Traditional Icelandic Food: What to Try & Where

🦈 Hákarl (Fermented Shark)

Iceland's most notorious dish. Greenland shark fermented for 4-5 months. The smell is intense (ammonia), the taste is... acquired. Most visitors try a small cube just to say they did. Chase it with brennivín (Icelandic schnapps).

Where to try it:

• Café Loki — Small tasting portion, tourist-friendly presentation
• Íslenski Barinn — Sample platter with shark, dried fish, brennivín
• Bónus supermarket — Pre-packaged hákarl if you're brave

🍖 Hangikjöt (Smoked Lamb)

Lamb smoked over birch or dried sheep dung (yes, really—it adds flavor). Served thinly sliced on bread, in soup, or as a main dish. Much more approachable than hákarl and genuinely delicious.

Where to try it:

• Café Loki — On traditional rye bread
• 3 Frakkar — Traditional preparation
• Any grocery store — Sliced hangikjöt for sandwiches

🐑 Svið (Sheep's Head)

Singed sheep's head, split in two and boiled. Traditional Þorrablót (midwinter festival) food. The cheeks are the best part. Adventurous but tasty if you can get past the appearance.

Where to try it:

• BSÍ Bus Terminal — Surprisingly, has traditional svið
• 3 Frakkar — Old-school preparation

🥣 Kjötsúpa (Lamb Soup)

The most accessible traditional dish — hearty lamb soup with root vegetables (carrots, potatoes, rutabaga). Warming, delicious, and served everywhere. You'll find this comforting, not challenging.

Where to try it:

• Café Loki — Excellent homemade version
• Icelandic Street Food — Lamb soup served in a bread bowl
• Most cafés — Common lunch special

🦞 Humar (Langoustine)

Icelandic "lobster" is actually langoustine—smaller but incredibly sweet and tender. Featured in the famous lobster soup and many seafood dishes.

Where to try it:

• Sægreifinn (Sea Baron) — Famous lobster soup, must-try
• Fish Market — Upscale langoustine dishes

🍞 Rúgbrauð (Rye Bread)

Dense, dark, slightly sweet rye bread traditionally baked underground using geothermal heat. Served with butter and hangikjöt, or with smoked fish.

Where to try it:

• Café Loki — With butter or topped with smoked trout
• Fontana Geothermal Bakery — See it baked in hot springs (outside Reykjavík)

🐧 Puffin & Whale

Controversial but available. Puffin is dark meat, often smoked, served rare. Minke whale is similar to beef, usually grilled. Both are legal in Iceland but divisive ethically. Most traditional restaurants offer them.

Where to try it (if you choose to):

• 3 Frakkar — Traditional preparation
• Sægreifinn — Whale skewers
• Grillið — Upscale versions

🏆 Best Restaurants for Traditional Food

Café Loki

Best for first-timers. Tourist-friendly but authentic. Right next to Hallgrímskirkja church. Offers sampler plates so you can try multiple dishes.

3 Frakkar

Old-school and authentic. Where locals go for traditional food. Less touristy, more adventurous options. Book ahead.

Íslenski Barinn

Good introduction with drinks. Sample platter of hákarl, dried fish, and brennivín. Fun atmosphere with occasional live music.

Matur og Drykkur

Modern takes on tradition. Upscale interpretations of classic recipes. In the Grandi harbour area.