When I was first planning my trip, I stumbled upon a place called Vogafjós. It is a farm in the Lake Mývatn area that has been owned by the same family for about 120 years, consisting of approximately 120 sheep and about 40 cows and cattle. Like many farms in Iceland, it also doubles as a guesthouse.
What makes this place particularly interesting is that there is a cafe inside the cowshed! Through large windows, you can watch the cows feed, and you can also watch them getting milked twice a day. Anyone who knows me will know how much I love farm animals, so visiting was pretty high on my bucket list. I was SUPER excited when my guide/friend, Gísli, suggested stopping by for lunch!
Besides watching the cows, the views of the surrounding landscape are beautiful.
The farm’s guesthouse/lobby area also has a little shop with local products such as Saltverk’s flavoured salts and beautiful shoes made out of fish skin, horse hair, and cow hide (designed by a local fashion designer).
The food was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Everything was made in house or at other local farms. All cheeses were made with milk from the cows in front of me. I wanted to try everything, so I opted for the special, which consisted of fresh mozzarella, raw smoked lamb, smoked arctic char, dill-cured arctic char, Geysir bread, and fresh salad with feta. It also included fresh Icelandic tomatoes (if you read my blog, you will know that I am obsessed with these), rhubarb jam, dill sauce, and fresh cottage cheese. I upgraded my order so that I could try their homemade angelica schnapps (yum).
Since I was there during Þorrablót (more on that in another post), I had the opportunity to try a seasonal beer from local craft brewery, Kaldi.
I also took a photo of Gísli’s delicious looking plate, which was a slow cooked lamb shank with mashed potato cake, gravy, homemade rhubarb jam, and fresh salad with their homemade cheese. Other dishes included arctic char fillets (huge pieces) and skyr cakes for dessert.
This was probably one of my favourite meals – ever – in Iceland, not just for the fresh, delicious food, but also for the unique experience too. It’s more than just farm-to-table — it’s literally cafe-in-a-farm! I HIGHLY recommend visiting this place if you’re in the area!!!
