Austurlands Food Coop Sushi Pop-Up: Just Eat It!

Remember that landslide in Seyðisfjörður in December? Austurlands Food Coop, the Seyðisjörður initiave that seeks to bring hitherto unavailable fresh produce to every corner of Iceland, got hit hard by it. You might know them from their Thursday markets at Skúlagata 13 or their vegetable delivery boxes, which were pretty much a game changer for local foodies. Basically, Austurlands Food Coop is a necessity in this country—not just for local culinary afficitionatos, but also for those who want to buy local—and this landslide hurt them bad.

“We must help each other out when crises hit. And if there is some delicious sushi involved, isn’t that all the better?”

To help offset the losses, Austurlands is now offering a special pop-up sushi fundraiser to help recoup costs. The pop-up started last weekend—where it sold out!—and will continue this weekend as well as the following one. Boxes can be picked up in Reykjavík or delivered for a small fee.

I had the good fortune to try the sushi boxes last night and to call it a special meal would be an understatement! I must start by commending the salmon sashimi, which was so fresh that it earned an audible sigh from me. Also notable were the maki rolls, which were full of surprising and delightful ingrediants such as asparagus, which was no doubt my favourite. Every dish was complimented by a lovely assortment of fruit flices and bites, which I often used as a palette cleanser.

The portions are, to be frank, generous, so you don’t need to worry about getting some tiny portion of sushi. Seriously—I cannot imagine not being satisfied by this food!

Lastly, I must also thank them from the bottom of my heart for the fresh lychees for dessert. I don’t think I’ve ever had a fresh lycee in Iceland—and it was one of my favourite fruits before moving here—so it was a nice surprise and one I hope to replicate soon in the future.

Here’s some shots from last night:

The sushi is 9,500 ISK for two people and 17,900 ISK for four people. That said, that’s just a suggested price and you can pay as much as you want for the box to help them out! Remember—we must help each other out when crises hit. And if there is some delicious sushi involved, isn’t that all the better?

Check out Austurlands Food Coop on their website and order sushi from the sushi fundraiser here.

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