By Lauren Jade Hill
Throughout Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, a collection of fine dining restaurants are winning the praise of gastronomes for their contemporary take on Icelandic fare, combining local ingredients with the creativity of New Nordic cuisine. These are the five best restaurants in Iceland.
Dill
The first restaurant in Iceland to have been awarded a coveted Michelin star, Dill is celebrated for its exceptional New Nordic menu. Chef Gunnar Karl Gislason is the creative force behind the culinary offering here, in which dishes fuse traditional Nordic ingredients with modern culinary techniques and plenty of experimentation. A seven-course tasting menu is curated weekly, with wine pairing by sommelier Ólafur Örn Ólafsson; expect flavor combinations such as pork belly with parsnip and honey, and pear with almond and birch.
Gallery Restaurant
This restaurant at Hotel Holt in Reykjavik is considered Iceland’s stalwart fine dining venue having thrived since 1965. Describes as an art gallery in a hotel, the restaurant displays a selection of classic paintings and artworks, which are a part of what’s said to be the largest privately owned art collection in Iceland. Here, premium ingredients are brought together in dishes such as lobster soup with marinated lobster and roasted chocolate cream, and veal carpaccio with Italian truffle cheese and quail egg.
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VOX
Located within the Hilton Reykjavik Nordica, VOX provides an elegant fine dining setting for New Nordic cuisine that places the focus on fresh Icelandic and Scandinavian ingredients sourced from local farmers and producers. Tuck into dishes such as pan fried langoustine with radishes, ramsons, apples and hobs, and Icelandic beef tenderloin with celeriac parsnip, onions and Arctic char. This is complemented by the exceptionally comprehensive wine list.
Grillid
This grill restaurant within Radison Blu Saga Hotel serves fine dining plates in a space that commands views over the scenic surroundings from its eighth-story position. The menu here gives classic plates a contemporary update, with main courses such as fillet of lamb with pointed cabbage and crowberries, and white asparagus with tarragon and almonds. A four-course tasting menu comes with wine pairing that the restaurant has been lauded for.
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Sjávargrillid
It was after being named Chef of the Year in 2010 that Gústav Axel Gunnlaugsson opened his own restaurant in Reykjavik. With a name that translates to ‘seafood grill’, this restaurant makes the most of the ingredients Iceland is known for, bringing in local meat too. Choose between flavor combinations such as grilled yellowfin tuna with hazelnut, mushroom and chili, a langoustine taco with date, garlic, red onion and coriander, and grilled beef chuck and langoustine with potato, mushroom, onion and spinach. Each dish is prepared with finesse.
For more inspiration on where to eat on your travels, take a look at the world’s Top 100 Restaurants.
