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.

Icelandic Fish & Chips

After our foray into the Blue Lagoon earlier today, my husband and I drove north to Reykjavik, where we're staying overnight. We scoured our guidebooks and travel guides for dinner suggestions; although we're coming back to Reykjavik in about a week and a half (and will be staying for several days at the end of our trip),  we didn't want to go out at a fancy restaurant (we don't have the clothing for it); we didn't want a burger joint or American (we can get that at home anytime), nor did we want Italian, Indian, or other "ethnic" food. We're in Iceland, darnit - we want Icelandic food!

As such, we eventually decided on Icelandic Fish & Chips for dinner. It wasn't great, although it had initially promised to be: One of my pieces of fish wasn't quite cooked all the way through, and my potatoes were dripping in oil. Our order had also been misplaced, and we wound up waiting nearly 45 minutes for our meal. (And the price of the bread basket we ordered had to be refunded because they'd run out.)

wolf fish with garlic potatoes