Best food tours in Reykjavik

There is a lot to see and do in Reykjavik, from whale watching to helicopter tours, visiting its glaciers and volcanoes, its black sand beaches and so much more, but without a doubt, tasting its gastronomy is something you can't miss. Food is part of their culture and a clear example of who they are as a people.

With a unique charm, Iceland is interesting even when sitting at the table. With an extensive menu, Icelandic cuisine is exotic and tasty. Get ready to live an unforgettable experience, one of those that can be enjoyed with all five senses. Here I have selected for you the best gastronomic tours that you can do in Reykjavik.

This walking tour through the aromas and flavors of Iceland is unique, you will taste the most typical Icelandic cuisine, while enjoying a walking tour of Reykjavik and the commentary of your specialized guide.

This is undoubtedly one of the best gastronomic tours in Reykjavik, since it allows you to know the most typical of the local cuisine, such as seafood soup or lamb soup. Keep in mind that, accustomed to the cold, soups and pot meals are classic in this place, as well as fish dishes.

The route usually starts at Ingolfur Square, a perfect starting point to visit the port to try a typical appetizer. Then it's time to try a traditional hot dog in a restaurant that has been cooking them... since 1937!

It is also very common for these tours to include a visit to a supermarket with your guide, who will show you some of the products and food that you can only get in Iceland.

The next destination of these tours is usually the Islandic Bar (Islenski Barinn), an ideal place to dine in style.

Finally, a stop is made at the Loki Café, an exceptional place located next to the beautiful Hallgrimskirkja Church, where you can sweeten your evening with a Ryebread ice cream and some Icelandic pastry delicacies.

Throughout the tour you can listen to the stories of your guide, who knows how to make this walk an entertaining adventure for your senses. History, taste and adventure are mixed in this gastronomic tour of Reykjavik for you to have a great time.

Information of interest

• Price: usually costs about 98 € per person.
• Duration: the activity usually lasts from 150 to 180 minutes.
• Advantages of this option: you will be able to enjoy the typical flavors of the local gastronomy in some of the most charming places in Iceland.
• Disadvantages of this option: If you are allergic to fish or seafood, or are a strict vegetarian, you may not be able to fully enjoy the experience.

One of the most pleasurable experiences you can add to your trip in Iceland. If you are a fan of Nordic culture and especially the world of the Vikings, it is quite certain that you already know that mead was one of their most traditional drinks.

In this 3-hour tasting you will be able to taste the authentic mead in the same place where the mythical Ragnar Lothbrok sailed west for the first time. The tours include a visit to Öldur, the first and only meadery in Iceland. A specialized guide will show you how mead is produced and how the different varieties of mead are made.

Throughout your tour you will have the opportunity to taste up to 3 different types of mead. An unparalleled experience, ideal for those who enjoy both Nordic history and intense flavors.

And if you are interested in immersing yourself in the past, you will surely be interested in taking one of the best Game of Thrones tours in Reykjavik, one of the TV series that has gained more followers around the world.

It was precisely here, in Reykjavik and its surroundings where many of its most emblematic scenes were filmed. You can visit, for example, the Arryn Valley, to feel like an adventurer crossing the Wall.

Information of interest

• Price: from 107 €.
• Duration: 3 hours approximately
• Advantages of this option: you will be able to taste one of the favorite beverages of the Vikings in their place of origin.
• Disadvantages of this option: the tour does not include any kind of food.

An excellent type of tour for beer lovers. After meeting your guide at the meeting point, usually Ingolfstorg square, you will spend more than 2 hours tasting some of the best varieties of Icelandic craft beer.

Beer is one of the most important and traditional beverages in the Nordic countries, with a history dating back to the Vikings. Your guide, a specialist in the subject, will tell you all about the history of the place and its relationship with this drink, and you will see why some of these types of beer can only be tasted in Iceland.

This is one of the best tours of Reykjavik, as you will feel like you are traveling back in time in one of the most charming regions in the world.

Most often the guide will take you to 4 of the most important bars in Reykjavik, ending at the Icelandic Bar (Islenski Barinn), where, once the tour is over, you can continue to dine on some of the most incredible dishes of Icelandic cuisine.

Information of interest

• Price: from 79 €.
• Duration: from 2 hours to 2 hours and 30 minutes
• Advantages of this option: a unique experience for lovers of beer and Icelandic culture.
• Disadvantages of this option: While the tour is family-friendly, young children may get a little bored.

Walk the streets of Reykjavik and enjoy the local flavors while visiting emblematic and highly picturesque sites.

The tour starts as usual at the Harpa Conference and Concert Hall in the heart of Reykjavík, a place of great beauty full of amazing details. You will also see the city hall and the statue of Ingólfur Arnarson.

Of course, the whole tour includes stops at some restaurants and food trucks of the best quality for you to accompany history with flavor.

The delicacies you will taste during this tour are not only Icelandic, but include other types of dishes and street foods that reflect the Nordic palate in general. An excellent way to get in touch with the culture of these countries.

Information of interest

• Price: from 118 €.
• Duration: 3 hours approximately
• Advantages of this option: A good way to get to know more than just the local gastronomy.
• Disadvantages of this option: Not recommended for small children.

An excursion to immerse yourself in the local curiosities while tasting some of the flavors of Icelandic cuisine. This type of tour usually includes a visit to the Icelandic food and flea market Kolaportið, a place full of charm, ideal to buy some souvenirs of your trip to take home.

Please note when booking this tour that the flea market is only open on weekends.

Afterwards, the most usual is to take a tour of the old port of Reykjavik, where you will taste a traditional appetizer of seafood soup. Seafood in Iceland is one of the most popular foods, as well as lamb, cooked in many ways, so you can't miss it during your stay in this amazing country.

The next stop on the tour is usually a local Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur for a lamb hot dog, one of Iceland's classics. Together with your local guide you will tour a supermarket to see the various products, spices and flavors unique to the region.

For dinner you will visit a restaurant serving traditional food, which you can accompany with a mug of Icelandic craft beer. Your guide will accompany the tour with stories about the past of the city and its surroundings.

Finally, you can not miss tasting the flavors of Reykjavik's bakery. One of the most common places in these tours is the Loki Café, an excellent place to end this gastronomic tour.

Information of interest

• Price: from 107 €.
• Duration: approximately 3 hours
• Advantages of this option: not only will you be able to enjoy the local gastronomy but also to visit an authentic Icelandic flea market and other points of interest.
• Disadvantages of this option: the flea market is only open on weekends.

A great experience if you decide to stay in an apartment or rent a house during your trip to Iceland. A professional Icelandic chef will arrive 90 minutes before dinner and prepare everything for you and yours to experience a typical local meal.

You don't have to worry about anything, the chef brings absolutely everything you need to prepare some appetizers, drinks and a buffet style menu, or a formal three course dinner, whichever you prefer.

Definitely one of the best things to do in summer in Reykjavik. Enjoy drinks and conversation with your private chef, while you feel the atmosphere fill with some truly irresistible aromas.

You will learn about typical Icelandic dishes, their history, and why certain ingredients are used.

An exclusive adventure to enjoy indoors, in the comfort of your accommodation. It is also a very good option if you are traveling with your family, since it is an excellent activity to include in your trip with children to Reykjavik, as they might get bored in a conventional tour, especially if they are very young, and you cannot enjoy the experience to the fullest.

Interesting facts

• Price: from 89 €.
• Duration: between 2 and 3 hours, approximately.
• Advantages of this option: it is an excellent way to try traditional Icelandic food in the comfort of your apartment.
• Disadvantages of this option: you miss the atmosphere of typical bars and restaurants, so I recommend that in addition to this experience you take the time to visit them.

Although you can book in many ways, the most practical and comfortable of all is to do it through the internet, because you can be sure that it is a serious and quality tour, plus you can see the opinions of other people who have made the tour before you, and how they have done.

Doing a gastronomic tour in Reykjavik is an excellent way to get in touch with the place, its customs and traditions. Don't forget that the gastronomy of a country says a lot about its people.

Each tour has a different duration, but in general they are around 3 hours, the perfect time to taste, walk around, get to know and feel part of the place.

My recommendation is that you do not decide based on the duration of the tour, but on what each one offers, you will see that there are many options available, all of them highly recommended.

On this type of excursion you can enjoy the flavors and aromas of Icelandic and Nordic cuisine in general, from soups, lamb hot dogs, typical pastries, craft beer to the mythological mead.

Most of these excursions combine the tastings with walks through the most important points of the city of Reykjavik, as well as a journey through the history of Iceland. All of them have specialized guides that make the tour an extremely rich and entertaining experience.

You will be able to taste some of the most traditional dishes of Icelandic cuisine, for example:

• Lamb meat: One of the most popular in Iceland, it is prepared in many different ways.
• Lamb soup: with large chunks of lamb and slow cooking, this is one of the most traditional and recommended dishes to try in Iceland.
• Lamb hot dogs: a variant of the typical American hot dogs, made with lamb meat.
• Fermented shark (hákarl): a dish that comes from the Icelandic Viking past, it is made with basking shark meat.
• Shrimp soup: served as an appetizer before meals.
• Fish stew (Plokkfiskur): made with cod meat, it is one of the favorite meals of the region.
• Dried fish meat (harðfiskur): small strips of dried fish meat, one of the Nordic delicacies.

Prices in general are around 100 € per person, there are cheaper and more expensive, depending on the duration and the number of places to be visited during the tour of the city.

It is always advisable to take a gastronomic tour in a city we do not know, since it is an excellent way to know a little more about its culture, since gastronomy is one of the entrance doors to get to know a people.

In the case of Iceland, its cuisine speaks a lot about its roots, its tradition and its past, so I can't think of a better and more fun way to get in touch.

By opting for a guided tour you are guaranteed to see some of the most representative places of Icelandic cuisine, as all these tours have a specialized guide, who will not only take you to these unmissable places, but will also tell you all about the history and past of the place.

If you choose, instead, to visit restaurants and bars on your own you may be lucky, or you may end up missing out on some of the most interesting flavors and places in Reykjavik, so my advice is to always opt for a guided tour.