Budget
Driv
Offers great food at a reasonable price in a nice atmosphere, and have discounts for students.
Allegro
in Tromsdalen behind the Arctic Cathedral has thin, Italian pizzas for a good price
Yonas
has good deep-pan American pizza. Taco-pizza is unknown in Mexico, but is a normal pizza with shredded Chinese cabbage and a mustard dressing. You love it, or you loathe it.
Blå Rock
The best burgers in town with their infamous fried potato skins. Don't ask for a diet coke with it, it makes little difference
Peppes Pizza
Part of an international chain, but the lunch specials are cheap.
Aunegården
Café in the front, with counter service. Restaurant with table service in the back. International menu, also a few local specialities. The cakes have many fans in Tromsø.
Skarven
has fish casseroles and other local specialities at good prices
Dolly Dimple's
The "Pizzabuffet" All you can eat - pizza buffet is ok and cheap
Budget-conscious visitors should avoid anything named "restaurant". Instead, all the cafés in town are good for a quick bite. Expect friendly service at the counter, table service is a luxury in Norway. Expect to pay around NOK 100 for a filling meal.
The canteen for employees in the town hall serves reasonably cheap food, and there is also the student canteens at the university campus. It's possible to buy hot food in many supermarkets, and the price may be a bit lower than buying something in a café. Several greasy spoon bakeries and cafés serve the infamous tacobolle taco bun, a doughy bun with mince, tomato sauce and cheese. Highly uncultured, but yummy, for NOK 30. Both Yonas and Peppes Pizza have lunch buffets eat as much as you can during the daytime on weekdays, for around NOK 100. Peppes Pizza has free internet as well.
Sivertsens Kafekooperativ
Vegetarian cafe with a small but good and affordable menu.
Gründer
The international menu is tasty and good value, and the service is humourously informal.
Top end
Compagniet
is situated in a merchant's home from the 1830's. Doubles at a nightclub in the weekends after 22.
Emmas Drømmekjøkken
is a fantastic restaurant that has got excellent reviews in the Oslo press. A main course is around NOK 280, but compared to what you get, and the standard of service, it's not that much. Look out for their excellently matched 5 course menus. The Lunch menu isn't bad either, and comparatively cheap!
The price difference between mid-range and splurge is not that big, making the occasional splurge good value.
Vegetarians have a hard time in Tromsø, as the knowledge of vegetarian food is limited however, there is at least one cafe with a vegetarian menu in town, see below. Most places can cook something up, but be prepared to explain your food requests in detail. There is probably no point in going to an expensive restaurant. Chinese places have stir fries etc. that can be filling enough. Vegans and vegetarian hindus have to take special care.
Midrange
In this category expect sit-down friendly service and prices varying from NOK 150 to NOK 230 for a filling plate of food. Italian food is not found in the city centre, but a few neighbourhood places in residential areas serve up thin, Italian pizza and pasta. Picando and Allegro are found on the mainland side, and La Speranza is found at Håpet on the west side of the Island. On Kvaløya, genuine Thai food is found at Ban Thai where Kusaya prepares tasty home cooking from her homeland in a rather unassuming neighbourhood restaurant Bus 42 takes you there, well worth the trip!. Finish off with some Thai karaoke. Chinese food is represented by Choi's Kjøkken and Shanghai, both situated in the north of the city. Mains here start at NOK 130. More upmarket alternatives include Tang's, Lotus and Il Mare. Authentic Thai food is found at Thai House Restaurant. Steakhouses are vastly popular many people that cook good fish at home, prefer a good steak when they go out. Expect no local character.