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If you’re wondering what to eat in Iceland or are curious about Icelandic food, this Iceland food guide will take you through every delicious thing we tried during our trip! Heading to Iceland, food was not really on my radar. I was warned by several people that the food was disappointing, so I didn’t have high hopes.

But I had quite the opposite experience! I was truly blown away by the food I had in Iceland! It was AMAZING! From reindeer carpaccio to Icelandic pancakes and everything in between, it was delicious! The food was fresh, flavorful and unique. Here’s everything we ate (and loved!) in Iceland.

Icelandic Food: What to Expect

Before diving into the details of everywhere we ate, here’s a quick look at what you can expect from the Icelandic food scene:

• It’s fresh and Local: due to Iceland’s climate, ingredients are local and seasonal. You’ll find dishes like lamb, seafood (especially Arctic char and cod), potatoes and greenhouse grown veggies. You can taste the freshness in every bite!
• It is expensive…but worth it: Dining in Iceland isn’t cheap. Even casual meals can cost $30-40 per person so budget accordingly.
• Grocery stores are your best friend: if you are road-tripping or trying to save, stop at grocery stores like Kronan. You can stock up on snacks, water and even breakfast items to save some money.
• Adventurous dishes are available (but optional): Dishes like fermented shark or wild game are on the menus. You can easily avoid these dishes if you are not feeling adventurous.
• If you love seafood, you will thrive: Iceland is a seafood paradise. If you love seafood (like me!), you will be in heaven! Artic Char, cod and langoustines are staples on most menus.

What We Ate in Iceland: A Day-by-Day Breakdown

Day 1: Reykjavik to Hveragerdi

Breakfast: After landing in Reykjavik, we drove into the city center for breakfast. We headed to Braud & Co. Every item is made with fresh ingredients and made in store. They are known for their cinnamon rolls and let me tell you they did not disappoint!

Lunch: We had lunch at the Gulfoss visitor center before we headed out to Snowmobile on a glacier. I had a chicken sandwich that was pretty good but nothing to write home about. The visitor centers are a great place to grab lunch if you are out exploring but do not expect gourmet meals.

Dinner: After a long day of adventuring, we arrived at Frost and Fire Hotel. We chose to have dinner at the hotel restaurant, Varma, and boy am I glad we did! This ended up being my favorite meal of the whole trip! We started off with some appetizers. We tried the lamb licorice, reindeer carpaccio and the Icelandic Scallops.

Related post: Frost and Fire Boutique Hotel

Every thing was delicious but my favorite was the Reindeer Carpaccio. The reindeer was carpaccio style, meaning raw and in super thin slices. It was served with cashews, Feykir cheese and truffle oil. Each bite melted in your mouth.

For my meal, I had Arctic char. Artic char is a fish very similar to salmon. It came with a beetroot puree, brie cheese and potatoes and was amazing. Joe tried the lamb which was geothermally cooked and he said it was the best lamb he has ever had. For dessert, we tried the Hot spring chocolate cake and the creme brulee. Both were good! I would recommend to everyone to eat at Varma restaurant! This stands out as my favorite meal of the whole trip!

Day 2: Hvergerdi to Vik

Breakfast: The hotel breakfast included a buffet of fruit, yogurt, eggs, bacon, waffle station and a spread of meat, cheeses and lox. I had an assortment but was sure to have some toast with lox as this is one of my favorites!

Lunch: When we arrived in Vik we needed something quick for lunch. At the recommendation of the hotel front desk, we headed to Smidjan Brugghus. This is a brewpub not far from Hotel Vik. I got an order of ‘dirty fries’ which were fries topped with pulled pork, bacon, and sauce! It was very tasty and the perfect amount of food. The restaurant has many BBQ options and everyone was satisfied with their meal.

Here is where I found my first Sommersby Cider to try. I had heard so much about the cider before hand and it lived up to the hype. This may be my new favorite cider and I will be on the lookout for it!

Dinner: For dinner we headed to the Black Crust Pizzeria. This came highly recommended and I think should be a must do in Vik. Inspired by the black sand beaches of Iceland located in Vik, the crust of this pizza is black due to the addition of activated charcoal to the dough. All pizza is made in house and is very fresh. We ordered breadsticks as a appetizer and they were very cheesy and a great start. For the main course, we ordered 3 pizza’s to split between the 4 of us and it was the perfect amount.

We ordered the No. 1, No. 3, No. 5, which was my favorite! It had a mix of Icelandic cheeses, red currant jelly, rose pepper and Parmesan. I never expected Jelly to go so well on pizza but it was amazing.

No. 1 had langoustine which is one of Iceland’s specialties. It is similar to lobster or shrimp. It was very good on the pizza with truffle oil. No. 3 was just a typical pepperoni pizza but was still very good! When in Vik, I highly recommend checking out this pizza place!

Day 3: Vik to Reykjavik

Breakfast: We had breakfast at the hotel. The buffet spread was similar to the last hotel and consisted of yogurt, eggs, bacon and a large spread of meats, cheese and lox! I once again had some lox but also tried the yogurt as Iceland is known for their ‘Skyr’ or Icelandic yogurt. It was very tasty and I would recommend trying it!

Related post: Hotel Vik I Myrdal

Lunch: On the way back to Reykjavik, we stopped in Selfoss at the Old Dairy Food Hall. This is a food hall with about 8 different stands. I decided on tacos from Takko and they did not disappoint. I got a chicken and a shrimp taco. They were both delicious! Joe got a pizza from Flatey and very much enjoyed it.

After lunch, we headed to Groovis Ice Cream and Donuts. This place is SO cute inside! We got a milkshake with mini donuts! It was the perfect mid afternoon treat!

Dinner: Once we arrived back in Reykjavik, it was time for us to head to Sky Lagoon. We purchased a Sky Lagoon for 2 package which included a Sky Platter from the cafe. This platter had a collection of Icelandic cheeses, bilberry jam, wild game pate and rhubarb pie. The cheese and pie was delicious. I wasn’t a huge fan of the wild game pate but it was something to experience! This platter was a good amount of food but we were still a bit hungry after.

Related post: Visiting Sky Lagoon Iceland

We headed back to our hotel, The Reykjavik Edition. We headed to the lobby bar and ordered a few snacks. The bartender recommended the toasted ravioli, nachos and chicken skewers so we took his recommendations. All of it was good but nothing to rave about.

Day 4: Reykjavik

This was our last day in Iceland and we decided to do a walking food tour of Reykjavik. Our guide was amazing and I highly recommend doing this tour to taste a variety of Icelandic food! On this tour we stopped at 5 restaurants to taste varying foods.

• Baka Baka: This is the first ever public bakery in Iceland. We tried Icelandic pancakes which are similar to crepes but have sugar rolled inside. We put raspberry jam and homemade whipped cream on top and they were delectable!

• Messinn Seafood: Here we tasted Arctic Char and Plokkfiskur. Plokkfiskur is a fish stew with cod, potatoes, onions and cheese. It was served with Icelandic Rye bread. Both were delicious but Arctic char is one of my favorites!

• Baejarins Betzu Pylsur: Time for the world famous hot dogs! This hot dog stand has be open and running everyday since 1937. These hot dogs are made with lamb, beef and pork and are served with ketchup, sweet mustard, Remoulade, crispy fried onions and raw onion. This hot dog forever changed my view of hot dogs. It was AMAZING!

• Islenski Barrinn: Time for the fermented shark. I was very scared to try it but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Our guide walked us through the process of doing ‘cheers’ with the shark, eating it and then taking a shot of Brennivin (an Icelandic Schnapps). The wasn’t delicious by any means but it was not terrible. The shot on the other hand was horrible. We also got to try traditional Icelandic Lamb soup here and this was very good!

• Cafe Loki: For our last stop, we had rye bread Ice cream! I was unsure what to expect with this but it was actually delicious!

After our food tour it was time to head to the airport. We did have one more Baejarins Betzu Pylsur hot dog in the airport because they were just that good!

My Must Try Icelandic Foods

• Arctic Char
• Traditional Icelandic Lamb Soup
• Skyr (Icelandic Yogurt)
• Hot dog from Baejarins Betzu Pylsur
• Reindeer carpaccio

Final Thoughts on What to Eat in Iceland

Eating our way through Iceland was of the highlights of our trip The food in Iceland was the biggest surprise for me, in a good way! It was some of the best food I’ve ever had and perfect for any foodie looking to experience a new cuisine! If you’re a foodie wondering what to eat in Iceland, prepare to be pleasantly surprised!

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