Sitting on a barrel inside the Sægreifinn fish shop, staring up at the stuffed seal and stuffed ram’s head, having owner Kjartan shuffle by to serve another customer and repeating with a broader and broader smile “Vínurmín” (My friend) I acknowledged that even if the humarsúpa (lobster soup) didn’t taste good this store would still be worth a visit for anybody interested in local flavour.
Of course, the soup does taste good. A heavy, curry-flavoured bisque with large chunks of lobster, Kjartan laughs and nods at the idea that this is Bezt í Heimi (best in the world), of course it is.
If you’re wondering at this point why there is so much Icelandic, I must warn you that Sægreifinn is one of the charming locales in Reykjavík where English doesn’t pop up at all. It is a shop for locals, and the lobster soup, at 650 ISK, is a cherished secret.
Okay, so here is what you need to order your soup. Góðan dag. Ég ætla að fá humarsúpu og borða hana hér. Takk fyrir.
Any anxiety you may feel about speaking a foreign language will be settled as soon as you take a sip of the soup.
Sægreifinn, Verbúð 8. Geirsgata. 101 Reykjavík.
Open from 8:00 until 18:00.
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