In Old School RuneScape (OSRS), food plays a crucial role in ensuring your survival during combat, skilling, and various in-game challenges. Whether you're slaying monsters in dangerous dungeons, participating in player-versus-player (PvP) combat, or engaging in high-risk activities like bossing, the right food can make all the difference. But with so many options available, choosing the best food to carry can be a daunting task.

In this article, we will explore the best foods in OSRS gold, considering various factors such as healing efficiency, accessibility, cost, and how they fit into different playstyles. Whether you're an experienced adventurer or a newcomer, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of various food types will help you maximize your survivability and performance.

Key Factors to Consider When Choosing Food in OSRS

Before diving into the specific foods, it's essential to understand the factors that influence which food is best for you:

Healing Efficiency: How much health the food restores is the most important factor. High healing foods can help you stay alive longer during intense fights.

Price: Some foods are more expensive or harder to obtain than others. Cost-effective options are often sought after, especially for mid-level players or those on a budget.

Speed of Consumption: Foods that can be consumed more quickly are generally more beneficial in combat situations, as they allow you to heal faster when you're taking damage.

Accessibility: How easily you can obtain the food is important. Are you able to gather the ingredients yourself, or does it require purchasing from other players or NPCs?

Overhealing: Some foods restore more health than your max hit points, essentially overhealing. This can be useful in situations where you expect to take damage shortly after healing.

Weight: Heavier foods may slow down your movement in PvP or PvE activities, especially in the Wilderness or during agility-based content.

The Best Foods in OSRS

Based on the factors above, we will break down the best foods in OSRS across different categories.

1. Sharks

Healing: 20 Hitpoints

Price: High (around 1,000-1,500 coins per shark)

Location/Obtaining: Catchable via Fishing (Level 76) or purchased from shops and players.

Speed: Fast (1.8 seconds per bite)

Why It's Great:

Sharks are often considered the best all-around food in OSRS due to their high healing efficiency and fast consumption rate. Each shark heals 20 hitpoints, which is a significant amount for most players. While they are on the expensive side, sharks are still relatively easy to obtain through fishing or buying from other players, making them a solid choice for many high-level PvE activities.

Best For:

High-level bossing (e.g., Zulrah, Vorkath, and Raids)

Player killing in PvP (such as in the Wilderness)

General PvE content like Slayer and Combat training

Drawbacks:

The main downside of sharks is their cost, especially for lower-level players. However, they remain one of the most consistent and reliable healing foods in the game.

2. Karambwan

Healing: 18 Hitpoints

Price: Moderate to High (around 2,000 coins per karambwan)

Location/Obtaining: Catchable via Fishing (Level 65) in the Karamja area.

Speed: Very Fast (1.2 seconds per bite)

Why It's Great:

Karambwan is a top-tier food due to its fast consumption time, healing 18 hitpoints, and the unique ability to heal in combat. Because they are so quick to consume, karambwans are excellent for high-speed encounters, especially when you're up against fast enemies or when you need to heal quickly during PvP.

Karambwan is also beneficial for PvP scenarios, as the rapid healing can catch your opponents off guard. Players can obtain karambwans through fishing in the Karamja area and have a steady supply if they have the required fishing level.

Best For:

PvP (especially in the Wilderness and in Clan Wars)

Bossing or encounters that require quick healing

Slayer tasks that involve high-speed combat

Drawbacks:

While they heal well and are fast to consume, karambwans are quite expensive and require a higher fishing level to obtain. Additionally, they cannot be eaten during certain activities like some bosses that restrict food consumption.

3. Brews (Super Restore)

Healing: 15 Hitpoints (and boosts stats)

Price: Moderate to High (around 10,000-13,000 coins per brew)

Location/Obtaining: Brew is made using Herblore (Level 77) or purchased from other players.

Speed: Slow (2.4 seconds per brew)

Why It's Great:

The Saradomin brew is an amazing food choice for high-risk scenarios, especially in raids or against bosses that deal both damage and debuffs. Each brew restores 15 hitpoints, and it also boosts your stats (defence, attack, and hitpoints), making it a highly valuable option for survivability.

In addition to cheap RuneScape gold healing, brews have the unique ability to overheal, meaning you can restore health beyond your max hitpoints, which is great for tanking damage. The downside, however, is the slow consumption time, making them less suitable for quick healing situations.

Best For:

Tanking high-level bosses (e.g., The Nightmare, The Corporeal Beast)

PvP, particularly in Clan Wars or the Wilderness

Raids and activities requiring stat boosts

Drawbacks:

Brews are expensive and require a high level of Herblore to make or buying costs if purchasing from other players. The healing process is slower than sharks or karambwans.