Iceland bound - restaurant recs

Takin the wife to Iceland the 2nd week of April. Looking for some good recommendations for restaurants and/or experiences worth seeking out while we are there. Any ideas are much appreciated.

On our bucket list. Curious to hear any replies as well.

What part of Iceland are you staying in? If Reykjavik, I have a few suggestions.

Rich, staying in Reykjavik. Have one reservation at Dill so far.

Reykjavik Roasters is a great local coffee shop off the beaten path. Freshly baked goods, skyr, etc. Great for breakfast.

Seafood Grill
Fishmarkadurinn

Both excellent meals with seafood being the focus.

The Lava Restaurant at the Blue Lagoon was also surprisingly good. Expected it to be more about the scene but the food was excellent and wine list was also nice.

Kol Restaurant was also a nice, hip spot. Great cocktails and food was also good. Would definitely recommend even just for a drink.

I’m sure you have your plans for sights and all but you really need to drive out East to the giant glacier and the black volcanic rocks with the blue icebergs at Jokulsalon. Just amazing.

For a fun and very relaxing day excursion, you will have to do the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa. Find the online method of pre-booking. Go for the most expensive option - saves you time on line ups, includes good bathing amenities, and you, at least, get a comped drink at the bar.

The most memorable for us was a day trip of fun snowmobile at Langjökull glacier. What a total blast going speedy-nuts on a glacier!

As for food, here’s a warning – their beloved hot dogs, from the street or in restaurants, aren’t worth the hype that they push or advertise them with. Try if you must, just so you can say you had them.

Now, for restaurants, be prepared for very obscene pricing for any kind of establishment that you decide on. Good wines are seemingly scarce and, in case you need to be warned again, it’ll COST you to order anything decent to drink anywhere. Our big group flew in with wines and we gladly drank them while lounging around in our hotel.

Here are some Reykjavik restaurants that we enjoyed when we went last October. They’re both within 15 minutes walk from the city center.

Icelandic Fish and Chips
Informal. Will get very busy, a little off on the service, but still our preferred for good foods among all the restaurants we went to. Reasonable in costs when compared to others, but just as all other restaurants were in the country, pricing still obscene.

https://www.fishandchips.is/

Saegreifinn - The Sea Baron
As close to a fast food environment as it comes, our cheapest dining in the country, but easily one that we enjoyed a lot. You can reserve (you must reserve) but will still encounter long lines at the ordering counter, where the fresh, skewered seafood were on display. The lobster soup is good and a must order and so are some of the grilled fresh fishes. We were a big group of 12 some of us came with wine bottles that we happily flew in with and byod here (I don’t recall corkage fee and it could be free, but if any, but it was definitely not more than Euro 5 per bottle). No decent stemware, but can’t/won’t complain.
http://www.saegreifinn.is/en/

Rich & Ramon, appreciate the great suggestions!

+1, although you kinda have to do it.

A couple in Reykjavik worth considering:

Fishmarket (Fiskmarkaðurinn) and Grillmarket (Grillmarkaðurinn) - both popular with tourists but very good.

It’s a beautiful country. Yes, you have to go to the Blue Lagoon and Reykjavik is a really nice small city with great clubs, but you’ve got to get out of town and explore. It’s not like anywhere else.

Have a great trip and please post a trip report after the fact. Top of my list of places to go and hoping to do so within next year or so!!

This made me laugh. Is there a beaten path in Iceland?

I never got out of the airport when I went to Europe the first time in the 70s. I always promised myself I’d go back, but it has thus far been a broken promise. One day; I’ve enjoyed reading these responses.

Of course, have to add this!

Research online and find your best spot for the Northern Lights viewing. It’s a mind-blowing once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us, when we got on a tour boat in the wee hours of the night, just 4 or 5 miles off of Reykjavik and saw 2 -3 minutes of the greatest natural light show ever.

Have the lamb! You won’t regret it!

+1

Some of the best lamb I ever had was in Iceland. Beef is scarce and lamb is abundant so eat local and you will not be disappointed, assuming you enjoy lamb of course! :wink:

Agree on the lamb but eating local is not always the best way to go. You might want to think twice if offered Hakarl and Black Death is an acquired taste. Minke whale and certain seabirds, like puffins, are also not for everyone.

We rented a car and saw lots of sheep and small horses that were not being raised for riding. Saw it on the menu as foal. Asked what that was in English and was told, that is in English. The bar in the Foss Hotel Reykjavik has lots of craft beers on tap and a great bar program, rare in Iceland. Happy Hour is a good deal but crowded.

This is great! I leave for Iceland in 4 days. Staying in Reykjavik the last 4 days, we begin with 2 days in Eryrabakki then 3 days in Vik. Many hot springs or thermal pools to visit, waterfalls, a glacier and a volcano to climb. We have dog sledding and horseback riding scheduled already. Really hope to see the Northern Lights.

We’ll see about the food and excited to try some of the above, but that’s not what we are going for. Will report back.

Ramon mentioned the two restaurants I was going to list. Went to both and loved both.

Yes, I agree about Icelandic Fish and Chips. We ate there our last night in Reykjavik, and came upon it quite serendipitously. I had a heaping plate of their langoustine tails paired with some btg saline, minerally white the details of which I can no longer recall. I was in heaven. (They also have some gluten free options which was helpful for our party.)

Other than that, we ate at fish and chips food trucks whenever we found them… It kept eating costs down and the quality was always stellar (not surprising, since the trucks are usually parked at the pier, or within 100 feet of the waters from which their fish are sourced). Two standouts were Finsen’s fish and chips in Stykkisholmur (to the west, about 3 hours from the capital) and also Mia’s Country grill which is in the South, close to the folklore museum in Skogar. Paired with an inexpensive chablis which we picked up from the duty free at the airport upon arrival, these informal meals eaten at the trucks’ picnic tables were some of our most memorable.

We splurged at the restaurant at Hotel Budir (located about two hours to the west of the capital on the Snaefellsnes peninsula.) This was a hugely enjoyable meal, well worth the expensive tariff, while the views surrounding this hotel/restaurant (see pic) are truly awesome (to reclaim the original meaning of this much abused word).
budir.jpg

Glad you got up to the Snaefellsnes. We spent several days up there in 2015 and loved it.

Grillmarket in Reykjavik. Was there 4 weeks ago. Great food. Or Kitchen and Wine for lighter more relaxed fare.