Best Icelandic food to actually order, ranked
Bowl of lamb soup and rye bread on a wooden table
Ten Icelandic dishes ranked by how good they are versus how much they cost — plus which two you should skip no matter what the guide says.
The genuine winners
Lamb soup (kjotsupa) — $18-24, served everywhere, tastes better in a rural roadhouse than a Reykjavik restaurant. Arctic char, better than the salmon and half the price ($32 vs $42). Langoustine soup in Hofn at Pakkhus ($28) is the country's best single dish. Skyr with cream and berries ($8) at breakfast is worth choosing over the eggs. Rye bread baked in geothermal ground at Laugarvatn Fontana ($6 for a warm loaf with butter) is unreasonably good.
Skip these
Hakarl (fermented shark) is a $12 tourist tax on your dignity. It tastes of ammonia, and even Icelanders don’t eat it outside Thorrablot in January. Puffin, ethically and gastronomically bleak — the population is declining and it tastes like liver-flavored gum. Whale is legal but the meat is dark and metallic; also, you’ll have watched them in the morning at Husavik. Hot dogs from Baejarins Beztu ($6) are the honest cheap meal.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Reykjavik.
Mains at a mid-range restaurant are $35-55. Fine dining is $90-150 without wine. Gas station soup is $18 and often good.
The best in the world. Never buy bottled — you’re paying $4 for the same thing.
