Húsið

My wife, best friend, and I visited here during an Icelandic cruise. We expected nothing; we just thought the place looked welcoming. It was one of the highlights of one of the best cruises we have ever taken. The place was busy, probably because 4000 cruise passengers were wandering the streets of this small Icelandic town, but the service was quick and more than friendly. I had the lamb chops, my wife and our friend had the fish of the day, and to say that we were all incredibly impressed would be an understatement. Personally, the lamb chops were the best lamb I have ever had, and I grew up on the stuff when the meat was inexpensive here in Canada in the early 70s. The seasoning was perfect; the cook was spot on. The fries and salad that came with the plate were fantastic additions, as was the 500 ml of Viking beer (which, sadly, isn't available in Canada). We were traveling on a cruise line known for its cuisine, and this comfy little coffee house outshined them!

Now, don't expect to leave without a shot to the wallet—everything is incredibly expensive in Iceland. But I will tell you that if you have to pay the cost of vacationing in Iceland, you should at least get the best quality you can. This place gave us just that.

If you are coming off an excursion from a cruise ship or just traveling between Iceland's biggest municipalities, make this one of your stops. You will not be disappointed.

We did not stay here; we didn't even know they had rooms. I'm sure if they do, they would be...

Incredibly rude waitress, was obviously overwhelmed but managed to seat, take orders and bring out food to 2 tables who arrived after us. She had seated us, passed by us a dozen times, ignored our attempts to talk to her. I finally got up and retrieved the menus myself. We gave up on ordering from our table and got up and ordered from the woman at the bakery counter. The carrot cake was disappointing, dry and crusty. The woman at the counter was completely indifferent nearly rude and could not be bothered to even bring lids for our coffee. Our guests who only ordered a coke had to wait the longest. My husband’s family is from Flateyri going back many generations. We were so proud to show our guests Vestfirði, people wonderful, so welcoming everywhere we went. We were so looking forward to Húsið, and embarrassed that our friends who called Iceland their dream trip were treated so poorly. The young waitress was beyond rude to put it lightly. Should have a little more respect for people in general especially our guests in their seventies who were very polite to her. So we will continue to go...

We picked Husið because it was comfortably placed right at the heart of Ísafjörður. We were travelling campsites around Westfjords and we ended up in Ísafjörður on a rainy day and decided we want to eat dinner in a regular restaurant instead of preparing another meal on a camping site. Husið was a perfect choice. After looking at the menu we noticed that there is a fish of the day in it and waiter also recommended to try it. We figured that the restaurant across from the harbor will have fresh fish and we were not disappointed. We received pan-fried cod with potatoes and fresh salad and I just say it was one of the best fish dishes I ever had (and I love fish, so I always try to have it wherever we go). It was as fresh as it can get, soft, basted in a garlic butter. Fish was practically melting in your mouth. My wife had a vegetable pie, like a salad on a tortilla and it was great as well, all fresh ingredients, everything wonderfully put together with spices. Great food, great experience. I recommend this place to anyone that finds himself...