THE TARV Grillhouse — Restaurant in Tórshavn

Slow service that got worse as the night went on tanked my rating for this establishment. We were seated promptly for our 8pm reservation, but at 10pm we were still waiting for our entrees! When I asked to speak to a manager, I was told he wasn’t in this evening (August 2, 2025), so I asked for an assistant manager. She appeared to be one of the senior servers and brought us our check with the glasses of wine removed from the tab, which we appreciated. She also apologized for the hectic night the entire staff was having, but we left very disappointed, frustrated and hungry!

Our initial waitress appeared to be inexperienced and/or uncomfortable speaking English. The appetizers were delicious, so I’ve given them high marks for food just based on that course. (They didn’t reach our table until 8:43 and part of that delay was due to the long wait for a waitress to take our order. I also had to ask someone to check on my glass of wine, which it turns out they were out of, but our waitress wasn’t the one who informed me. A third employee was the one who offered a Cabernet Sauvignon in lieu of the Malbec. At the end of the night, she was the one who appeared in response to my request for an assistant manager. She apologized for the hectic night the entire staff was having, which was supposedly due to too many bookings and a shortage of staff. She also removed the charges for the wine, but after sitting for 2 hours, we had informed the initial waitress that we weren’t willing to wait any longer. She had not kept us informed at all and at 10:00, our food was supposedly going to be “ready in 2 minutes.” We didn’t wait to see if that was true and ended our evening (and stay in Faroe Islands) on a very disappointing note.

My “Atmosphere” rating would have been higher if not for the hectic nature throughout the restaurant including near the front door close to the open kitchen, where food seemed a bit too out in the open; the lax nature of some staff who were sometimes multitasking as waitresses and dishwasher handlers, yet chatting with each other rather than checking on customers.

It was a very disappointing evening for us all on a night we were trying to...

The food was delicious and The Tarv would have been an easy recommendation to make if the owners let the food speak for itself. My first visit was very enjoyable and memorable and made me want to come back for more. Unfortunately, I had dinner here on three different occasions and was able to observe what the service is really like. The first time, the service was stellar and the langoustine was to die for. I also had the fish collar appetizer which was also delicious and honestly could serve as a meal on its own if you're on a budget (the food is expensive, like everywhere else on the islands). My second visit, the langoustine was burned and dry and clearly reheated from the day before. The third and final time I ate here, I was explicitly asked for a tip, which was the first and only time anywhere on the Faroe Islands. Every single visit, the waiters pushed the fish and meat of the day, which were always the same (monk fish and american steak) and the two singularly most expensive items on the menu. I got in without a reservation shortly after opening time on every visit, but I also watched them turn away a couple without reservations despite the place being completely empty for the next hour and a half that I ate. I stuck to appetizers only during my three visits and had a chance to try most of the appetizers on the menu - they are all amazing and you cannot go wrong. The decor is also very appealing and gives the place an intimate tavern feel. It is a shame that the owners resort to these scummy tactics to relieve tourists of their money rather than creating genuinely amazing memories that people could take back home and...

We had a table booked for 8.00pm. We waited 10minutes before anyone came to welcome us or take us to our table. No apology for the wait. Our waitress was diffident and almost rude at first but eventually softened her attitude and was more helpful. I had the salmon steaks which were delicious. The food and wine were very good. Once we had finished our main course the table was cleared and no one came to ask if we wanted dessert or coffee. Eventually I had to go and find a member of staff to ask for the bill. The bill was just dumped on our table. No one asked if we had enjoyed our food. The only question we were asked was if the bill was correct. As we left the restaurant no members of staff spoke to us to say goodnight and those we passed didn’t even give us eye contact. So in summary. The food was very good but the welcome, service and attitude of the staff was very poor and somewhat spoiled my evening. The staff need training in customer service. There are many other lovely restaurants in Torshaven. I would choose them...