Eating Iceland: Fish, Lamb and Where to Stay to Find Both

Why Fish and Lamb Define the Icelandic Table

Iceland's food culture is built on what the island can actually produce. Sheep have grazed the highlands since the ninth century, and the cold North Atlantic supplies cod, haddock, halibut, langoustine and the famous arctic char. In Reykjavík, the old harbour at Geirsgata and the streets around Grandagarður, on the Grandi peninsula, are where the fishing boats still land and where many of the city's best fish restaurants cluster, roughly a fifteen-minute walk from the Laugavegur shopping street. Lunch here is generally gentler on the budget than dinner, with fish stew and the day's catch often the best-value plates.

Lamb is the other pillar, and it tastes distinctly of its landscape. Icelandic sheep roam free in the highlands each summer, feeding on wild grasses and herbs, which gives the meat a fuller flavour than farmed alternatives. You will see it as lamb soup, slow-roasted leg, smoked lamb on rye and the cured cut known as hangikjöt. Supermarkets such as Bónus and Krónan sell excellent lamb and fresh fish for self-caterers, and guesthouses with shared kitchens make this a genuinely affordable way to eat well without restaurant prices.

Where to Eat It in Reykjavík and How to Plan Around It

The 101 downtown postcode, particularly around Ingólfsstræti and Austurstræti, holds the densest concentration of restaurants, but the Grandi harbour area is where fish cookery is most serious. You can walk from the Harpa concert hall along the seafront to Grandi in about twenty minutes, or take bus 14. Expect main courses to sit in the mid-to-upper range for Iceland, where eating out is expensive by European standards. If you want to keep costs down, look for the daily soup or the plate of the day, and book dinner tables in advance for Friday and Saturday.

For lamb, the traditional route is a slow-cooked dish in an old-fashioned dining room, though modern kitchens now serve it seared and pink. The food halls and casual counters around Hverfisgata offer good mid-range options. A common mistake is to eat only downtown: the neighbourhoods of Vesturbær and the old west side have quieter, often better-value places within a short bus ride of the centre. If you are driving the Ring Road, plan your restaurant nights for Reykjavík and Akureyri and cook or eat simple food in between.

Regional Eating: North, West and East Iceland

Akureyri, on the Eyjafjörður fjord about four and a half hours' drive from Reykjavík on Route 1, is the natural base for the north. The town has a compact centre with good fish restaurants and easy access to the trout and char fishing of the surrounding lakes. Nearby Húsavík, an hour further east, is the whale-watching capital and serves excellent local fish. In the west, the Snæfellsnes peninsula puts you within reach of Stykkishólmur, whose harbour restaurants focus on scallops and cod landed locally. These smaller towns reward travellers who stay overnight rather than day-tripping from the capital.

The east and southeast offer the most dramatic setting for lamb. Around Höfn, under the Vatnajökull glacier, langoustine is the local speciality, served simply with butter and bread. Farm stays along the south coast between Vík and Höfn often include lamb from their own land, and the slow-food ethos here is genuine rather than marketing. Book these rural guesthouses well ahead for July and August, when the Ring Road is busiest. Shoulder months, May and September, bring lower room rates and fewer crowds, though some rural restaurants shorten their opening days outside high season.

Practical Advice and What to Skip

Tap water in Iceland is free and excellent, so carry a bottle rather than buying bottled water. Alcohol is heavily taxed and only sold in state Vínbúðin shops, so a drink with dinner adds noticeably to the bill; many travellers buy wine at the airport on arrival. Tipping is not expected. Fermented shark and dried fish are worth trying once for the experience, but they are acquired tastes and not a reason to plan a meal around them. The same goes for the more theatrical tasting menus aimed squarely at visitors.

For a first trip, I would base two or three nights in central Reykjavík within walking distance of the harbour and the Laugavegur area, then hire a car and spend two nights in the north around Akureyri, eating fish by the fjord and lamb inland. If your dates fall outside June to August, prioritise the south coast and Reykjavík, where restaurants stay open year-round. Wherever you stay, choose accommodation with breakfast included; it is one of the simplest ways to control food costs in an expensive country. Comparing a few hotels in each region before you book will usually save more than any single restaurant choice.