Reykjavík’s food scene is a study in contrasts — a city where the world’s most famous hot dog stand operates from a small white kiosk by the harbour and has been doing so since 1937, while a few streets away restaurants of genuine international calibre serve New Nordic cuisine of extraordinary sophistication and extraordinary price. Where the traditional Icelandic lamb soup (kjötsúpa) costs less than a coffee in most European capitals and is served with the same pride and the same care as any dish in the city, while the celebrated New Nordic tasting menus at the city’s finest restaurants cost more per head than a night in a good hotel.
Understanding this range — the democratic accessibility of Icelandic food culture alongside its genuine culinary ambition — is essential to navigating Reykjavík’s eating landscape with the right expectations. This is not a city where you need to spend a fortune to eat extraordinarily well. The hot dog at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur is one of the finest street food experiences in Europe at a price of approximately USD 3. The lamb soup at a traditional Icelandic restaurant is genuinely excellent at approximately USD 15. The skyr at any café or supermarket is a revelation at any price point.
But Reykjavík is also a city where the finest restaurants — Dill, Óx, Matur og Drykkur, and the extraordinary tasting menu experiences that represent the apex of Iceland’s New Nordic food culture — provide dining experiences of genuine world class that justify the considerable expense for those who choose to invest in them.
This guide covers the full range — from the legendary hot dog kiosk to the finest tasting menus, from the best coffee shops to the most atmospheric traditional Icelandic restaurants — with honest assessments of what each delivers, specific practical information, and the context needed to understand why Reykjavík’s food scene is genuinely one of the most rewarding in northern Europe.
Understanding Icelandic Food: What Makes It Extraordinary
Before exploring the specific restaurants and cafés it is worth understanding the raw ingredients and culinary traditions that make Icelandic food so distinctive and so rewarding.
The Seafood
Iceland sits at the confluence of the warm Irminger Current and the cold East Greenland Current — a collision of water temperatures that produces one of the richest marine ecosystems in the North Atlantic and some of the finest seafood available anywhere in the world. The cold water produces fish of extraordinary flavour and extraordinary texture — the slow growth in cold water concentrating the flavour in ways that warm water fish cannot match.
The most important Icelandic seafood species — cod (þorskur), haddock (ýsa), Arctic char (bleikja), langoustine (humar), and the extraordinary Icelandic scallop (hörpudiskur) — are all available in Reykjavík’s finest restaurants in states of freshness that most of the world’s seafood restaurants can only aspire to. The Icelandic langoustine in particular — small, sweet, and of incomparable delicacy — is one of the great luxury ingredients of the North Atlantic and the finest single seafood ingredient available in Reykjavík.
The Lamb
Icelandic lamb is the finest lamb in the world — a judgment made consistently by chefs and food writers who have tasted lamb from every corner of the globe. The free-roaming Icelandic sheep spend the entire summer on Iceland’s extraordinary highland pastures — grazing on wild herbs, grasses, and Arctic plants that give the meat a flavour of extraordinary complexity and extraordinary depth. The slow growth on high-altitude pasture and the complete absence of any feedlot finishing produces a leaner, more intensely flavoured meat than commercially raised lamb anywhere else in the world.
The Dairy
Icelandic dairy — particularly skyr (the thick, cultured dairy product that has been a staple of Icelandic diet for over a thousand years) and the extraordinary Icelandic butter — is of exceptional quality. The dairy herd grazes on the same extraordinary highland pastures as the lamb, and the milk produced by these slow-grazing animals has a flavour and a fat content that produces dairy products of genuine distinction.
The New Nordic Philosophy
The New Nordic food movement — the culinary philosophy that emerged from the Nordic countries in the early 2000s and that was most famously articulated in the kitchen of Copenhagen’s Noma restaurant — has had a profound influence on Reykjavík’s finest restaurants. The emphasis on local and seasonal ingredients, on traditional preservation techniques (fermentation, smoking, curing, drying), on the specific flavours of the Nordic landscape, and on the relationship between the food and the place from which it comes has produced a Reykjavík fine dining scene of genuine originality and genuine excellence.
The Best Cafés in Reykjavík
1. Reykjavík Roasters — The Finest Coffee in Iceland
Reykjavík Roasters is the most important coffee establishment in Iceland — a specialty coffee roastery and café that has been operating in Reykjavík since 2008 and that has defined the standard for specialty coffee in the country. The café occupies a small, beautifully designed space in the Þingholt neighbourhood — one of the finest residential areas in central Reykjavík — and serves coffee of extraordinary quality roasted in-house with a meticulous attention to sourcing, roasting, and preparation that places it among the finest specialty coffee operations in northern Europe.
The Coffee
Reykjavík Roasters works exclusively with single-origin coffees from the world’s finest growing regions — Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Guatemala, and the other origins that produce the most complex and most interesting natural coffees. The roasting philosophy emphasises light to medium roasts that preserve the specific character of each origin — the floral Ethiopian naturals, the clean bright Kenyan washed coffees, the complex Guatemalan volcanic origins — rather than the darker roasts that mask origin character behind uniform roast flavour.
The espresso programme is exceptional — the extraction is precise, the milk work is skilled, and the overall quality of the coffee experience is as good as anything available in the great specialty coffee cities of London, Copenhagen, or Melbourne. The filter coffee programme — pour-over and batch brew options — is equally strong.
What to order: The single-origin pour-over is the finest expression of Reykjavík Roasters’ sourcing and roasting philosophy — the baristas will recommend the most interesting current filter offering and the recommendation is invariably worth following. The flat white is the finest milk-based espresso drink in Reykjavík. The seasonal filter specials — available when exceptional lots are in stock — are worth asking about.
The Space:
The café is small — seating approximately 20 people in the main space — with the deliberate intimacy of a serious specialty coffee operation that prioritises the coffee experience over the social event. The design is spare and beautiful — natural wood, exposed brick, and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee creating an atmosphere of complete Nordic calm.
Practical information:
- Location: Brautarholt 2, Þingholt neighbourhood — approximately 10 minutes walk from the city centre
- Hours: Monday to Friday 8 AM to 6 PM, Saturday and Sunday 9 AM to 6 PM
- Price: Espresso drinks approximately ISK 600 to 900 (USD 4 to 6)
- Second location: Kárastígur 1 in the city centre
2. Kaffitar — The Reykjavík Coffee Institution
Kaffitar is the most established specialty coffee brand in Iceland — a Reykjavík roastery and café chain that has been operating since 1990 and that introduced specialty coffee culture to Iceland decades before the current global specialty coffee movement made it fashionable. The original Kaffitar café in the Bankastræti shopping street is the finest location in the chain and one of the most atmospherically pleasant cafés in Reykjavík.
Unlike the more austere specialty coffee operations Kaffitar provides a warmer and more social café experience — the comfortable seating, the excellent food offering (pastries, sandwiches, and light meals of good quality), and the consistently good coffee make it one of the most reliably rewarding café experiences in the city for visitors who want excellent coffee in a genuinely comfortable environment.
What to order: The house espresso blend — a medium roast of consistent quality and consistent character — makes an excellent flat white or cappuccino. The single-origin filter coffees are of good quality. The pastries — particularly the skúffukaka (Icelandic chocolate sheet cake) — are excellent.
Practical information:
- Location: Multiple locations across Reykjavík — the Bankastræti location is the finest
- Hours: Monday to Friday 7 AM to 7 PM, Saturday 8 AM to 7 PM, Sunday 9 AM to 6 PM
- Price: Espresso drinks approximately ISK 550 to 850 (USD 3.50 to 5.50)
3. Stofan Café — The Living Room of Reykjavík
Stofan Café — on Aðalstræti in the oldest part of central Reykjavík — is the most atmospheric and most beloved café in the city: a multi-room space of extraordinary warmth and extraordinary character, furnished with mismatched vintage sofas, armchairs, and tables that create the impression of a very large, very comfortable living room rather than a commercial café.
The name means simply “the living room” and the description is entirely accurate — Stofan is the place where Reykjavík residents come to spend an afternoon reading, working, meeting friends, and simply existing in a space of genuine comfort and genuine warmth. The café embodies the Icelandic concept of hygge — the Scandinavian quality of cosy, unhurried comfort — more completely than any other single space in the city.
The Coffee and Food:
The coffee at Stofan is good rather than exceptional — a well-made medium-roast espresso programme that provides a reliable and enjoyable coffee experience without the precision of the dedicated specialty coffee operations. The food offering — soups, sandwiches, cakes, and Icelandic pastries — is of consistently good quality and excellent value.
The kjötsúpa (Icelandic lamb soup) served at Stofan is one of the finest versions available in Reykjavík — a rich, warming soup of lamb, root vegetables, and herbs that is genuinely restorative after a cold Icelandic morning outdoors and that represents the most honest and most comforting expression of traditional Icelandic home cooking.
What to order: The kjötsúpa with rye bread. The skúffukaka (Icelandic chocolate cake). A good flat white. Then stay as long as the afternoon allows.
Practical information:
- Location: Aðalstræti 3 — the oldest street in Reykjavík
- Hours: Daily 9 AM to 11 PM (midnight on weekends)
- Price: Coffee ISK 500 to 800 (USD 3.50 to 5.50), food ISK 1,200 to 2,500 (USD 8 to 17)
- Extremely popular — arrive early for the best sofa positions
4. Mokka Kaffi — The Original Reykjavík Café
Mokka Kaffi is the oldest café in Reykjavík — opened in 1958 and operating continuously in the same Skólavörðustígur location for over 65 years in a state of deliberate and entirely charming preservation. The café introduced espresso coffee to Iceland in 1958 — bringing the first espresso machine to the country and beginning the coffee culture that now supports dozens of excellent cafés across the city.
The interior of Mokka Kaffi is a time capsule of extraordinary authenticity — the original fittings, the dark wood panelling, the Scandinavian modern furniture of the late 1950s, and the paintings on the walls (Mokka has always been a gathering place for Reykjavík artists and the walls are covered with works donated or sold by the city’s artistic community over decades) create an atmosphere of irreplaceable historic character.
The Coffee and Food:
The coffee at Mokka is traditional rather than specialty — a darker Italian-influenced roast that reflects the café’s origins in the 1950s rather than the current specialty coffee movement. The waffles — served with jam and cream and made to the same recipe since 1958 — are the most famous food item at Mokka and one of the most beloved traditional café foods in Reykjavík. The waffle queue on weekend mornings is a reliable indicator of their quality.
What to order: The waffles with cream and jam. A traditional espresso. Stay for the atmosphere and the art.
Practical information:
- Location: Skólavörðustígur 3a — the street leading up to the Hallgrímskirkja church
- Hours: Daily 9 AM to 6 PM
- Price: Coffee ISK 400 to 700 (USD 2.70 to 4.70), waffles ISK 900 (USD 6)
- Cash only — the oldest café in Reykjavík operates on traditional terms
5. Kaffi Vinyl — The Vegan Café With the Record Collection
Kaffi Vinyl is the most distinctive café in Reykjavík — a fully vegan café and bar that combines excellent plant-based food with an extraordinary collection of vinyl records, a turntable that plays continuously throughout the day, and an atmosphere of genuine bohemian warmth that makes it one of the most beloved gathering places in the city regardless of dietary preferences.
The food is genuinely excellent — the entirely plant-based menu covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a creativity and a quality that makes Kaffi Vinyl one of the finest cafés in Reykjavík on the basis of food alone. The vegan skyr parfait, the grain bowls, and the rotating soup menu are all of exceptional quality.
What to order: The vegan skyr bowl with seasonal toppings. The soup of the day with sourdough bread. A natural wine from the excellent wine list. Then ask the staff to put on something good from the record collection.
Practical information:
- Location: Hverfisgata 76
- Hours: Daily 11 AM to 11 PM (midnight on Friday and Saturday)
- Price: Food ISK 1,500 to 3,000 (USD 10 to 20)
- Entirely vegan — one of the finest vegan dining experiences in Iceland
6. Café Babalu — The Colour and the Calm
Café Babalu occupies two floors of a colourfully decorated building on Skólavörðustígur — the street leading up to the Hallgrímskirkja church that is one of the most architecturally and commercially interesting streets in Reykjavík. The café’s interior is a riot of colour and pattern — mismatched furniture, eclectic decoration, and a general atmosphere of creative chaos that is somehow simultaneously chaotic and deeply comfortable.
The rooftop terrace — weather permitting, which in Reykjavík is a significant qualification — provides one of the finest outdoor café experiences in the city, with views of the surrounding rooftops and occasional glimpses of the surrounding landscape that reward the climb.
What to order: The crêpes — sweet and savoury options of consistent quality. The hot chocolate — one of the finest in Reykjavík. The cakes — a rotating selection of homemade baking that changes daily.
Practical information:
- Location: Skólavörðustígur 22a
- Hours: Daily 11 AM to 10 PM
- Price: Coffee ISK 500 to 800 (USD 3.50 to 5.50), food ISK 1,200 to 2,500 (USD 8 to 17)
7. Sandholt Bakery — The Finest Bakery in Iceland
Sandholt is the finest bakery in Iceland and one of the finest bakery and café operations in Scandinavia — a family-run establishment on Laugavegur that has been baking bread, pastries, and cakes of extraordinary quality since 1920 using the same commitment to quality ingredients and traditional craft that the founding family established over a century ago.
The bread at Sandholt is exceptional — sourdoughs, rye breads, and various speciality loaves of genuine quality baked daily on the premises. The pastries — croissants, Danish pastries, fruit tarts, and the extraordinarily good Icelandic kleinur (traditional twisted doughnuts fried in oil) — are the finest available in Reykjavík.
What to order: The butter croissant — one of the finest in Scandinavia. The rugbrauð (traditional Icelandic rye bread) with Icelandic butter and smoked lamb. The kleinur. A good flat white from the coffee bar. The sandwich menu at lunch — among the finest café sandwiches in the city.
Practical information:
- Location: Laugavegur 36 — the main shopping street of Reykjavík
- Hours: Monday to Friday 7 AM to 6 PM, Saturday 7 AM to 5 PM, Sunday 8 AM to 5 PM
- Price: Pastries ISK 500 to 900 (USD 3.50 to 6), sandwiches ISK 1,500 to 2,200 (USD 10 to 15)
- Arrives early for the freshest pastry selection — the best items sell out by mid-morning
The Best Restaurants in Reykjavík
8. Dill Restaurant — The Finest Restaurant in Iceland
Dill is the most important restaurant in Iceland — the first Icelandic restaurant to receive a Michelin star (awarded in 2017 and retained since), the most celebrated expression of New Nordic cuisine in Iceland, and the restaurant that more than any other has demonstrated that Icelandic fine dining can operate at genuinely international levels of quality and originality.
The restaurant is the creation of chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason — one of the most talented and most intellectually rigorous chefs in the Nordic countries — who returned to Iceland after training and working in Copenhagen and New York to create a restaurant built entirely around the specific flavours, ingredients, and culinary traditions of Iceland.
The Philosophy
Dill’s culinary philosophy is built on a fundamental principle: Iceland’s extraordinary natural ingredients — its seafood, its lamb, its dairy, its wild herbs and mosses, its preserved and fermented traditions — are among the finest raw materials available anywhere in the world, and the chef’s role is to illuminate these ingredients rather than to obscure them behind imported techniques or foreign flavours.
The result is a tasting menu that tastes completely and entirely of Iceland — a sequence of dishes whose flavours reference the volcanic landscape, the cold North Atlantic, the highland pastures, and the ancient Norse food culture in ways that are simultaneously intellectually engaging and simply delicious.
The Menu
Dill serves a single tasting menu of 5 to 7 courses that changes with the seasons and with the availability of specific ingredients. The menu is never fixed in advance — it reflects what Gunnar and his team find of the finest quality on any given day from their network of Icelandic producers, fishermen, and foragers.
Dishes that have appeared on previous menus — and that represent the quality and the approach of the kitchen — include:
Icelandic Langoustine with Skyr and Dill: The finest single ingredient in Iceland treated with the simplest and most respectful preparation — the langoustine barely cooked, its extraordinary sweetness and delicacy preserved, served with the clean acidity of skyr and the anise fragrance of fresh dill that is simultaneously the restaurant’s name and one of the most distinctively Icelandic flavours.
Salted Cod with Birch and Brown Butter: The cod that built Iceland’s economy for centuries — treated with the salt-curing technique that preserved it for export across the medieval world — served with the smoky sweetness of birch wood and the richness of Icelandic butter in a dish that connects the contemporary kitchen directly to a thousand years of Icelandic food history.
Icelandic Lamb with Wild Herbs: The finest lamb in the world prepared with the wild herbs of the highland pastures where it grazed — angelica, lovage, and the various Arctic herbs that flavour the lamb from within — in a dish of extraordinary flavour and extraordinary simplicity.
Skyr Dessert: The ancient Icelandic dairy tradition reinvented as a dessert of delicacy and contemporary relevance — skyr’s clean sourness balanced with the sweetness of Icelandic crowberries or bilberries and the richness of Icelandic cream.
The Space and Service
Dill occupies a beautifully designed space in the Nordic House cultural centre — a building designed by the Finnish architect Alvar Aalto — whose spare Nordic aesthetics provide the perfect context for food of this quality and this intellectual seriousness. The service is warm rather than formal — genuinely knowledgeable about the ingredients, the producers, and the philosophy behind each dish — creating a dining experience that is simultaneously celebratory and educational.
Practical information:
- Location: Hverfisgata 12 (Nordic House)
- Hours: Wednesday to Saturday from 6 PM — one seating per evening
- Price: Tasting menu approximately ISK 22,000 to 28,000 per person (USD 150 to 190) — wine pairing additional ISK 12,000 to 16,000 (USD 80 to 110)
- Reservations: Essential — book 4 to 8 weeks in advance. The restaurant is fully booked weeks ahead throughout the year
- Honest assessment: Dill is worth the considerable expense for serious food lovers — the quality is genuinely world class and the experience of tasting Iceland through Gunnar’s kitchen is genuinely irreplaceable
9. Matur og Drykkur — Traditional Iceland Reinvented
Matur og Drykkur — the name means simply “Food and Drink” in Icelandic — is the finest restaurant in Reykjavík for traditional Icelandic food reimagined with contemporary culinary intelligence and contemporary technique. The restaurant occupies a beautifully converted warehouse space in the Old Harbour area — one of the most atmospherically industrial and most interesting parts of Reykjavík — and serves food that is simultaneously deeply rooted in Icelandic culinary tradition and completely relevant to contemporary dining.
The Concept
The chef Ágúst Einþórsson works from an extraordinary source — the 1947 cookbook of Icelandic home economist Helga Sigurðardóttir, whose systematic recording of traditional Icelandic recipes provides a complete archive of the domestic food culture of mid-20th century Iceland. Ágúst uses this cookbook as his primary reference point — reconstructing and reimagining the traditional recipes with modern technique while preserving the essential Icelandic character of each dish.
The result is food that older Icelandic diners recognise as deeply familiar — flavours from their grandmothers’ kitchens, from the traditional foods of their childhoods — while delivering those flavours with a precision, a refinement, and a visual beauty that elevates them completely beyond the domestic context from which they emerged.
Signature Dishes
Salted Cod Head: The salt cod head — one of the most traditional and most economically important foods in Icelandic history, historically eaten by the fishing crews who caught the cod as the less commercially valuable parts were exported — served with a butter sauce of extraordinary richness and garnished with pickled vegetables. The dish is simultaneously a history lesson about Icelandic economic and social history and a genuinely delicious piece of cooking.
Hákarl: Fermented Greenlandic shark — Iceland’s most famous and most challenging traditional food — appears on the Matur og Drykkur menu in a contemporary preparation that makes the extraordinary flavour of the fermented shark accessible as part of a composed dish rather than as a dare. The preparation does not disguise the hákarl’s essential character — the ammonia intensity, the chewy texture, the genuinely challenging flavour — but frames it within a broader dish that provides context and balance.
Plokkfiskur: The traditional Icelandic fish hash — salt cod and potato mixed into a thick, warming stew with onion and béchamel — is one of the most beloved Icelandic home cooking dishes and the Matur og Drykkur version is the finest available in any Reykjavík restaurant. Served with rye bread and Icelandic butter it is one of the most comforting and most genuinely delicious dishes in the city.
Skyr Cheesecake: The skyr desserts at Matur og Drykkur are consistently extraordinary — the natural acidity and clean dairy flavour of Icelandic skyr providing a dessert ingredient of genuine distinction that Ágúst exploits with considerable skill.
Practical information:
- Location: Grandagarður 2, Old Harbour
- Hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 6 PM
- Price: À la carte mains approximately ISK 4,500 to 7,500 (USD 30 to 50) — tasting menu available
- Reservations: Strongly recommended — book at least 2 weeks in advance
- Honest assessment: Matur og Drykkur is the finest restaurant for understanding Icelandic food culture and history through genuinely excellent cooking — more accessible in price than Dill and offering an equally rewarding but differently oriented dining experience
10. Óx — The Most Exclusive Restaurant in Iceland
Óx is the most exclusive and most extraordinary dining experience in Reykjavík — a 12-seat restaurant hidden behind the bar of the Sumac restaurant, operating on a single seating per evening for a maximum of 12 guests who share a communal table for a 20-course tasting menu of extraordinary ambition and extraordinary execution.
The restaurant is the creation of chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason — the same chef behind Dill — and represents an even more personal and more experimental expression of his culinary vision than his Michelin-starred restaurant. Where Dill is refined and intellectually serious, Óx is playful, theatrical, and occasionally genuinely surprising — a kitchen that is willing to challenge expectations and to take risks that a conventional restaurant format would not permit.
The Experience:
The 12 guests sit together at a single long table — strangers sharing an extraordinary meal in an intimate space — while the kitchen team works in an open kitchen directly adjacent to the table. The 20-course menu is served over approximately 3 hours with no choices, no modifications, and no advance knowledge of what will be served — the experience is one of complete trust in the kitchen and complete openness to whatever the evening delivers.
Practical information:
- Location: Laugavegur 28 (behind Sumac restaurant)
- Hours: One seating per evening, Wednesday to Saturday
- Price: Approximately ISK 35,000 to 42,000 per person (USD 235 to 280) — wine pairing additional
- Reservations: Essential — the 12-seat format means the restaurant is effectively always full. Book months in advance
- Honest assessment: Óx is the most extraordinary dining experience available in Iceland and one of the most extraordinary in the Nordic countries — the price is significant but the experience is genuinely without equivalent
11. Fiskmarkaðurinn — The Fish Market
Fiskmarkaðurinn (The Fish Market) is the finest seafood restaurant in Reykjavík and the finest expression of Iceland’s extraordinary marine raw materials in a contemporary dining format. The restaurant’s concept — combining the finest Icelandic seafood with Asian-influenced preparation techniques — produces a distinctive and genuinely excellent dining style that has made it one of the most consistently praised restaurants in Reykjavík for over a decade.
The Menu
The menu at Fiskmarkaðurinn changes daily based on the morning’s catch — a commitment to freshness that means the specific dishes available on any given evening cannot be predicted in advance but that the general quality can be relied upon completely.
The Icelandic Langoustine: The finest ingredient in the restaurant — Icelandic langoustine served with a variety of preparations that emphasise the extraordinary natural sweetness and delicacy of the shellfish. The langoustine tempura — light batter, exceptional dipping sauce, the langoustine barely cooked inside the crispy exterior — is the most popular preparation and entirely deserves its reputation.
The Sashimi Selection: The quality of Icelandic fish makes sashimi preparation — which requires absolutely fresh fish of absolutely impeccable quality — ideal for demonstrating the extraordinary natural flavour of the raw material. The Arctic char sashimi and the Icelandic salmon sashimi are both outstanding.
The Tasting Menu: The restaurant’s tasting menu — a sequence of 5 to 7 courses based entirely on the day’s finest fish and shellfish — provides the most complete expression of the kitchen’s range and the most comprehensive experience of Icelandic seafood available in the city.
Practical information:
- Location: Aðalstræti 12 — central Reykjavík
- Hours: Daily from 5.30 PM
- Price: À la carte starters ISK 2,500 to 4,500 (USD 17 to 30), mains ISK 5,500 to 9,500 (USD 37 to 64) — tasting menu ISK 14,900 per person (USD 100)
- Reservations: Essential — book at least 1 week in advance
- Honest assessment: Fiskmarkaðurinn is the finest single restaurant in Reykjavík for seafood lovers and provides an excellent value fine dining experience relative to the quality delivered
12. Grillmarkaðurinn — The Grill Market
Grillmarkaðurinn (The Grill Market) — the sister restaurant of Fiskmarkaðurinn, located in the same building — focuses on Icelandic meat and the extraordinary Icelandic lamb with the same commitment to quality sourcing and contemporary technique that distinguishes the seafood restaurant next door.
The restaurant’s defining ingredient is the Icelandic lamb — served in multiple preparations that demonstrate the extraordinary versatility and extraordinary flavour of Iceland’s finest meat product. The lamb fillet, the slow-cooked lamb shoulder, and the lamb rack are all of exceptional quality and represent some of the finest lamb cooking available anywhere in Europe.
Signature dishes:
Slow Cooked Icelandic Lamb Shoulder: 48-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder served with root vegetables and lamb jus of intense concentration — a dish that demonstrates the extraordinary flavour depth of Icelandic lamb in its most concentrated form.
Icelandic Beef Tenderloin: Iceland’s beef — from cattle that graze on the same extraordinary highland pastures as the sheep — is less internationally celebrated than the lamb but of comparable quality. The tenderloin at Grillmarkaðurinn is consistently excellent.
The Surf and Turf: Combining Icelandic langoustine with Icelandic beef tenderloin — Iceland’s two finest luxury ingredients in a single dish — is the most extravagant and most indulgent option on the menu and one of the finest surf and turf combinations available in Scandinavia.
Practical information:
- Location: Lækjargata 2a
- Hours: Daily from 5.30 PM
- Price: Mains ISK 5,500 to 12,000 (USD 37 to 80)
- Reservations: Strongly recommended
13. Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur — The World’s Most Famous Hot Dog
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur — the name means “the best hot dogs in town” and is not an understatement — is the most famous food establishment in Iceland and one of the most famous street food operations in the world. The small white kiosk by the Reykjavík harbour has been serving hot dogs since 1937 and has been visited by Bill Clinton (who ordered “one with everything”), Anthony Bourdain, and James Hetfield of Metallica, among the more famous names in a guest list that encompasses essentially every celebrity who has ever visited Reykjavík.
Why the Hot Dog Is Extraordinary
The Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur hot dog is extraordinary not because of the sausage — which is a traditional lamb and pork blend of good quality — but because of the combination of the sausage with the specific condiment selection that the Icelanders have developed over 85 years of hot dog optimisation.
The full order (eina með öllu — one with everything):
The complete hot dog consists of the steamed lamb-pork sausage in a soft steamed bun with: raw white onion, crispy fried onion, sweet brown mustard (pylsusinnep), ketchup, and remoulade (a mayonnaise-based sauce with capers and herbs). The combination of the hot sausage with the dual onion (raw and fried simultaneously), the sweet mustard, the ketchup, and the remoulade creates a flavour combination of extraordinary satisfaction — sweet, savoury, crunchy, soft, hot, and cold all at once.
Practical information:
- Location: Tryggvagata 1 — by the harbour, 5 minutes walk from the city centre
- Hours: Daily 10 AM to 1 AM (2 AM on Friday and Saturday)
- Price: One hot dog approximately ISK 590 (USD 4)
- Queue: Always — sometimes very long at lunchtime and in the evening. The queue moves quickly and is entirely worth waiting in
- Order: Say “eina með öllu” for one with everything — the correct first Reykjavík hot dog experience
14. Messinn — The Finest Value Seafood in Reykjavík
Messinn is the finest value seafood restaurant in Reykjavík — a casual but genuinely excellent fish restaurant that serves Icelandic seafood of extraordinary quality in generous portions at prices significantly below the premium seafood restaurants. The restaurant has built an exceptional reputation among both Reykjavík residents and visitors for the quality of its fish pan dishes — cast iron skillets of freshly prepared fish and shellfish served directly to the table in the cooking pan.
The Fish Pan
The fish pan — Messinn’s signature dish — is a cast iron skillet containing a generous portion of the day’s finest fish (typically a combination of cod, haddock, and Arctic char) with vegetables, herbs, and a butter sauce of excellent quality. The portion is generous, the fish is of exceptional freshness, and the price — approximately ISK 4,500 to 5,500 (USD 30 to 37) — represents the finest value for money available at any seafood restaurant in Reykjavík.
Practical information:
- Location: Lækjargata 6b
- Hours: Daily 11.30 AM to 10 PM
- Price: Fish pans ISK 4,500 to 5,500 (USD 30 to 37) — excellent value for quality
- Reservations: Recommended for dinner — the restaurant fills quickly
15. Sea Baron (Sægreifinn) — The Lobster Soup Legend
Sægreifinn — the Sea Baron — is a legendary Reykjavík institution: a small, atmospheric fish shack in the Old Harbour whose lobster soup (humarsúpa) has achieved the status of an essential Reykjavík food experience and whose fish skewers have been feeding harbour workers, fishermen, and tourists for over 30 years.
The restaurant is atmospheric in the most honest and most unpretentious sense — a small wooden building crammed with fishing memorabilia, lobster pot decorations, and the accumulated character of three decades of harbour-side operation. The seating is communal and slightly chaotic. The menu is chalked on a board and changes daily. The experience is entirely wonderful.
The Lobster Soup
The humarsúpa is the most famous dish in the restaurant — a rich, deeply flavoured soup of Icelandic langoustine (the small lobster that the Icelanders call “humar”) with cream, tomato, and a flavour of extraordinary depth and extraordinary satisfying warmth. The soup is served with bread for dipping and costs approximately ISK 2,500 (USD 17) — the finest food value in Reykjavík by the standard of quality-to-price ratio.
Practical information:
- Location: Geirsgata 8, Old Harbour
- Hours: Daily 11.30 AM to 10 PM
- Price: Lobster soup ISK 2,500 (USD 17), fish skewers ISK 800 to 1,500 (USD 5 to 10)
- No reservations — queue-based entry. Arrive early for the best skewer selection
16. Krua Thai — The Best Non-Icelandic Restaurant
Krua Thai is the most beloved non-Icelandic restaurant in Reykjavík — a Thai restaurant of extraordinary quality and extraordinary popularity that has been operating in the city for over 20 years and that serves Thai food of genuine authenticity and genuine excellence in a warm and welcoming environment.
The restaurant’s popularity among Reykjavík residents — who regularly describe it as one of their most frequently visited restaurants regardless of the extraordinary range of dining options available in the city — speaks to the quality and consistency of the cooking. The green curry, the pad thai, and the som tam (green papaya salad) are all of restaurant quality significantly above what most European cities can reliably produce at this price point.
Practical information:
- Location: Tryggvagata 14
- Hours: Daily 11 AM to 10 PM
- Price: Mains ISK 2,200 to 3,500 (USD 15 to 24)
- Reservations: Recommended for dinner
17. Pylsuvagninn — The Traditional Hot Dog Cart
For visitors who have already experienced Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur and want to explore further the extraordinary Icelandic hot dog tradition Pylsuvagninn — the traditional hot dog cart operating in Hlemmur Square — provides an alternative and equally excellent version of the Icelandic pylsa with the added pleasure of eating it standing in one of the most atmospheric squares in Reykjavík.
18. Kol Restaurant — New Nordic Meets Neighbourhood Dining
Kol is one of the finest neighbourhood restaurants in Reykjavík — a beautifully designed space on Skólavörðustígur that serves food of genuine quality and genuine creativity in a warm and accessible atmosphere that feels more like a favourite local restaurant than a formal dining destination.
The menu draws on New Nordic principles — Icelandic ingredients, seasonal focus, traditional techniques — while maintaining the accessibility and the generosity of portion that distinguishes a neighbourhood restaurant from a fine dining establishment. The result is some of the finest everyday dining in Reykjavík — food that is simultaneously excellent and entirely comfortable to eat without ceremony or occasion.
Signature dishes:
Icelandic Lamb Burger: The finest lamb burger in Reykjavík — using the extraordinary Icelandic lamb in a preparation that is simultaneously casual and genuinely delicious. The accompaniments — pickled vegetables, Icelandic cheese, house-made condiments — are all of exceptional quality.
Charcoal Roasted Cauliflower: The vegetable cooking at Kol is consistently excellent — the charcoal roasting technique produces flavours of great depth and great interest from Icelandic vegetables that lesser kitchens would treat as supporting cast.
Practical information:
- Location: Skólavörðustígur 40
- Hours: Daily from 5 PM
- Price: Mains ISK 3,500 to 6,500 (USD 24 to 44)
- Reservations: Recommended for dinner
19. Café Loki — Traditional Icelandic Food at Its Most Honest
Café Loki is the finest restaurant in Reykjavík for traditional Icelandic home cooking — a café directly across the street from the Hallgrímskirkja church that serves the traditional dishes of Icelandic domestic cooking with complete honesty and complete quality.
The menu is a comprehensive education in traditional Icelandic food culture — plokkfiskur (fish hash), hangikjöt (smoked lamb), súrmatur (fermented foods), skyr, rugbrauð (dark rye bread), and the complete range of traditional preparations that have sustained Icelandic families through centuries of harsh northern winters. The food is served without pretension and without transformation — this is traditional Icelandic home cooking, served as it has been served in Icelandic kitchens for generations.
What to order:
The Loki Plate: A selection of traditional Icelandic foods served together — a comprehensive introduction to the flavours of traditional Iceland on a single plate. Includes hangikjöt (smoked lamb), plokkfiskur (fish hash), rugbrauð with Icelandic butter, skyr, and a selection of the fermented and preserved foods of the traditional Icelandic larder.
The Icelandic Meat Soup (Kjötsúpa): The finest version of this essential Icelandic dish available in any Reykjavík restaurant — a thick, warming soup of Icelandic lamb and root vegetables that is simultaneously the most comforting and the most honest expression of Icelandic food culture.
Practical information:
- Location: Lokastigur 28 — directly across from Hallgrímskirkja
- Hours: Daily 9 AM to 9 PM
- Price: Traditional plates ISK 1,800 to 3,500 (USD 12 to 24)
- No reservations — walk-in only
20. Bergsson Mathús — The Finest Breakfast in Reykjavík
Bergsson Mathús is the finest breakfast and brunch destination in Reykjavík — a beautifully designed café and restaurant on Templarasund that serves breakfast of extraordinary quality from early morning through the afternoon. The combination of excellent coffee, exceptional baking, and a breakfast menu of considerable creativity and considerable quality makes Bergsson the place where Reykjavík residents come for the most important meal of the day.
What to order:
The Bergsson Breakfast Board: A selection of house-baked bread, Icelandic butter, local cheeses, smoked salmon, boiled egg, seasonal accompaniments, and excellent coffee — a breakfast of complete satisfaction and considerable elegance at a price that represents genuine value.
The Avocado Toast with Skyr: A contemporary preparation that uses the extraordinary Icelandic skyr as a spread beneath the avocado — the clean acidity of the skyr providing a counterpoint to the richness of the avocado in a combination of considerable excellence.
Practical information:
- Location: Templarasund 3
- Hours: Daily 7 AM to 5 PM
- Price: Breakfast dishes ISK 1,800 to 3,200 (USD 12 to 22)
- Extremely popular on weekends — arrive before 9 AM or expect a queue
Practical Guide: Eating and Drinking in Reykjavík
The Cost Reality
Iceland is genuinely expensive — one of the most expensive countries in Europe for food and drink. A simple restaurant lunch costs approximately ISK 2,500 to 4,000 (USD 17 to 27). A dinner main course at a mid-range restaurant costs approximately ISK 4,500 to 7,500 (USD 30 to 50). A glass of wine at a restaurant costs approximately ISK 1,500 to 2,500 (USD 10 to 17). A pint of beer costs approximately ISK 1,200 to 1,800 (USD 8 to 12).
Strategies for managing food costs:
- Self-catering from Bonus or Krónan supermarkets dramatically reduces food costs — Icelandic supermarket produce is of excellent quality
- The hot dog at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur at ISK 590 is one of the finest value food experiences in the city
- The Sea Baron lobster soup at ISK 2,500 is exceptional value for quality
- Lunch at good restaurants is significantly cheaper than dinner — the same kitchen often serves a lunch menu at 40 to 50 percent of the dinner price
Booking and Reservations
The finest restaurants in Reykjavík — Dill, Óx, Fiskmarkaðurinn, Matur og Drykkur — require advance booking that should be made weeks or months ahead for peak season visits (June through August and December through January). The city’s restaurant scene has grown significantly and the demand from both residents and the large tourist population means that the best tables are consistently in demand.
Book online through the restaurant websites or through OpenTable — most Reykjavík restaurants have English-language online booking systems.
Dietary Considerations
Reykjavík is well-served for dietary requirements — the city’s cosmopolitan food culture has produced good options for vegetarians, vegans, and those with gluten intolerances. Kaffi Vinyl is the finest fully vegan restaurant. Most of the city’s better restaurants can accommodate vegetarian requirements with advance notice. Gluten-free options are available at most cafés and restaurants.
The traditional Icelandic diet — heavily fish and meat based — is less accommodating for vegetarians at the most traditional establishments, but the contemporary Reykjavík restaurant scene is genuinely well-adapted to modern dietary diversity.
The Reykjavík Food and Fun Festival
The Reykjavík Food and Fun Festival — held annually in late February and early March — brings international chefs to Reykjavík to collaborate with local restaurants using exclusively Icelandic ingredients. The festival is one of the finest food events in the Nordic countries and provides an extraordinary opportunity to experience Icelandic ingredients through the perspectives of chefs from diverse international culinary traditions.
Final Thoughts: Why Reykjavík’s Food Scene Deserves More Credit
Reykjavík is not a city that most travellers include on their list of great food destinations — the attention tends to go to the Northern Lights, the volcanoes, the midnight sun, and the extraordinary natural landscape. The food scene is an afterthought for most visitors arriving for the first time.
This is a significant miscalculation. Reykjavík’s food scene — from the legendary hot dog kiosk to the Michelin-starred tasting menus, from the extraordinarily atmospheric traditional cafés to the finest seafood restaurants in northern Europe — is one of the genuine surprises of the city and one of its most rewarding and most lasting impressions.
The combination of extraordinary raw ingredients — the cold water seafood, the highland lamb, the geothermal dairy, the wild herbs of the Arctic landscape — with a food culture of genuine ambition and genuine craft produces a dining city of remarkable quality that punches far above its weight for a capital of 130,000 people.
Eat the hot dog by the harbour. Drink the excellent coffee in the living room café. Try the lobster soup at the Sea Baron. Save one evening for Dill or Matur og Drykkur or Fiskmarkaðurinn.
And go home understanding that Iceland’s most extraordinary products are not only its volcanoes and its glaciers — but also the cold water langoustine, the highland lamb, the ancient dairy tradition of skyr, and the extraordinary food culture of the world’s most northerly capital city.