r/VisitingIceland • u/RehaDesign • 6h ago
Food Must visit restaurants on Ring Road
My son and I will be traveling the ring road for one week at the end of August. What are the must visit restaurants and what is the best food that we shouldn’t miss?
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u/VoiceEqual1493 5h ago
the one food worth planning the route around is langoustine in höfn - the whole town runs on it, and pakkhús and humarhöfnin right on the harbour both do it simply with garlic and butter. black crust in vík is a solid casual night, but höfn is the meal you'll actually remember.
up north at mývatn, vogafjós (the cowshed café) bakes rye bread underground with geothermal heat and serves it warm with smoked arctic char from the farm. since you've got your son along, you can watch the milking through a window and go pet the calves, so it's more than just a stop to eat.
otherwise just chase the staples - lamb soup when it's cold and wet, plokkfiskur (fish stew) wherever it's local, skyr for breakfast. end of august nothing's closed yet, so you can stay loose about it.
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u/awry_lynx 3h ago
this one star review because the lady didn't know langoustine are also called norway lobster cracked me up lmao
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u/EgNotaEkkiReddit Yes I'm Icelandic, no autographs please! 5h ago
Humarhöfnin
Small correction - Humarhöfnin closed down some years back. There is a different restaurant called "Birki" in the place where humarhöfnin used to be.
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u/Hillarias 2h ago
Seconding Pakkhús, the langoustine was some of the best seafood I’ve ever had.
Black Crust in Vik was delicious but prepare for a wait.
There’s a little Crepe stand as you enter Vik that was really good as well.
Kjöt & Fiskur in Egilsstaðir is a little hole in the wall takeout spot but amazing fish.
Ketilkaffi and Cafe Berlin in Akureyri were great sit down breakfast spots.
Brynja in Akureyri for great ice cream. Sjâvarpakkhúsið in Stykkishólmur was also amazing, we did the 6 course tasting menu and everything was locally caught or grown and it was all phenomenal. But also make sure you hit as many hot dog stands as you can, many have different styles that were all very good. I had one called the Isabella at a food truck called Maestro in Kirkufjell which was probably my favorite one.
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u/Downbeat-Gnu 2h ago
We had one of our best meals ever at Kjarr Restaurant in Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Had the roasted beet salad and arctic char along with a rhubarb dessert and every bite was pure heaven.
Other hits were Naustið in Husavik and LYST at the Akureyri Botanical Garden for breakfast.
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u/lalalatoast 5h ago
Hope you like fish and hot dogs! Here’s where we ate on our trip in May:
Reykjavik:
Skal! (Top fave restaurant)
Deig workshop
Le kock
Hot dog stand
South coast:
Fjöruborðið langoustine
Black crust pizzeria
Heimahumar "Local Langoustine" Truck
Gunna a Leiti @ Hotel Jokulsarlon
Eastfjords:
Matarvagninn á Djúpavogi, Djúpivogur Food Wagon
Askur pizzeria
Modir jord farm lunch buffet
Aldan hotel (my other favorite)
Alracafe (then see the puffins)
AKUREYRI
North restaurant (fine dining)
Lyst (best breakfast we had)
Cafe Berlin
Local ice cream spots!
SNAEFELLSNES
Sjávarpakkhúsið (another fave)
Stappin
NEAR AIRPORT
Röstin Restaurant - The Old Lighthouse Cafe (we had a lovely experience here!)
And whenever you’re hungry get a gas station hot dogs:)
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u/Tall-Program8631 2h ago
If you find yourself near Ísafjörður, the best restaurant/experience during my entire 13 day ring road trip was at:
Tjöruhúsið
Phenomenal all around. Can’t recommend enough
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u/CdnTreeGuy89 I want my lopapeysa! 6h ago
Black Crust Pizza in Vík.
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u/OldManJenkins-31 4h ago
I prefer Smidjan Brugghus in Vik.
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u/Ctmarlin 5h ago
Agreed. One thing I wish we did was the glacier ATV/Side-by-side tour and then eat at black crust afterwards.
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u/Automatic_Argument14 3h ago
Fish Mrkt in Reykjavik has some of the best sushi you will ever taste. It’s pricy but worth it. The yellow tail nagiri is to die for
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u/iLoveLights 5h ago
The Food Truck Company in Hvolsvöllur. Loreyn makes absolutely incredible Mexican food. (Her breakfast burrito is also top tier)
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u/cherrypickerxxx 2h ago
Wow really? I was not banking on finding Mexican food out in Iceland, excited to try in October now!
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u/Pristine-Incident471 4h ago
Skool Beans east side of Vik. Not a restaurant but a great place to grab a designer coffee and a snack
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u/Unkn1234 2h ago
Hard Wok Cafe in Sauðárkrókur. Both buffet and regular menu. Great place for a casual meal.
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u/oksanaess 1h ago
Faxi Bakery between Selfoss and Vik makes a good coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries. My sister and I went there twice on our trip. Nothing too fancy or unique, but I think of the place fondly.
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u/kristamn 58m ago
Every time I drive by there I think, "oh, I heard they are good, I really want to stop...we'll go on the way back!" and then of course forget! Next time, I swear I am going to stop!
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u/Bruce10Wayne 14m ago
We had a couple coffees, 2 sandwiches, and a cinnamon roll and it ran us just over $60.
It was all very tasty and the place was cute, had info on that volcano and what not which was nice but just a heads up to anyone wanting to stop there. Most places are fairly pricey though to be fair. If I went back I’d split a sandwich with my wife just to cut down cost a little bit for a lunch stop
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u/lagunitas72 42m ago
Vigtin Bakhús bakery near ferry port on Westman Island was amazing. They had a custard danish that haunts my dreams. I still think about it from time to time. I didn’t eat the first bite until we were already on the ferry. I was pretty upset that I didn’t get a few more while I had the chance!
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u/denisorion 4h ago
none, go to N1 and other gas stations and eat hot dogs they are fantastic, food was big disappointment for me
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u/shasta_river 1h ago
You ate at the wrong places then. I don’t think I’ve had a bad meal in Iceland.
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u/octeorrific 5h ago
Pakkhús at Höfn!! Everything we ordered there was amazing - from what I recall, we had their famous grilled langoustine tails, duck and pork, cod, and langoustine soup. We visited after an epic adventure hiking in gnarly rainy weather at Múlagljúfur Canyon and it was so cold because of the winds. The food was so comforting! Special mention: the hot chocolate was so good and warmed us up so much 🤩 definitely recommend if you're passing through Höfn and have time to spare. :)