Icelandic cuisine grows out of a harsh, beautiful land where pure water, clean seas and volcanoes shape both the ingredients and the methods. For centuries people preserved food by smoking, salting, fermenting and drying to survive long, dark winters. Today those traditions live on alongside a confident modern restaurant culture built on purity and local produce. Here is what every visitor should taste.
Lamb — the heart of the kitchen
Icelandic sheep roam free across the highlands all summer, grazing on grass, berries and wild herbs. The result is mild, clean-tasting meat that Icelanders are rightly proud of. Slow-roasted leg of lamb is the classic Sunday dinner.
- Kjötsúpa — the national lamb soup, made with lamb, root vegetables, potatoes and barley. Deeply comforting in cold weather.
- Hangikjöt — smoked lamb, traditionally served at Christmas with béchamel, potatoes and green peas.
Seafood from clean seas
Fish has always been the foundation of the diet, and the North Atlantic yields some of the freshest catch anywhere.
- Arctic char and wild salmon from rivers and lakes.
- Cod and haddock — pan-fried, baked, or turned into plokkfiskur.
- Humar — Icelandic langoustine, small but exquisitely sweet, often cooked in garlic butter. The town of Höfn is famous for it.
- Plokkfiskur — a homely fish stew of boiled fish, potatoes, onion and white sauce, served with rye bread.
Skyr and baking
Skyr is not a yoghurt but a soft fresh cheese with a thousand-year history in Iceland. Thick, high in protein and slightly tart, it is usually eaten with berries and cream. Today skyr is exported around the world.
Rúgbrauð is a dark, dense, faintly sweet rye bread. At Laugarvatn and elsewhere it is baked underground in the heat of the earth beside hot springs — then it is called hverabrauð, geothermal bread. It is heavenly with butter and smoked trout.
For the brave — Þorramatur
In midwinter, during the old month of Þorri, Icelanders hold Þorrablót feasts and serve a platter of traditional preserved foods called Þorramatur.
- Hákarl — fermented Greenland shark with a powerful ammonia kick. Usually tackled with a shot of brennivín.
- Súrmatur — ram's testicles, blood pudding, sheep's-head jelly and more, cured in whey.
- Harðfiskur — wind-dried cod or haddock, torn into strips and eaten with butter. A popular snack all year round.
Brennivín, the caraway-spiced Icelandic schnapps nicknamed "black death", is the traditional accompaniment.
The hot dog and everyday food
If you taste only one thing, make it the pylsur — the Icelandic hot dog made mainly of lamb with beef and pork. Ordered "with everything" (með öllu) it comes with fried and raw onion, remoulade, ketchup and sweet brown mustard. The stand Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur by the Reykjavík harbour is a national institution, serving since 1937.
Greenhouses and pure water
Thanks to geothermal energy, Icelanders grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and even strawberries in lit greenhouses all year. The town of Hveragerði is built around this. And never forget: Icelandic tap water is among the cleanest on Earth, straight from the spring. Never ask for bottled water.
Reykjavík's dining scene
The capital is now a hotbed of new Nordic cooking. Young chefs marry ancient methods — smoke, ferment, cure — with fresh produce and global influences. From fine dining to street-food markets, eating well in Reykjavík is easy. Enjoy!
Sweets and coffee
Icelanders have a serious sweet tooth. Kleinur (twisted fried doughnuts), pönnukökur (thin pancakes with sugar and cream) and snúður (cinnamon rolls dipped in chocolate) fill bakeries across the country. At Christmas, thin, intricately cut laufabrauð "leaf bread" is fried. Coffee culture runs deep: Icelanders drink a great deal of coffee, and cafés are social hubs, especially through the dark of winter.
Where to eat
- Try a hot dog from a stand, plokkfiskur at an old-style diner, and a new-Nordic dish at a fine restaurant — all in one day in Reykjavík.
- In fishing towns like Höfn and across the Westfjords, the seafood is at its freshest straight from the harbour.
- Don't skip the bakery in the morning — fresh bread, a cinnamon roll and coffee are the perfect start to an Icelandic day.
Icelandic cuisine is a story of resourcefulness: making something delicious from what the land provides. Enjoy it with an open mind.