From Iceland — Best Of Reykjavík 2018: Best Goddamn Restaurant

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There has never been a more exciting time for the restaurant scene in Reykjavik. Thanks to burgeoning tourism, exposure, and a genuine curiosity for foods from far and wide, diners now have a plethora of choices on offer. Whether it’s high-end fine dining (we even boast a Michelin starred gem!), or a cheap late night bite, Reykjavik is coming into its own as a culinary destination, offering small plates, tasting menus, farm to table seasonal produce and classic Iceland cuisine, and all while accommodating vegans and vegetarians. The following restaurants are the very best, according to our panel of enthusiastic gourmands. Feel free to let us know what you think of our choices as you eat your way around the city. We’re listening. And we’re hungry.

Best Goddamn Restaurant

Mat Bar

Hverfisgata 26

An across the board favourite, Mat Bar is probably the only restaurant in town that takes its seasonal produce first approach to its menu seriously enough to churn out seven menus since opening. In a stylish dining room with an open kitchen, this devil-may-care attitude translates to unconventional yet delicious food, from Icelandic monkfish livers to grilled, stuffed squid, a stellar hand-stretched mozzarella with pickled tomatoes, rosemary-dusted lamb chops, and a smoothie-lookalike cocktail in the basil gobernador. If all that wasn’t enough, they raise the bar for vegetarian dishes too. One panellist summed it up as “a marriage of fire and flavour, plate after plate.”

Runner-Up:

Snaps

Þórsgata 1

Restaurants may come and go, but Snaps remains beloved by all. The house fries—a mound of perfectly fried spuds—are reason enough alone to make a trip to the cosy, plant-brightened bistro. Casual but chic, it’s somewhere to see and be seen. Did we mention they make a stellar crème brulée as well? A true keeper.

Runner-Up:

Hverfisgata 12

Despite murmurs about blips in quality at peak times, this cosy pizza joint remains a beloved downtown “happy place” for many. Their hearty pizzas are inventively-topped, their brunch menu has interesting options, the decadent sides are meals in themselves, and their cocktails hit the spot without fail.

Previous Winners

2017: Snaps / Matur og Drykkur

2014-6: Snaps

Other Dining Categories

You can buy a copy of the full Best Of Reykjavík 2018 magazine—an essential guide to having fun in Reykjavík—here, posted worldwide. We also have a Special Offer double-pack that also includes our Best Of Iceland magazine, about places to eat, see, swim, shop and stay, all around the country, here.

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