What To Eat in Iceland

We heard from a lot of people that eating in Iceland could be a problem, especially in the remote areas, but for the most part, we were able to find good food. Lots of hot dogs, but we intentionally chose to get hot dogs because they were cheap, different and so good.

Strawberry and whip cream crepe at Eldur and Is in Reykjavik

Strawberry and whip cream crepe at Eldur and Is in Reykjavik

You have plenty of restaurants and cafes to choose from in Reykjavik. I wish I would have done a little more research on the restaurants in Reykjavik because we passed by some awesome looking places on our last day, but since that wasn't our focus, we didn't even bother to look or stop by. We did have some good food at an Italian restaurant, Italia, a little crepe cafe, Eldur and Is (so good that I stopped by here for crepes twice), and a noodle shop, Nudluskalin, in the downtown area. We also ate at the infamous hot dog stand, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur, where Bill Clinton stopped by in 2004.

The popular hot dog stand in Reykjavik, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur

The popular hot dog stand in Reykjavik, Baejarins Beztu Pylsur

Blue Lagoon has an awesome restaurant called LAVA. A little on the expensive side, but we wanted to splurge a little and get the full experience at the lagoon. Their breads with salted butter came in this awesome presentation and the lamb and steak were superb. It was also nice to start off this trip with a good, hearty meal since we knew we wouldn't be eating like this for the rest of our 7-day trip.

LAVA restaurant at Blue Lagoon

LAVA restaurant at Blue Lagoon

There are several places to eat around the Golden Circle and we chose to eat at the Gullfoss Cafe. They have many soups, salads and sandwiches to choose from. We shared a roast beef sandwich and were surprised at how good it was for a cold sandwich that was ready-made.

Roast beef sandwich from Gullfoss Cafe

Roast beef sandwich from Gullfoss Cafe

The free breakfast that came with our stays at the Volcano Hotel and Hali Country Hotel were really nice. They both served a traditional Icelandic breakfast buffet which consisted of deli meats, cheeses, cereals, fruits, breads, juices and coffee. It was a great way to start off the day with a healthy meal.

Breakfast buffet at Hali Country Hotel

Breakfast buffet at Hali Country Hotel

In Vik, there's a fantastic restaurant called Halldorskaffi that the locals recommended and they served a variety of items at a decent price (for Iceland). The cheese pizza I ordered had 4 different kinds of Icelandic cheeses served with some jam, which was different, but very tasty! 

Halldorskaffi restaurant in Vik

Halldorskaffi restaurant in Vik

You don't have many choices for food around Jokulsarlon. You're stuck with two expensive restaurants: Hali Country Hotel or Gerdi Guesthouse. We decided to eat at Gerdi Guesthouse, since it had better reviews. We shared a chicken dinner and potato soup and the soup was was so delicious! We had several bowls of that yummy soup.

Yummy and cheap hot dogs everywhere in Iceland

Yummy and cheap hot dogs everywhere in Iceland

As we were driving the through the East Fjords, we stopped by Djupivogur and ate at a tiny restaurant and convenient store called Vid Voginn. We ordered some pylsurs, a.k.a. hot dogs, with fried onions and remoulade sauce. Had no idea what this sauce was until we visited Iceland. It's a condiment invented in France that is similar to tartar sauce, but more yellowish. We loved this combo with their hot dogs. By the way, if you stop by a food stand or fast food restaurant and they have everything advertised except for hot dogs, chances are, they still serve hot dogs. This happened at a few locations including this restaurant.

Stocking up at the grocery store

Stocking up at the grocery store

The rest of the trip, we stocked up on some groceries and got snacks, instant noodles, breads, peanut butter and jam.

Meat selection at the Bonus Supermarket

Meat selection at the Bonus Supermarket

In Stykkisholmur, we stayed at an awesome cabin that had a BBQ grill, so we went to the local grocery store and bought some seasoned pork and vegetables to grill up some nice dinner. Probably our best meal in Iceland!

Awesome BBQ grill in Stykkisholmur

Awesome BBQ grill in Stykkisholmur

All in all, we had some pretty good food in Iceland. It's definitely a good idea to stop by a grocery store, like Bonus, to stock up on some snacks and instant noodles because there were a couple of points in our trip where we did not see any restaurants or they were already closed. Most of the restaurants closed around 8pm in April.