is raised on our own farm. We find new and modern ways to serve our traditional food, but also stick to a few of our most precious recipes.

– Some of our courses can be described as “Memory Food”, her husband Óli adds. Flavors and tastes that you can remember from your childhood and your grandmother’s house.

The food is all local produce and from the local community and has, therefore, a very low carbon footprint. This is essential for many travelers these days. Anna and Óli’s Heimablídni has won the prize as the most ecofriendly tourism product in 2016 awarded by the Faroe Islands Tourism Association.  The Heimablídni concept won the Embla award in the category “Food Destination 2017”

Some of the points being that you can go horseback riding from Tórshavn, the capital, to their home and that the drinks come from the local brewery just behind their house and that the entertainment comes from e.g. local choirs, singers, orchestras, etc.

Súsanna Sørensen, Marketing Manager at Visit Faroe Islands states: – We were aware of the demand for authentic, local experiences and the lack of restaurants in the remote villages and islands around the country. This possibility emerged as farmers offered to open their homes, but were stopped by the food regulations.

In 2010 we sat down with representatives from the Ministry of Trade & Industry, the Tourism Association, The Outer Islands Association, the Food and Veterinary Agency, the local tourist offices and the Tourist Board. All worked together to find a solution that would allow especially people in the remote areas to become part of the increasing tourism. Now almost 7 years later we can see that Heimablídni is thriving all over the islands with different types of offers from afternoon tea Faroese style to 5-course meals paired with local beer.