- Hot Dog / Pylsur -
Icelandic Hot Dogs, definitely a must try in Iceland. Nestled in Reykjavik city, Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (English translation as: The best hot dogs in town) is one of the hotspots where locals and foreigners would queue for after it has been selected as the best hot dog in Europe from The Guardian British newspaper. This would be one of the pioneer to crowd pullers since 1937.
One thing special about this hot dog is where the fillings are combinations of pork, lamb and beef. For sauce, you can order their specialty "The Work" which consists of ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish. You may choose to take away or there are 2 bench for eat in.
Price at 450 ISK / RM18 each.
Sundays to Thursdays 1000 – 1300
Fridays to Saturdays 1000 – 1630
Fridays to Saturdays 1000 – 1630
- Lamb Soup in Bread -
To balance off your meal, you can also head to Icelandic Street Food which is the most economical food you can find in Iceland. It is only 3 minutes walk away from the famous hot dog store. Here, they serve traditional lamb soup in bowl for 1,390 ISK or served in bread for 1,790 ISK. Their signature dish also includes pancakes and dried fish.
Monday to Thursday 1130 – 2100
Friday 1130 – 2200
Weekends 1200 – 2200
- Lamb Shank -
What is the largest population in Iceland? Sheep!!! Even though the sheep population is around 3 times larger then human (800,000 sheeps vs 323,000 Icelanders), their lamb still cost a bomb. One lamb shank cost around 4000 ISK / RM 160 per dish. The lamb shank is certainly tender, savory and not too overpowering on the gamey smell. The portion of lamb shank is just nice for one pax and all the other dishes in Iceland as well.
The lamb in Iceland is probably the best lamb I have ever tasted. Probably it is because the sheep roams free, grazing on sweet grass and drinking the best water in the world.
- Fish -
When in Iceland, do as the Vikings do. As Iceland is surrounded by Artic waters and it is rich in their fisheries. It is well known that they serve the freshest fish and have huge variety depending on seasons. In Husavik where they have their own fishing port, it is a MUST eat meal where they provides "Catch of the Day" in their menu rather than in Malaysia we have dory fish for everything.
Almost all restaurants in whole Iceland serves fish in their main menus from skewers, fish and chips, surf and turf, fish soup and even dry it and serve as fermented shark meat. Price for 2 fish skewer cost 4,900 ISK / RM200 and 1,300 ISK / RM52 for fish soup.
- Langoustine -
Langoustine is also known as Norway Lobster is a local delicacy in Iceland. They often served it with pasta, surf and turf and even pizza. They are called lobsters but of the size of a medium sized prawn. It is quite rare which makes them more to the expensive side. It's population have suffered a rapid decline which limits fisherman catch every year. Unlike lobster and other seafood, it is hard to keep langoustine alive. So they were frozen immediately after catch but it still tasted as good after grill.
- Icelandic Water -
Icelandic water is FREE to drink from tap so I still do not understand why tourist purchase this for drink. It cost 199 ISK / RM8 per bottle whereby the tap water is also pure. It is so pure that all Icelanders do not have water filter in their home. If you are drinking from the tap, make sure it is cold as the hot water has strong sulphur smell but still it is safe for drinking. If you would like to purchase Icelandic water back to your hometown, you can always get it from convenience store around petrol station.
- Rye Bread and Skyr-
Skyr is a dairy cultured product and often most acceptable local product by tourist. It tasted like yoghurt but slightly less sweeter and milder. They are actually made out of cheese, so its more like melted cheese than milk. It comes with many flavors like vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, blueberry, lemon cheesecake, mango, baked apples and so much more. Isey Skyr is available in UK now, lucky you!
Rye bread, which is made of rye grains so it is slightly darker than our normal grain bread but higher in fiber. It has a distinct smell and not everyone can accept it. It is known to have many health benefits and it is filling even with small slice. Many guesthouse do served this as their breakfast and it is great eating on its own.
- Fridheima Tomato Soup -
Located in the golden ring road, Fridheima is a family business growing tomatos, basil leaves in greenhouse heated up by Geothermal springs. They are famous for tomato soup which comes in buffet style and you can grab bottomless home baked bread and soup from the counter. It is good to start off with the tomato soup, then adding some sour cream and making it more flavorful with the basil leaves plant freshly picked on your table. The bread also goes well with the butter and cucumber salsa. Besides their signature dish tomato soup, they do serve pasta and grilled tortillas with tomatoes. It comes with a big cup of Mozzarella cheese for additional flavours.
Tortillas 1,950 ISK
Ostakka cheese cake 1,390 ISK
Bloody Mary 1,700 ISK
Operation hours:
open daily 1200 – 1600, all year round.- Brauð & Co.-
The highest review I see for a bakery and is rated the top 2 place to eat in Reykjavik in trip advisor. It is 5 minutes walk away from hallgrimskirkja church so you may drop by during your visit. They have great cinnamon buns, apple pies filled with large chunks of hazelnuts and it is simply the BEST! Their famous baked cinnamon rolls are not available until 11.30am so take note.
Operation hours:
Weekdays: 0600 - 1800
Weekends: 0600 - 1700
- Alcohol -
STRONGLY recommend you to purchase beers and all sort of alcohol from the AIRPORT. This is so important I have to highlight and repeat it again! Alcohol = Airport! We bought one pack (6 bottles) of viking beer from the airport for 11,000 ISK while in restaurant the beer is sold for 10,000 ISK each. Another thing is alcohols are not sold in supermarkets so it's going to cost you a bomb.
Alcohol import allowance:
⚬ 1 litre of spirits, 1 litre of wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 1 litre of spirits, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 1.5 litre of wine, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 3 litres wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products.
Spirits comprise alcoholic beverages having 22% alcoholic content or more; wines comprise alcoholic beverages, other than beer, below this alcohol content.
⚬ 1 litre of spirits, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 1.5 litre of wine, 6 litres of beer and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products; or
⚬ 3 litres wine and 200 cigarettes (1 carton) or 250 g of other tobacco products.
Spirits comprise alcoholic beverages having 22% alcoholic content or more; wines comprise alcoholic beverages, other than beer, below this alcohol content.
