Sigrún Davíðsdóttir's Icelog

I have often been asked for Icelandic travel tips. Here is a mini-guide to some of my very favourite places in Reykjavík and what to do and see (last updated in May 2020). Yes, there is much more to see and do but these are just some of my un-missables if you spend a few days in Reykjavík. Sorry, only one hotel tip because I simply have no insight into that part of visiting Reykjavík. Airbnb is widely available in Reykjavík. – I know, for the time being Iceland is an eye-waveringly expensive destination but if you choose where and how to spend your money (see below re food etc), the chances are good you will get a great experience! Given our COVID-19 times, Icelanders have been quite successful in managing a rapid spread to begin with, now down to days with no new cases.

Food:

Whereas fast food is expensive in Iceland fine dining comes at a very reasonable price – and is quite often rather good. Here are some that don’t disappoint (but don’t expect really good wine; also the service is normally very friendly but often not very professional).

Grillið (The Grill) at Hotel Saga is one of the oldest fine-dining restaurants in Reykjavík and probably the best right now. It’s on the top floor of a luxury hotel with an absolutely fantastic view over Reykjavík and the surroundings, wholly meriting the Michelin star it has. Siggi Helgason is in charge of all the dining at Hotel Saga, a dedicated young chef who has seen the world. I have to declare interest, family relations. Siggi is very interested in making the most out of all things Icelandic, also very Nordic style cuisine but he had worked in England, Ireland and elsewhere and picked up good things on his trips. A seriously professional cook. The new Grillið chef has also an international experience and that shows.

Dill used to be in the Nordic House, by the University of Iceland campus, built by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and worth the trip just for that. However, the restaurant has been downtown for some years. It used to be Michelin-starred, lost its star last year, 2019 but regained it in February 2020 after the cook who built it up but had left for New York, returned to reclaim the star; mission accomplished! The Dill cuisine is the Icelandic version of the Nordic cuisine and the staff has always been enthusiastic about their food.

Other good places, all in the centre

Óx on Laugavegur is a restaurant I would love to try but it’s new, takes only very few people and when I’ve tried I haven’t been lucky enough to get a table. They very quickly got a Michelin star. You book and there is a set menu you pay for, adding wine once you are there.

Lækjarbrekka  has been around for decades and has had a revival recently – lovely ambience and great food.

Mat Bar is an ambitious place, at Hverfisgata, close to the National Theatre, which is an intriguing building for those interested in architecture, an attempt to seek Icelandicness in architecture. The food at Mat Bar is inspired by Italy but is also in search of using Icelandic ingredients.

The restaurant at Hotel Marina, right on the harbour as the name indicates, is very lively during happy hour and in the evening, also good for lunch.

Kopar is a restaurant by the harbor – always seems packed and in the evening heaving with partying Icelanders, more though in winter than in summer. Try to get one of the tables upstairs by the windows with a truly fantastic view over the harbour. Crab and seafood is their specialty.

Hotel Holt is a luxury hotel from the sixties, has been up and down, haven’t been there for some years, not sure where it is at these days. It’s full of Icelandic art from early 20th century – go to see Kjarval there in a private setting and the bar is just great for seeing it. This is a place for fine dining, they’ve had and lost a Michelin star, I’ve had some great food there but also pretty unmemorable food. Dark wood, dated but in an interesting way and yes, the bar is great.

And just off the centre, out on the Reykjavík beach is Nauthóll, see below.

Matur og drykkur (Food and drink) is out on Grandi, by the harbour, a neighbourhood rapidly turning into a favourite destination for various food places. They specialise in classic Icelandic (i.e. often Danish-inspired) but done in a modern way with a twist. It used to be a great favourite of mine and though it is still good it’s stuck a bit, foodwise. But it has had an interesting and innovative take on Icelandic classics and great vibe.

In 2016 I did a day-trip to the Vestman-islands in order to have dinner at Slippurinn the other restaurant owned by Gísli Matthías Auðunsson, my favourite Icelandic chef – the food and the whole experience of going there, even if it’s not a sunny day like they come once in a decade, is superb. Gísli is from the islands, loves making use of all there is to have there and some more and both the food, the service and the environment has the warmth and loveliness stemming from doing things with a big heart and soul.

Gísli now also has Skál! (Cheers!), at Mathöllin, Hlemmur, a food hall with many stalls/restaurants – my casual dining absolute favourite – a Micelin Bib, for those who pay attention to Michelin. Gísli does the great modern take on Icelandic ingredients and, last but not least, has some seriously good wines, also natural wines.

There is now a new food hall, Mathöll, at Grandi, Grandagarður 16 (doesn’t seem to have a website yet) have not been there yet but seems a great place. Grandi is by the harbour, great to walk around and design destinations and more food around there.

Two casual places: Public House on Laugarvegur, Icelandic-Asian fusion and Von mathús og bar, in an artists’ community in a lovely setting in Hafnarfjörður – two very exciting new-comers on the Icelandic food scene.

Marshallhúsið is a large building out on Grandi, another Grandi destination. It used to be an industrial building, connected to the harbour. It is now all about art, see below, and food. Restaurants have come and gone there, as happened but now it’s La Primavera, an Italian restaurant run by people who have been in the restaurant business for ages. Very worth the visit and I love the space. Good for meeting friends because there is plenty of space. And upstairs there is the Kling and bang gallery, see below.

I’m often asked where to go for typical Icelandic food. Well, facing Hallgrímskirkja is Café Loki. It’s been around for a long time, had dinner some two years ago and yes, it’s really like being invited to dinner with an old and generous, warm-hearted Icelandic aunt (sorry, men didn’t much cook some decades ago). I have to admit that old-fashioned Icelandic food isn’t my favourite, didn’t really grow up with it but this is absolutely the ideal place to get this type of homey Icelandic cooking. I had a plate of herring and it was very very good. Their “rúgbrauðsís”, ice cream with rye bread is, no exaggeration, one of the best ice creams I’ve ever had – ice cream lovers, don’t miss it!

Here is a list of Icelandic Michelin places.

Fast food – but not really

Don’t be tempted to have a bite at fast food joints – except of course Bæjarins bestu, a by now world-famous hot dog stand in the centre – because fast food is unreasonably expensive in Iceland and normally not very good.

Rather, if you are hungry go to a supermarket, buy smoked salmon and “seytt rúgbrauð” – dark, slightly sweet rye bread – and enjoy with butter and Icelandic cucumber. Icelandic fish roes – salmon, trout and lump fish is a delicacy not to miss. Look out for “skyr,” slightly sour dairy product, similar to German “Quark,” delicious on its own or with milk and muscovado/dark sugar; look for the frozen Icelandic berries, fantastic with skyr, the by now internationally famous Icelandic dairy speciality, type of yoghurt or fresh cheese, since it fits in with modern cravings for protein-rich food; “flatbrauð,” “flatbread,” is unleavened bread, good with smoked salmon or smoked lamb, “hangikjöt.” “Harðfiskur,” literally “hardfish,” is dried fish, tastes a bit like prawn crackers but the fish taste is stronger without being overpowering.

My all-time favourite food shop is Melabúðin, Hagamel 39, in the Western part of Reykjavík. A family-run shop with all sorts of delicious Icelandic food, also from some small producers. It’s open until 8pm, pretty crowded around 6pm but that is part of the charm. I love going there because I invariably run into people I know and they have the best of everything. If you want an all Icelandic immersion buy their cooked and warm “svið” – lamb head – or “slátur” i.e. “lifrarpylsa” liver pudding and “blöðmör” blood pudding as well as all the typical Icelandic delicacies and the more adventures ones where inventive producers make new products from typical produce. Now, drink that with some of the new Icelandic beers and turn an everyday meal into a veritable feast. Perhaps a moveable one for those travelling around or staying in tents.

My favourite supermarket is Nettó, in the far West, at Grandi, open 24 hours, with consistently low prices, good selection of health food and chocolate, often Danish brands.

Frú Lauga Bændamarkaður, Mrs Lauga Farmers’ market, is a shop at Laugalækur 6, close to the large swimming pool in Laugardalur. There are several good fishmongers in Reykjavík. My favourite is Fiskbúðin Vegamót, Nesvegur 100 – fresh fish, frozen seafood, “seytt brauð” and various things that are found at any good Icelandic fishmonger.

Streetfood is now a growing part of the Icelandic food scene. Look for the wagons along the harbour. On Saturdays and Sundays there is a food market in the centre, in Fógetagarðurinn, mostly streetfood.

Sægreifinn, the Sea Baron, is in a barack by the harbour, started by an old fisherman whose speciality was lobster soup. He is no longer around but the place still offers the soup, also minky whale (but some restaurants have a sign saying “meat us, don’t eat us” meaning they don’t serve whale meat, for animal welfare reasons; difficult to hunt whales without making them suffer) and other fish on skewers. – An original place, best for lunch. I normally don’t go there, find it slightly too touristy, it is much loved by many foreigners but Icelanders also love it so I revisited with Icelandic friends: it is cheap, chic and really good. Had the soup and skewers again, with Icelandic beer, sat outside and it was quite enjoyable.

Icelanders love ice cream and it is not just a summer thing – in Iceland you eat ice cream all year around, also out in the cold. There are now many ice cream shops in Reykjavík. One of the older ones, more or less with a constant queue, the default choice, is Ísbúð Vesturbæjar, Hagamelur 67. Valdís out at Grandi is a popular one, as the queues there witness. Valdís now also has a shop in the centre, at Laugavegur 43, entrance from Frakkastígur. And there is Valdís in Akureyri, in case you go North.

I have recently been to the ice cream shop at Laugalækur 8, love their old-fashioned milk ice cream, dipped in chocolate and rolled in grated coconut. And it is next to Frú Lauga. They also do an unusual variety of hot dogs. Everyone in Reykjavík has their favourite ice cream shop; in my opinion they are all good – not like the best in Italy etc but good in the sense that there is great variety, also in ice cream-based deserts and it is a good place for watching Icelanders being Icelanders. Don’t miss it – a very Icelandic guilty pleasure.

Cafés

The best coffee is at Kaffismiðjan or Reykjavík Roasters – on a little side street off Skólavörðustígur, close to the landmark Hallgrímskirkja (on the hill). A great hang-out place with good cakes etc and open wifi and my absolute favourite when I’m in Reykjavík. Kaffismiðjan has a bigger place with a bigger food selection at Brautarholt 2, great for meeting people, hanging out, working. And now there is the third one, at Ásmundarsalur, almost in the shadow of Hallgrímskirkja, at Kárastígur 1. Ásmundarsalur is also an exhibition space. Built in the 1960s, the style is in the direction, on my top-five best cafés in the world, in my humble opinion.

Mokka is a café that hasn’t changed since it opened in the sixties. Also a gallery with art of varying interest but always great atmosphere. Their hot chocolate is famous.

There are three Súfistinn cafés but my favourite is in the Mál og menning bookshop on Laugavegur 18.

Many swear by Kaffifélagið on Skólavörðurstígur being the best café with the best coffee. The coffee is good but it is more to drop by rather than hang around since it is small. If you want to see big part of the Reykjavík intelligentsia and big media names, they meet at Kaffifélagið around 9 in the morning!

A great place to visit in the evening is Kex Hostel, an incredibly cool and quirky place, close to the harbour, where you meet a great selection of young  Icelanders (and the slightly older ones, when I’m there). In the evening there is often live music. It’s open from breakfast until late, serves food all day. In the office building opposite the Office of the Special Prosecutor has its abode so that building is full of secrets from the banking bubble times in the years up to October 2008 and all financial wrong-doing since then.

The Botanical Garden is a heavenly place, off the beaten track but also the biggest park in Reykjavík. Flóran is a lovely café there, also open in the evenings but opening hours are seasonal. All is made in-house and a lot of the ingredients grown at the café. Fabulous place for children and grown up and everyone who loves plants and quirky surroundings.

When Kaffi Vest opened in October 2014; who would have thought it possible to run a café in the Vesturbærinn, a suburb but yes, that is now possible. It has great decor, good vibe, open from morning to late. The food is a bit erratic but the vibe is good. And it is just opposite Vesturbæjarlaugin, the swimming pool and Melabúðin, the best deli for food shopping.

A propos hotels: I would stay at Kex if I were traveling to Reykjavík as a tourist: well located, quirky and accommodation offers for all budgets.

The Icelandic beer deserves a mention by now. There is a veritable surge in craft beers and I have not had anything but just great beer from this thriving flora of small breweries. It is now one of the things I look forward to enjoy when I visit but happily Einstök beer is now available in UK, i.a. at Oddbins and at least in what used to be my local Oddbins I was told it sells really well.

Shopping

Before I knew other cities intimately I assumed that modern gold and silver jewellery was something found everywhere but that is of course not at all the case. However, in Iceland there is plenty of choice when it comes to contemporary jewellery. I doubt there is another city in the world with as great a choice of it as Reykjavík offers. There is historic reason for it: in the decades after the war not much could be imported to Iceland, Icelanders were flush with money and some of it was spent on in the silver- and goldsmith workshops, set up under Danish influence. The best thing to buy in Iceland is silver jewellery, both in terms of price and design.

Skólavörðustígur and Laugavegur are filled with little shops of Icelandic design, plenty of jewellery shops around there. Also shops with contemporary clothing and Icelandic design.

There is so much that comes and goes in Iceland but Kirsuberjatréð has been around for decades now and sells a great selection of Icelandic design, both jewellery (fabulous!), other accessorise and things for the home.

Cintamani and 66North are Icelandic sport labels, the latter with a shop in Bankastræti. Cintamani is no longer in the centre but has an outlet in Hafnarfjörður and on-line. The fishmongers at Borough market in London wear 66North!

For those interested in modern design, and not necessarily Icelandic, and eclectic vintage Stefánsbúð, offering Danish Henrik Vibskov, also Hamnett etc is a top destination, right in the centre, on Laugavegur. Sorry, I tend to be hyperbolic when it comes to good Icelandic destinations but Stefánsbúð is my favourite shopping destination in the whole wide world – small, great vintage selection (this is not charity-shop dirt-cheap, they know what they are selling, but very reasonably priced for the good selection) in addition to cool labels. Don’t forget to check the jewellery, especially the contemporary selection made by a Japanese designer, living in Paris!

A quirky place is the antiquariat on Klapparstígur 25-27, off Laugavegur – huge for a second hand book shop, stuffed with books, mostly in Icelandic but also many in other languages, and some weird things.

One of the best music shops in the world. I know, Icelanders are prone to hyperbole but this isn’t saying too much, 12 tónar at Skólavörðustígur 15, of course with all kinds of Icelandic music and other good music.

Art and museums

Contemporary Icelandic art is thriving. The most interesting galleries are i8 in Tryggvagata, right by Hotel Marina and the Sea Baron. Hverfisgallerí at Hverfisgata 4 is a recent addition to the Icelandic gallery scene. The old rebel and wild-at-heart Kling og bang was without a home for a while now but now has a great home at Marshall húsið, another great Grandi location, Grandagarður 20. In the same building there is an art space owned by Iceland’s most famous artist (though Danes claim hims too because he grew up in Denmark), Ólafur Elíasson.

The most successful commercial Icelandic gallery is i8, also international art. Another good one for Icelandic contemporary art is Hverfisgallerí.

You find the two main public museums/galleries in the city centre, the National Gallery,  a lovely café there, good for lunch. The same at Reykjavík Art Museum. In the East part of town there is Kjarvalsstaðir, dedicated to works by the greatest Icelandic artist, Kjarval. Seen in connection to art during his time (1885-1972) his work is truly original, inspired by Iceland in a very special way.

For weirdness and total experience there is the Einar Jónsson museum, by Hallgrímskirkja. The museum was designed by the artist (1874-1954) himself who is spiritually connected to the British arts and craft and symbolism. His bedroom is normally not open but ask if you can possibly see it. This is “Gesamtkunst” though without the music!

Sigurjón Ólafsson was a sculptor who studied in Denmark before moving to Iceland with his Danish wife. They lived in Laugarnes, close to the container harbour of Sundahöfn. There is now a beautiful little museum there and a café. There are also regular concerts at the museum.

There are often art exhibition at Hallgrímskirkja, keep an eye on their programme.

To do and see

Harpa is the concert hall on the harbour. Half-built when the Icelandic banks collapsed in Oct. 2008 it was then finished after a hefty debate if such extravagance was permissible in times of crisis. The glass “case” encasing it is by the Icelandic artist Ólafur Elíasson who did the sun installation at Tate Modern.

The best thing about life in Iceland are the swimming pools – plenty of them around in Reykjavík and around the whole country – with varyingly hot tubs and normally also with a sauna/steam bath. My favourite is on the outskirts of Reykjavík, Seltjarnarnesslaug.  A good time to go is in the morning or after a long day; open until 8 or 9pm, depending on the season. I like Seltjarnarnesslaug because the water is salty, instead of chlorine.

Those who like a properly long pool go to Laugardalslaug. Swimming in Iceland is a website with all you need to know about this topic. Even if you don’t particularly like swimming don’t miss out on the experience of swimming the Icelandic way: outdoors, no matter the weather, the essential Icelandic experience.

All pools have outside dressing rooms (yes, closed-off, separate for male and female) and that is for me part of the true experience of swimming in Iceland. Again, try it, best in an Icelandic company.

Nauthólsvík is the Reykjavík beach. You don’t need to be a heroic viking, there is a hot pool there but if you want to dip your toe into the Atlantic that’s the place, especially if you stay close to where the hot water flows into the sea there. The facilities are modern and I love the vibe there, as well as the cold water. Not to be missed. Right by there is a nice restaurant, Nauthóll, good both for lunch and dinner – modern architecture, glorious view.

There is of course the famous Blue lagoon – I used to think it was totally worth it, also for the architecture and being in the middle of a lava field but it’s just so crowded and ridiculously expensive that I’m no longer sure, I would rather go to any of the pools. Now, there are of course a lot less tourists so perhaps the Blue Lagoon is worth visiting again. You can take a bus out there, ca. 45 min. drive (it’s close to Keflavík Airport). Absolutely any pool in Reykjavík gives the whole Icelandic experience of swimming (and remember to shower naked and wash well, very important if you want to be an acceptable swimmer in an Icelandic pool!)

To see a bit of Iceland in a day, do the Golden Circle tour, covering the glorious Þingvallavatn, a huge lake in a sunken lava field, the famous Geysir (which has given its name to all hot springs in the English language) and the great waterfall, Gullfoss (the “gold waterfall”).

There is now another spa/lagoon type of pool at Laugavatn, ca. 60 km east of Reykjavík, passing Þingvallavatn. A lovely place where the viking-minded can swim in the lake. Wholly recommended!

No need to mention whale watching, plenty of offers but check out this company that runs tours from the old harbour, close to Hotel Marina and Sea Baron.

In Mosfellsbær, a Reykjavík suburb, there is a small waterfall called Álafoss. In early last century this was the centre of the Icelandic wool industry and the label was called Álafoss. Then it went bankrupt but the old factory and surrounding buildings now house artistis, a tourist shop (what Icelanders call sea puffin shops because that seems to be The Icelandic Souvenir for some reason). Sadly, the café had closed last time I was there, last year but there is a knife workshop and other activities, a great place to visit. In the knife workshop, look out for faces glued to the floor: five politicians who, according the the owners, gave away the banks when they were privatised in 1998 to 2003. These faces are familiar to most Icelanders above a certain age and bear witness to the time before the boom that led to the collapse of the three main Icelandic banks in October 2008.

If you have a car one of the most fantastic things is to drive out of town – it does not really matter where to because everywhere there is something to see and it is marvellously easy to find a place where no man-made things are in sight and you can feel around in the world!

The Northern lights season has passed for the time being. The weather is changeable, you will come to understand the word if stay for more than just a few days. Here there is all you need to know about the weather in Iceland, right from the Icelandic meteorological institute, Veðurstofan. But for me, the weather in Iceland is always just great because no matter what, it is always an experience.

Further away

In July 2016 I stayed at Barðaströnd, where the Westfjords start. I stayed at Þverá, part of Nordic Lodges, wholly recommended – they have three other cottages in other parts of Iceland – and aided by fabulous weather and glorious sunsets the time spent there was fantastic. The Westfjords are definitely not crowded. I visited Bíldudalur and the Icelandic Sea Monster Museum, Patreksfjörður, various pools, check Swimming in Iceland, Selárdalur, Rauðisandur, Látrabjarg, the nearby museum and last but not least Ísafjörður.

En route I visited Stykkishólmur with Roni Horn’s installation Library of Water and the Volcano Musem. Another lovely destination.

This summer, 2018, I spent a week in Ísafjörður, only a 35 min. flight from Reykjavík, the best part of a day in a car, thoroughly recommend it. Stayed at the old Faktorshúsið. The restaurant at Tjöruhúsið is justly famous for its fabulous fish buffet, all kinds of fish impeccably cooked, served by lovely people. Some will claim it’s the best fish restaurant in Iceland and that wouldn’t be saying too much. Húsið is another lovely café and restaurant, great atmosphere and for the time being has the best coffee in Ísafjörður. I hugely enjoyed a two hours RIB boat trip and yes, we saw whales showing off their tails very close by, utterly mesmerising. The old museum, Turnhúsið next to Tjörhúsið and a couple of other old houses, is a place to dive into the history and harsh Icelandic living in earlier centuries, until not that time ago!

Drive carefully in case you are driving, the roads are not what global urban dwellers are used to but have a good trip – or, as we say in Icelandic, “góða ferð!”

*Last updated 23 May 2020. 

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