Rosso Pomodoro

My husband and I stayed close to "home" for our last meal out in Reykjavik, Iceland, deciding to go to the nearby Rosso Pomodoro.

appetizer: bruschetta

appetizer: calamari (very good)

entree: spaghetti carbonara (very good!)

Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur

Today is our last day in Reykjavik - we're flying home tomorrow - and being that it's a holiday at home, we thought we'd commemorate both our stay in Iceland and the American Independence holiday by going to Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, the famous Icelandic hot dog stand, for lunch. 

We both got two hot dogs with the works, which includes ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onion, raw onion, and remolaði, a mayonnaise-based sauce with sweet relish.

The hot dog itself was very good, although the sweet mustard and sweet relish rendered it a bit too sweet for my tastes (I tend not to like sweet and savory together). Altogether it didn't blow me away, as it seemed to for others. Next time I'd probably just try it without the sweet mustard and remolaði.

Lækjarbrekka

Lækjarbrekka is one of the few places I could find in Reykjavik that serves a very specific Icelandic delicacy called Hákarl - fermented shark. Hákarl is traditionally served as part of a þorramatur, a selection of traditional foods served at þorrablót, a mid-winter festival. I didn't think it smelled anywhere near as badly as I had heard it would, and it tasted all right, too: a bit chewy, but a bit buttery.

It was served in a small mason jar, and we had the
option of getting a shot of Brennivin along with it.
(We ordered the Brennivin.)

We shared a salmon starter: It came with dill,
pickled cucumber, rye bread, and skyr dill sauce. 

Compliments of the chef: a salmon mousse with salsa.

I ordered the mountain and bay:
panfried fillet of lamb, broiled langoustine,
ratte potatoes, and thyme sauce.

dessert: dark chocolate brownie with granola, chocolate
fondant, and vanilla ice cream.

The entire waitstaff was wonderful, but one fellow in particular was amazing: He paid special attention to us (for no reason I could discern), and stopped by often to joke around with us. Apparently he had invented a drink that won various prizes: the red rose, which came with Bombay, Martini extra dry, Routin Raspberry 1883, and DeKuyper Raspberry Pucker. I had a sip of my husband's.

Cafe Paris

We had no specific plans for lunch today, so when we walked by the Cafe Paris, we decided that that would do.

started: garlic bread with cheese

main course: open-faced steak sandwich, with beef
strips, mushrooms, onions, and Bearnaise sauce on a
ciabetta roll

Balkanika

Around the corner and down the street from our rental apartment was a small little restaurant that has no website: Balkania. One of the best meals we've had in Reykjavik, we were glad we'd gone: We had passed it at one point, then forgotten where it was until we came across it again.

appetizer: tzatziki with bread

appetizer: falafel

dinner: lamb shish kebabs (Wonderful!)

dessert: baklava

Scandinavian Smorrebrod & Brasserie

My husband and I took a short walk to find lunch today, having decided that we would just wander until we found a place for lunch that looked promising. In short oder we decided that Scandinavian Smorrebrod & Brasserie would fit the bill nicely.

I ordered an open-faced salmon sandwich, which was served on buttered toast and came with chilled scrambled egg, and dill sauce.

Restaurant Reykjavik

In several of our guidebooks, I'd read that Restaurant Reykjavik had a seafood buffet every night starting at 6 p.m.; since we'd eaten early today, we decided to go try out this buffet. It was pretty impressive! There were both hot and cold seafood dishes, and small samplers of desserts as well, so one could try any amount of anything that appealed.

I tried whale for the first time tonight; it was smoked. It was a dark meat, almost gamey. I'm not sure I liked it, but it was interesting to try. The salmon was pretty delicious, though, as was the seafood casserole.

Clockwise, from left: bread; seafood pate; salmon in crust;
smoked trout and potatoes; smoked salmon; marinated salmon;
seafood casserole.

Clockwise from left: smoked whale; paella; ceviche.

chocolate mousse; white chocolate mousse;
wedding bars (I think - it wasn't labelled); and
brownies.

chocolate cake and blueberry skyr

Durum

My husband and I don't normally make plans to have brunch, but this morning was a special case; we needed to be at church sooner rather than later, and had we not eaten when we could (mid-morning), we would not have had the chance to eat anything until dinnertime. However, in our travels yesterday we had noticed that Durum, about two blocks down the street from us, served some breakfast items.

My husband had the breakfast special
(omelette, cheese, sausages, bacon, baked beans, toast).

I had the breakfast wrap
(cheese, bacon, omelette, fried vegetables, baked beans).

Kitchen-Eldhus

We're staying a week in Reykjavik before flying home, and serendipitously our hotel is conveniently located close to a busy thoroughfare with lots of restaurants, so it was easy to find our dinner at Kitchen-Eldhus.

appetizer: Choyola (smoked lamb marinated with Nepali-
style herbs and spices)

I had the Gosht Kata Masala (bottom);
my husband had a chicken dish.

spicy vegetable naan

butter naan

Kaffi Sólon

My husband and I had tried to find Kaffi Sólon for dinner last night, but we couldn't locate it until after the fact, so we went there for lunch this afternoon.

I had a toasted bagel with smoked salmon that came with,
a bit oddly, Camembert.

We also shared a queasdilla that featured very
paprika'd chicken (tasted a bit curried).

My husband had the seafood club,
which featured salmon.

Ósinn

My husband and I continued our drive along the Ring Road (Route 1) in Iceland; tonight we're staying in Höfn. It's a small town but had several options for dinner; we decided on Ósinn, in Hótel Höfn.

We both started with the lobster glacier soup, made with
icebergs from Vatnajökull glacier. It was good.

My husband had tbe lobster ravioli.

I had the lobster "Höfn Meets Asia": oven grilled
lobster tails with spiced garlic and butter, along with
lobster spring rolls.

Salt Cafe & Bistro

My husband and I discovered the wonderful Salt Cafe & Bistro practically next door to our hotel, so we headed there for dinner; it turned out to be one of the better meals we've had in Iceland so far.

We started with a salmon appetizer, which came with
both smoked and marinated salmon, crusty bread, and
a garlicky yogurt sauce.

I ordered the Arabic Health flatbread, which included
marinated lamb, roasted almonds, sesame seeds, and
yogurt sauce.

My husband ordered the calzone, which came with
ham, blue cheese, and mushrooms.

I'm not sure what sort of dessert this was, but it was
chocolatey and good.

This was the inside of the dessert: It was a bit similar to
gingerbread, and had jam in it, as well as something
resembling white frosting.

Skriðuklaustur

My husband and I headed to Skriðuklaustur in the late morning today, and after we'd seen the very interesting archaeological exhibits, we stopped off in the attached cafe for lunch, where a very good buffet was being served.

The buffet included (clockwise from left): quiche,
lamb stew, reindeer pie, bread, and a fish casserole.

There were also chocolate cake and little Icelandic donuts.

Kaffi Borgir

My husband and I spent the day driving from Akureyri, Iceland, to our next stop on the Ring Road: Egilsstaðir, in the east of Iceland. On our way, we stopped in the Mývatn area (its lake is quite an attraction) of Dimmuborgir to walk through Skútustaðir, a national park. After our walk, we had lunch at Kaffi Borgir, where we had an excellent meal of dried trout on geyser bread. It was one of the best things I think I've ever tried.

Krua Siam

Tonight was our last night in Akureyri, but we stayed close to our hotel, heading to Krua Siam, a Thai restaurant, which turned out to be a good choice; we were ready for something a bit different.

appetizer: deep fried shrimp

appetizer: spring rolls

entree: panang curry with lamb

Brekka

My husband and I took a day trip out to Hrísey, an island about 35 km north of Akureyri, where we've been hanging out for the past few days. Since we arrived around noon, we had lunch at Brekka.

mushroom soup

lobster salad - very good!

Strikið

My husband had discovered Strikið, a restaurant in Akureyri that sits on the fifth floor of a building (and therefore given to nice views of the locale), so we headed there for dinner after Mass tonight.

appetizer: Langoustine on garlic bread 

appetizer: salmon tartare

my entree: Icelandic hamburger (beef, goose, and
reindeer), and Icelandic cheddar. Came with blueberry jam
on the bottom.

husband's entree: the Atlantic char

dessert: Skyr cake