Restaurants in The North
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Krua Siam
Eating Thai noodles while staring out into a blizzard can be a bit strange, but Krua Siam does a darn good job of transporting tastebuds to the Land of Smiles, despite being a mere 40km from the Arctic Circle.
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Brynja
Slightly out of the centre but well worth the effort to get to, this legendary sweet shop is known across Iceland for the best ice cream in the country.
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Friðrik V
If you’re going to choose one place to splash out on a gourmet Icelandic meal, this is the right place to do it. Friðrik’s eponymous master chef helped create our ‘Unofficial Foodie Tour’ – and is known throughout the country for championing the Slow Food Movement. Each dish is a carefully prepared medley of locally sourced ingredients presented in a forward-thinking manner. There’s skyr brulée, filet mignon carpaccio, rhubarb sorbet, langoustine with roasted veggies, skyr mozzarella caprese…the list goes on. In summer, the owners organise a weekly ‘food safari’ (Ikr20,000) where they take visitors around Eyjafjörður to collect ingredients for their evening …
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RUB 23
Pulling off ‘minimal chic’, trendy RUB lets patrons create their own marinades (or ‘rubs’) for their fresh fish and lamb. If you’re not so keen on turning your meal into a science project, then you can select from their sushi remix – Icelandic maki prepared with savoury Japanese ingredients. Then, for dessert (called ‘sweet rubs’) you can have a ‘chocolate three-way’. Is the bark a little bit bigger than the bite? Perhaps. But you have to give the place credit for thinking outside the bento box.
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Gamli Baukur
The lovely timber-framed restaurant-bar serves excellent food (juicy burgers, succulent fish soup and a zingy curry bouillabaisse) and flavourful coffee among shiny nautical relics. Live music and a sweeping terrace makes it the most happenin’ place in northeast Iceland. It is one of those rare places that manages to be both a favourite local hangout and a wonderfully friendly place for tourists.
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Karolína Restaurant
Hip, trendy and very slick, the upmarket Karolína is run by Iceland's Chef of the Year 2003. The menu is appropriately daring, mixing traditional Icelandic flavours with international culinary ideas (think octopus tempura and tandoori arctic char) with the emphasis on fresh and flavoursome seafood (including dolphin).
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Bautinn
A local favourite, this friendly, relaxed place in the centre of town has an excellent all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar (Ikr1500) and an extensive menu featuring everything from pizza, fish and lamb to such Icelandic favourites as puffin, whale and horse meat.
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Kofinn
This 'gourmet hut' aims to let visitors sample local foods such as dried haddock, marinated herring, dried reindeer and smoked trout for free, and it offers a small menu of traditional Icelandic foods. The outdoor terrace has great views over the harbour.
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Salka
Once home to Iceland’s first cooperative, this historic building now houses a popular restaurant serving everything from smoked puffin to pizza. The real speciality here, though, is seafood, with excellent lobster, prawns (shrimp) and salt cod on offer.
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Karolína Café
Self-consciously cool and a favoured hangout with the young and trendy, this art-strewn café is a relaxed place serving great coffee and cakes. The deep leather sofas, tasty sandwiches and mellow music make it easy to while away a few hours here.
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Strikið
This slick, minimalist top-floor restaurant has great views over the harbour and an eclectic menu featuring everything from soup and burgers to Thai noodles, pasta, and meat and seafood dishes. Friendly waitresses serve Kaldi – Akureyri’s microbrew.
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Café Paris
This old-style cafe with wooden interior and chilled atmosphere is a great spot for breakfast or lunch. The huge windows and outdoor tables provide prime locations to watch the world go by and the good-value lunches (often veggie) draw the crowds.
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Café Karolína
Self-consciously cool and a favoured hangout with the young and trendy, Karolina is a relaxed place serving a limited selection of coffee and cakes. The deep leather sofas and mellow music make it easy to while away a few hours here.
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Greifinn
Family-friendly and always buzzing, Greifinn is one of the most popular spots in town. The menu features plenty of comfort food, from juicy burgers and nachos dripping with cheese to good pizzas, salads and devilish desserts.
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Nætursalan
Near the Nyja-Bíó cinema, this is the most popular fast-food place with the late-night crowd. It’s open until at least 3am on Friday and Saturday night. Don’t go here when you’re sober – people will think you’re weird.
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Café Brauðbúd Konditori
This excellent-value canteen at the Bónus supermarket serves the usual sandwiches, cakes and soup as well as hearty pasta, pizza and meat dishes from Ikr500. Despite the boxy facade, there’s a tinge of character here.
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Götu Grillið
Simple, fresh and contemporary, this bright and airy place offers a good range of food from seafood soup to chicken and lamb kebabs, pizza, fish, and Indian dishes. It's good value and a excellent choice for lunch.
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La Vita é Bella
This Italian restaurant features a good-value selection of salads, risottos and pasta, including lasagne and ravioli, a good range of pizzas and excellent Mediterranean-inspired fish and meat dishes.
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Gentle Café
This ‘gourmet hut’ just by Garðarsbraut offers local foods such as dried haddock, marinated herring, dried reindeer and smoked trout. The outdoor terrace has great views over the harbour.
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Túnberg Restaurant
At Fosshotel Húsavík, this rather soulless restaurant serves a standard menu of beef and lamb dishes, pasta and pizza, and the odd local speciality such as puffin.
reviewed
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Skuld Café
Set on the hill with a lovely outdoor deck overlooking the waterfront, this cosy summer cafe sells light meals and baked goods.
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Kristjáns Bakarí
For a quick pit stop this small bakery and cafe on the main drag sells a bumper selection of fresh bread, cakes and pastries.
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Indian Curry Hut
Add a little heat to your chilly Akureyri evening with a flavourful curry from this popular takeaway hut.
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Heimabakarí Konditori
The town bakery Heimabakarí Konditori sells fresh bread, sandwiches and sugary cakes.
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Bryggjan
Enjoy this nod to Italy amid flashy plasma TVs and artsy B&W photos.
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