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Iceland: Food & Drink

I like to eat my way around places, so like normal Kate and I made a hit list of food & drink to try in Iceland. We gathered recommendations from friends and the Lonely Planet guide book!

 

Iceland food & drink montage!

A selection of Iceland’s food and drink

Iceland: Food & Drink

Kex hostel

Our first stop was Kex hostel – as recommended by my friend Nicole (we met in Turkey and she lives in Washington DC, so a truly international friendship!) 
Kate excited for sausage and mash on Iceland food and drinkKate looking very excited for her dinner at Kex!
This hostel is a great hub of you are ever staying in central Reykjavik – it has a bar, they serve food, put on events and there are always people to meet and do things with.
The interior of Kex hostel restaurant area

I love the cosy decor – all exposed Edison bulbs with a rustic look…

Decor at Kex hostel With the odd eclectic touch, like this wall of alphabet magnets spelling out sentences!
But we were here for the food…
Kex hostel menu on Iceland food and drink

The menu covers bar snacks and main meals, burgers and salads – so something for everyone – with an Icelandic twist of course! Whilst Kate dug into sausages and mash with tarragon mustard (above), I tried the salted cod:

Salt cod dish on Iceland food and drink from What's Katie Doing? blogA tasty plate of food!
A bike on the wall at KexYep that’s a bike on the wall!
After we had eaten and tried some of the local beer there was a band on, so we stayed and listened for a bit – the bar was rammed with people, Icelanders and tourists alike.
We managed to make our way to and from central Reykjavik using the buses – Kex is very close to one of the bus stations, but still it was a bit of a trek back to Harfnarfjordur! Next time I vote we stay at the hostel….

Icelandic Gull beer

Katie and Kate drinking Gull beer on Iceland food and drinkFirst Icelandic beer at the hotel!

Icelandic breakfast

The next morning our buffet breakfast at the hotel was interesting:
A selection of Icelandic breakfast items

The bacon, red pepper and mushroom flavoured cheese threw us for a minute… But then I got stuck into the open topped sandwich styles – egg cheese and salad – and the herring… Naturally!

The best bit was cake and blueberry skyr yoghurt – for breakfast, makes you feel like you are definitely on holiday!

Traditional lunch – lamb soup

On our first full day we did the Golden Circle tour – so lunch was at the cafe by Gullfoss waterfall:
Lamb soup for lunch

A traditional bowl of the meat soup – aka endless refills of lamb broth with veggies and rolls. It was hearty, warm and filling, but not my favourite meal – lamb isn’t my first choice meat. The refill deal makes it worth getting if you like a lot of food! (Plus on the tour you got a discount!)

From the sea – Atlantic lobster

After a very long day out in the cold we got dropped back at our hotel in Harfnarfjordur and walked down to the harbour for dinner at Tilveran restaurant> A couple from our hotel recommended the restaurant for another Icelandic delicacy – lobster!
Stop sign on the wall of Tilveran restaurant

? when we arrived it seemed that most tables were finishing up – but they still served us dinner (thankfully!)

Lobster soup on Iceland food and drink - What's Katie Doing? blogThe lobster soup – nom! Served with cream on top and bread on the side, this was one rich filling dish, despite being a starter.
Lobster pasta on Iceland food and drink

I tried the lobster pasta – served with salad and garlic bread. Definitely not healthy from the amount of cream in the sauce, but boy was it good. In general seafood and fish is a good bet when you are in a country surrounded by the sea.

Keep calm signs on Iceland food and drinkI like the ethos of this place!
We then burnt off about 100 calories walking back through the snow, not nearly enough to replace the food intake!

More fish!

Saturday was the day that we took the bus and hung out in central Reykjavik – after a morning of churches, sculpture and modern art we headed to Icelandic Fish and Chips – a recommendation from my friend David who loved it!
On the way in Kate spotted the man on the next table tucking into a lovely baked dish, so that was her decided!
Kate enjoying her fish bake
This fish dish was amazing, baked with pieces of potato and vegetables and a gratin sauce it was warming and filling and very tasty…
I stuck with the classic ‘Icelandic fish and chips’ dish. This was fried Ling served on a mango and spinach salad, served with their signature skyr dressing (mine was red pepper). Healthy, colourful and tasted great too!
Icelandic fish and chips on Iceland food and drink

Harpa happy hour

After more walking around town in the afternoon (mainly shopping!) we headed to the Harpa concert hall to see the sunset through it’s modern stained glass and it just happened to be happy hour at the cafe!
Harpa happy hour on Iceland food and drink

Smurstodin cafe is on the ground floor of the concert hall, there’s also a bar on the top floor, but that’s only open in the evening.

Chocolate coconut cake
The cake selection looked good so we shared some chocolate coconut cake with desiccated coconut. We enjoyed the happy hour on drinks too (vital in an expensive city like Reykjavik!)
Enjoying happy hour at Harpa's cafeHalf price sparkling wine for the win!
Kate drinking coffee and showing off her Icelandic jumperKate showing off her new purchase along with her coffee.

Hotdogs – the Icelandic street food

Before we headed on our Northern Lights tour we decided to try out the famous Baejarins Betzu Pylsur hotdogs. Recommended by EVERYONE who has ever eaten there, including my friends from before and Lonely Planet!
Trying the famous Icelandic hot dogs on Iceland food and drinkMy top tip is to get a hot dog with everything on it for the real Icelandic experience.
 
The hot dogs certainly set us up for waiting around for hours in the cold that is a key part of the Northern Lights tour. Luckily we managed to see them dancing in front of us – a truly spectacular sight! You can read about that experience on my write up here: Iceland: Northern Lights.

Local Viking beer

After the tour we were super stoked and on a high from seeing the lights so we headed back to central Reykjavik to celebrate with another local beer:
Viking beer on Iceland food and drink We found Viking(s) at Bakkus bar!
This isn’t a comprehensive list of all the food and drink you can try in Iceland – but a few tips on where to eat what if you are in Reykjavik for the weekend. I hope you enjoyed it, let me know in the comments below!
Icelandic food & drink Pin for What's Katie Doing? blog

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Comments

  3. Amanda the Bookfairy says

    Lol – I had the soup and a roll at Gullfoss as well (Mushroom in my case). Best value meal I had in Iceland! I loved Iceland but found it a bit tricky as a veggie, although Cafe Gardurrin is a great little veggie place in Reykjavik!

    Reply

  4. Patricia Steffy says

    I love your idea of going on a food tour of new cities! It sounds like a fantastic way to meet people and get a feel for a place while trying great food and drink. Also, the Kex Hostel seems amazing! I've never seen a hostel with so much going on!

    Reply

  7. Laura says

    That all looks delicious! I love how much seafood there is in their diets. And a food tour is so great – not only do you meet locals but you get to taste your way around a new city 🙂

    Reply

  8. Katie Hughes says

    Yes I could imagine veggie food is tricky to get everywhere, most places had meat and fish dishes but were limited on everything else (although I preferred the mushroom soup to the meat soup!)

    Reply

  10. Katie Hughes says

    Yes they have the traditional 'fire water' aquavit – a liqueur kind of like vodka, but can be flavoured with all sorts of things. We tried some on our night out!

    Reply

  14. Kaylene says

    Wow looks like you all had some great food and drinks! I love the feel of that hostel, looks really cozy! I'm planning to go to Iceland later this year, so this makes me even more excited!

    Reply

  15. Bailey K. | Travel Heals says

    Thanks so much for adding photos of the menus (and the links help, too, of course)! I'm vegan and I've always wanted to visit Iceland, but I didn't know how hard it was for me to eat there. But I even found something on the first menu that you put up (minus an ingredient)! Doesn't look like it'll be too hard for me! Plus, the food just looks and sounds amazing. 🙂

    Reply

  28. Anisa says

    Looks like you guys ate well and nice you found the half price wine. I love all the fish and of course the cake looks delicious.

    Reply

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