Iceland is topping everyone’s bucket list this year, and for very good reasons. Most of the time you think of the epic hikes, stunning views, glacier lagoons, and black sand beaches. However, the Reykjavik food scene is definitely worth investigating while you are there. Whether you are looking for a fancy sit down meal, a quick snack, or a hand-crafted cocktail, there is literally something for everyone. So, here is everything you should eat in Reykjavik.
Food Tour
The first thing we did in Reykjavik was check out the Reykjavik Food Walk. We booked this early on in our trip because it gave us an opportunity to hear from a local about the kinds of food they specialize in Iceland, and the traditions and history of the food in the country. Our tour guide was amazing, taking us to five different stops, each one representing traditional seafood, lamb dishes, and a special stop at a street food vendor, but we will talk more about that stop later.
This tour is over 3 hours long, and is $115 per person, but the portions at each stop are almost full size meals, and you end with the perfect stop for coffee and rye bread ice-cream. If we could take this tour again, we would do it over and over again.
Hot Dogs
We had heard that hot dogs were a big thing in Iceland, and it seemed a little strange, but after having tried them during our visit, we totally get it. The most famous place to grab one of these life changing hot dogs is at the Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (which translates to “best hot dogs in town”) stand in the center of town. What makes these hot dogs such a staple in the Icelandic food scene you might be wondering? It’s about all of the different elements and how the meld together. The toppings include a few different types of sauces and both fried and raw onions. The hot dogs are actually a mix of mostly lamb and some pork and beef. The sauce includes a remoulade, a special unique ketchup and mustard that are unlike any ketchup or mustard in the U.S.
Food can get pretty pricey in Iceland, so a lot of people make hot dogs a go-to quick and cheap meal. They are served in gas stations and quick service stops around the ring road. It is amazing how many people look back on their time in Iceland and associate it with hot dogs. Who would’ve thought?!
Seafood
It should come as no surprise that a country that’s an island, and a city that sits on the old harbor, has bustling seafood industry. In fact, only recently oven taken by the tourism industry, fishing was the top industry in Iceland for much of its history. During our food walk, we sampled a couple of different fish dishes, and sought out a few different seafood restaurants while we were there. They serve a dish akin to lobster, but it is actually langoustine, which is similar, but actually tastes a little bit sweeter. We also stopped by the famous Reykjavik Fish Restaurant, and sampled the famous artic char, including the crispy skin. Even for me as someone who doesn’t like fish much, it was a delicious dish.
Pizza
Something really unexpected for us was the pizza we had while in Iceland. I don’t know if they are specifically known for their pizza, or if there is an emerging specialty pizza scene, but we had it multiple times, and every time was better than the last. The first time we had it, we were a little adventurous and got the pie with fish cheeks, arugula, apricots and a chili oil that was at the restaurant on top of the Perlan. We also had a pizza that more fit the traditional Neapolitan style pizza at a restaurant called Flatey Pizza. One late night we also decided to take the easy way out for a meal and ordered a pizza from Dominos to be delivered into our hotel. They had some really unique toppings not found in the states, the one we go included dates and cream cheese. If you are visiting Iceland, it is worth it to at least save a meal or two for some good pizza.
Coffee and Bakery
Our hotel had a really good breakfast spread, which is a great perk if you can find an accommodation that offers that. But sometimes about mid morning, we need another little pick me up for coffee and a little something sweet. The bakeries all across the city offer amazing handmade, artisan crafted pastries, bagels and a variety of breads.
We tried a couple of different stops, but honestly almost any bakery you walk into is going to have an amazing selection, and you really can’t go wrong. We are always in search for a good cup of coffee too, and for that we stopped by a couple of roasters. Here is a list of the places that you really should put on your must try list, but like I said you really can’t go wrong. Hygge Coffee & Micro Bakery, Brikk, Reykjavík Röst.
Although not technically a bakery, there are some thermal areas just outside of the city, where they bake rye bread in the ground. The rye bread in Iceland is more like a sweet pound cake, and its served with fish, and in some places made with ice cream, but any way you slice it, it’s definitely a baked good worth seeking out.
Food Halls
Think of the food halls like a food court at the mall, but much, much, much better. We’ve started to see this concept pop up all over, especially where we live in Florida, but they have a few really interesting ones in Reykjavik too. We visited the Pósthús Food Hall & Bar during our trip, but also saw a few others like the Hafnartorg Gallery and Hlemmur Food Hall, which specializes in traditional Icelandic cuisine. There are also food halls outside of the city center, as you travel the ring road.
Our visit included a stop at a taco stand, and visit to a poke stop, and a drink that came with a bubble on top. This may not fall into the traditional Icelandic food category, but these food halls really speak to diversity found throughout Iceland with the locals and visitors alike.
Chocolate
In the duty-free shop in the airport we picked up a few last minute souvenirs on our way back home. Most of it was chocolate, and a few mini bottles of blueberry vodka, for some unknown reason.. but the Chocolate was one of the things we kept seeing everywhere during our trip. It turns out there are a few local chocolatiers in Iceland, and some people say it is the best chocolate in the world. We of course had to try this for ourselves, and its a pretty good souvenir if I do say so myself.
One of the bags we grabbed turned out to be Chocolate covered salted licorice. Now hear me out, it was good. You have to at least like licorice a little bit for this to be interesting to you, but if you do, its a really interesting treat! So in-between all of your other bites, make sure you grab a few chocolate bars and treats to enjoy once you get back home.
That is everything, well almost everything that we ate in Reykjavik. Check out our video on YouTube to see the full food tour, and more of our time in Iceland!
The Savory Suitcase 