What’s the best way to discover a new country or city? With food, of course!
Whenever I go someplace new, I love to immerse myself with the local culture, and my favourite way to start is with the local cuisine. When I found out that Reykjavik had a food tour, I knew I needed to try it out!
Thanks to the kind folks at The Reykjavik Food Walk, who helped sponsor my tour, I booked this for my first day in town (literally only a few hours after I landed!). I highly recommend doing this, as this tour is more than just about trying new delicacies, it is also a great way to get acquainted with the streets of Reykjavik, major landmarks, and little quirks that you might miss on your own.
My group met at the gorgeous Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre. After a quick introduction, we visited a few landmarks, such as Arnarhóll (a hill with the statue of Iceland’s first permanent resident) before heading to our first stop: Islenski Barinn.
In this cozy bar, we had the chance to try hearty Kjötsúpa, traditional Icelandic lamb soup. Every family in Iceland has its own recipe, but the base is typically mutton or lamb meat, potatoes, turnips, carrots, onions, and herbs or spices. This bar’s variation was different than any other one I’ve had, as the broth also contained tomato purée, adding a unique burst of flavour. With this, we had thick slices of freshly baked sourdough bread and a cold glass of Viking Gylltur!
After warming up with that dish, we made our way back outside to Ostabúðin, a gourmet cheese shop near the main shopping street in town.
In addition to local and international cheeses, they also have an assortment of charcuterie options, such as cured meats and fish, jams, biscuits, and more. Above is a really delicious raspberry vinaigrette that we were able to sample. It’s made in-house with champagne vinegar.
We sampled three cheeses and three meats. The cheeses that we tried were Black Gouda, Gull Ostur (an Icelandic camembert — really good!), and a young blue cheese. I’m not the biggest fan of blue, but I didn’t mind this one at all. The meats we had were lamb cured with rosemary, thyme and fennel, smoked wild goose (that was served with the raspberry sauce above), and… smoked horse!
People (mainly North Americans) on the tour were surprised by the horse meat. These are not the same horses that people ride. I’ve personally eaten it before in stew and as a sort of Dutch prosciutto. I thought it was exceptionally good smoked!
We then headed over to popular Café Loki. With a perfect view of famous Hallgrímskirkja and resident friendly feline, it is a lovely spot to duck into for Icelandic fare, such as rye bread ice cream.
It might sound like the weirdest ice cream flavour, but Icelandic rye bread is actually sweet and fluffy, like a cake! Topped with whipped cream and honey, this is probably one of my favourite desserts ever. You need to try it!
I was really glad that this tour had so much walking. A stroll around city hall and their parliament building helped maintain my hunger for Icelandic hot dogs, pylsur.
It might seem really weird that a foodie like me would be so excited about hot dogs, but these are seriously delicious and unlike any other ones I’ve ever had. They are made with lamb and have a natural casing, so they are flavourful with a nice crunch when you bite into them.
If you’re going to try one, Bæjarins bestu pylsur is the place to visit (the name actually translates to the best hot dog in town). They’ve been serving locals, visitors, and celebrities alike for over 80 years! Celebrity fans include Bill Clinton, James Hetfield, and even the Kardashians.
You will want to order your hot dog eina með öllu — with everything. That means ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. The ketchup is sweetened with apple instead of glucose, so it tastes different than what most people are used to. I think it is clever that the onions are places under the meat, so it’s not messy when you eat!
Iceland is surrounding by ocean, so of course you need to try seafood when you are there. Restaurants line Reykjavik’s Old Harbour, offering dishes made from the local catch of the day. We popped into Messinn for a taste of traditional oceanic fare.
Naval decor like anchors and stuffed sea birds, sturdy wooden tables, and vintage English china set the mood and made me feel like I was on a boat — even though I was getting full, I was ready to eat some fish!
From big communal cast iron pans at our table, we got to feast on arctic char and plokkfiskur. Plokkfiskur (mashed fish in English) sounds a little off-putting but is absolutely delicious. Traditionally a way of preparing leftover fish from the day before, seafood bits are mixed with onions, garlic, potatoes, and whatever other ingredients are on hand. Restaurants now tend to make it with fresh fish. This particular recipe was unique, it also includes celery, lime, white wine, cream, and butter.
The arctic char was divine. Prepared with honey, almonds, cherry– tomatoes, lemon and butter, the outside was nice and crispy and the inside just melted in my mouth.
All this was served with spinach and arugula salad, roasted potatoes, and Icelandic rye bread.
Our final stop was at Apotek Kitchen + bar, right in Reykjavik’s main square. It is inside one of first large concrete buildings in Iceland. The building is known as Apotekið or the pharmacy because it housed one from from 1930 to 1999.
The interior is stunning. Large windows, comfortable leather seats, a statement wall filled with glass apothecary bottles, and a window into the kitchen make this place a feast for the eyes, as well as for the belly.
Playing on the pharmacy theme, Apotek’s award-winning cocktail bar is where “ pharmacists” mix together exciting artisan cocktails to suit every mood; painkillers, stimulants, tranquillisers and even placebos.
They are also the place to visit for dessert. Pastry chef Axel Þorsteinsson studied konditor in Denmark, graduated top of his class and was also awarded a medal, by the queen of Denmark, for excellence.
I indulged in the Skyr Fantasia dessert. Although similar in taste and texture to Greek yogurt, skyr is actually cheese! In this dessert, skyr mousse housed strawberry and lime gel on a lime sponge cake. It was absolutely decadent and I am aching to try the other desserts!
Overall, this was a phenomenal tour. I not only tried different Icelandic foods, but I also got a thorough tour of Reykjavik, a great workout, and made some new friends too! I would highly recommend this to anyone who is visiting Reykjavik, whether or not it is their first time.
Cheers!
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