Reykjavik Restaurants
Dining out in the city of Reykjavik offers visitors a variety of culinary experiences, with more than 170 restaurants, where you’ll find top Icelandic chefs serving up an array of fresh and natural Icelandic ingredients. Local fruits and vegetables are organically grown in greenhouses, and the island’s meats and dairy products are additive and growth hormone-free. There is a wealth of seafood caught fresh each day from Iceland’s pollution-free waters.
Local cuisine
In addition to menus which feature the use of fresh and natural ingredients, historically, Icelanders have had to be very resourceful, given that their land is an isolated ocean outcrop in a rather cold part of the world. Given this resourcefulness, you can expect to see parts of animals as well as potentially off-putting choices on the menus, with plenty of dishes that you might not see elsewhere including sheep’s testicles, rotten shark meat and smoked puffin.
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Where to eat
One of Reykjavik’s most popular restaurants is also its best bargain: Vegamot, located at Vegamótastíg 4, also has a very popular nightclub. Humarhusid, which translates as the ‘Lobster House’ is at Amtmannsstig 1. It’s on the expensive side, but the food is reported to be worth it. There is a revolving restaurant at Perlan, which is situated at the top of a hill in the centre, and it offers the best views over the city. It’s an expensive place to dine, but it is unique. Locals frequent Perlan for special occasions, so it really isn’t just for tourists.
Einar Ben is a well-known traditional restaurant serving fish, seabirds and game, and is located at Veltusund 1. Siggi Hall, at Thorsgata 1 still reigns as Reykjavik’s best restaurant. This is a very stylish eatery serving ‘nouvelle’ Icelandic food, an example being organic Icelandic lamb with blueberries and wild thyme.
The Apotek, at Austurstraeti 16, is a bar-restaurant with reliably good food, which is quite popular; and locals rate the Tveir Fiskar (at Geirsgata 9), on the harbour, as the city’s best seafood restaurant. For bar snacks, you might want to try Kaffi Reykjavík, located at Vesturgata 1, or the Kaffi Brennslan, at Postshusstraeti 9, for its hearty portions at reasonable prices.