the tarv grillhouse
the faroe islandsreservations needed for this harbourside grill house
the tarv sits on the harbour at vágsbotnur in tórshavn, close enough to the fish market that the best of the day's catch tends to end up on the grill within the hour. head chef wi ounsa works that immediacy against something slower: dry-aged beef sourced from galicia, scotland and nebraska, cooked over the same fire as the local catch. it's a kitchen built on contrast, fast and local against slow and deliberate, and the terrace outside carries the same instinct. its timber was once joists in a danish wooden wharf, reclaimed rather than replaced, and kept open through faroese winters with heat lamps and a sun-sail roof.
// in practicelocated directly beside vágsbotnur fish market in tórshavn, sourcing the day's catch for its grill menuterrace built with oak decking styled on a traditional faroese ship's deck, and seating from reclaimed african azobe timber once used as joists in a danish wharfbeef sourced with named, certified provenance: greater omaha ribeye from nebraska is fixed on the menu year-round, with roxad'ouro from galicia and belted galloway from scotland appearing as the occasional meat of the dayoyn oy pilsner and gamli skúli dark lager, both from local faroese brewery oy, with a rotating tap takeover most often klikkhaze, oy's hazy new england ipa
// well suited forgroup dinners with strong local sourcing and genuine harbour settinginformal client or delegate entertaining in tórshavnyear-round dining at the tarv, with terrace cocktails and charcuterie through the colder months, and full lunch service on the terrace in summer
overview
the site that gave tórshavn its first legal pint outdoors now serves langoustine off a cuban charcoal grill
the building has more history in it than its clean facade lets on. bryggjubakki's concrete houses have stood since 1927, home first to tórshavn's labourers' union and later to the faroe islands' first national radio station, which broadcast its first programme from inside these walls in 1957. the tarv itself occupies the old petrol station next door, on the same stretch of vágsbotnur where, in 2008, a nearby café won the faroe islands' first licence to serve a drink outdoors, changing the marina from a working harbour into the city's social centre almost overnight.
head chef wi ounsa, who trained in thailand, runs the kitchen as what she calls an elegant fusion of grills and ovens, working hard tropical charcoal from cuba that burns long, clean and slow. the beef side of the menu is sourced with real specificity. ribeye from greater omaha in nebraska, trusted for its marbling since 1920, is the fixture. roxad'ouro from galicia and belted galloway from scotland make regular appearances as the meat of the day; the first spain's highest-certified beef, the second descended from cattle bred before christ. each is dry-aged before it reaches the grill, alongside faroese langoustine, cod cheeks and salmon pulled straight from the neighbouring fish market.
the terrace continues that same care for material and history. its decking is oak, laid in the style of a traditional faroese ship's deck, and its seating comes from the trunks of african azobe trees once used as joists in a danish wooden wharf. glass walls cut the wind, a sun-sail rigged to masts keeps out the rain, and heat lamps mean the terrace stays open through faroese winters that are milder than the latitude suggests. the bar pours oyn oy, a pilsner, and gamli skúli, a dark lager, both from oy, a faroese brewery just up the road. the tap takeover rotates, most often klikkhaze, oy's hazy new england ipa, and occasionally gullhornið, an amber ale with its own history: some of oy's founders once ran okkara, the brewery that first made it.
