10 Best Restaurants
Reykjavík brings colourful streets, a working harbour and a lively food scene within easy reach of one another. Spend a morning with Icelandic history, walk past Harpa’s glass façade and look across the bay towards the mountains. Geothermal bathing makes an inviting pause between outings, while restaurants range from welcoming neighbourhood tables to intimate tasting counters. Allow a few days for the city itself, with time for coastal walks and plans that can shift with the weather.
DILL
Laugavegur, Iceland
DILL focuses on Icelandic ingredients and careful use of what the kitchen buys, from fish and shellfish to meat and vegetables. An open kitchen and a relatively restrained style keep attention on the combinations of flavour rather than elaborate presentation. The experience suits diners who want to understand the country through a considered tasting menu. Reserve it for an evening with time to spare, and let the changing ingredients guide expectations rather than planning around a particular dish.
Contemporary Icelandic cooking
ÓX
City centre, Iceland
ÓX makes dinner a close encounter with the kitchen, beginning in a retro lounge before guests settle at the dining counter. The rooms draw on family memories, giving the experience a personal frame for ambitious cooking. Icelandic ingredients are treated with an emphasis on depth and intensity of flavour, rather than decoration for its own sake. Choose it for a special evening when you want the meal itself to be the main event, with few other plans competing for time.
An intimate counter-dining evening
Matur og Drykkur
Grandi, Iceland
Matur og Drykkur gives traditional Icelandic recipes a contemporary treatment, taking inspiration from the influential cookbook of the same name. The restaurant moved to new premises in 2026, where an open kitchen serves a seasonal set menu in an industrial-style room softened by art and colourful details. Local ingredients provide the link between past and present. Choose it for a dinner that introduces Icelandic food culture through thoughtful cooking rather than a literal recreation of old recipes.
Icelandic traditions reworked
TIDES
Old Harbour, Iceland
TIDES sits inside The Reykjavik EDITION beside Harpa, with a setting that connects the hotel to the harbour. Icelandic produce anchors the cooking, while the menu also draws on ingredients and techniques from farther afield. The choice between à la carte dishes and a tasting menu makes it useful for different kinds of evening. Choose it for a comfortable, contemporary restaurant with a broad enough offering to suit a group whose appetites and preferences do not quite match.
Modern dining inside the EDITION
OTO
City centre, Iceland
OTO brings Italian and Japanese cooking together in a lively restaurant suited to an evening with friends. Handmade pasta, grilled dishes and Japanese seasonings sit comfortably alongside a strong cocktail offering. Guests can share plates or choose the more structured Kaiseki Experience, depending on how much of the evening they want to give to dinner. Its appeal is the combination of confident cooking and an energetic atmosphere, making it a useful change from the city’s quieter tasting-menu rooms.
Italian and Japanese ideas in a lively room
Sümac
Laugavegur, Iceland
Sümac combines Icelandic ingredients with Middle Eastern and North African flavours in a lively room on Laugavegur. A visible charcoal grill contributes both aroma and a clear focus to the cooking, while meze-style sharing menus encourage the table to try a range of dishes. Concrete, leather and warm lighting give the restaurant an informal urban character. Choose it for a sociable meal with cocktails, particularly when you want bold flavours without the formality of a long fine-dining evening.
Middle Eastern flavours and charcoal cooking
Lóla
Old Harbour, Iceland
Lóla offers Italian cooking in a stylish room near the harbour, with an open kitchen that adds movement to the evening. Fresh pasta is a central attraction, supported by dishes that can be ordered individually or as a set menu for the table. The atmosphere makes it suitable for both a dinner for two and a gathering with friends. Leave room for dessert, and consider pairing a meal with a visit to the neighbouring cinema.
Italian cooking near the harbour
Hosiló
Hverfisgata, Iceland
Hosiló occupies a small building on Hverfisgata, with a warm, personal atmosphere that encourages an unhurried meal. Its concise menu changes weekly according to the market, so there is little point arriving with a fixed dish in mind. Fish and seasonal produce are part of the kitchen’s straightforward appeal. Choose it for a smaller restaurant experience in the centre, especially when you would prefer a few carefully considered choices to an extensive menu or a long tasting sequence.
A small, welcoming neighbourhood restaurant
Fiskmarkaðurinn
Old town, Iceland
Fiskmarkaðurinn, also known as the Fish Market, combines Icelandic seafood with Asian influences in the old centre of Reykjavík. Sushi and sashimi sit alongside cooked fish, shellfish, meat and vegetarian dishes, giving diners several ways to approach the meal. Seasonal tasting menus offer a broader introduction to the kitchen’s style. Choose it when seafood is a priority but the table also wants variety, with the historic central setting adding character to the evening.
Seafood with Asian influences
Grillmarkaðurinn
Lækjargata, Iceland
Grillmarkaðurinn puts fire, smoke and Icelandic produce at the centre of its cooking. Meat and fish feature prominently, with ingredients sourced through relationships with local farms and suppliers. The room uses materials associated with Icelandic nature, including driftwood and basalt, to create a warm setting for dinner. Choose between individual dishes and a tasting menu, depending on appetite. It is a good fit for diners who enjoy grilled flavours and a restaurant with a substantial, convivial feel.
Icelandic ingredients cooked over charcoal