Röstin Restaurant - The Old Lighthouse Café — Restaurant in undefined

The restaurant’s idyllic location right by the coast, next to a lighthouse, initially gave us high hopes for a pleasant dining experience. However, our first impression wasn’t as welcoming as we’d expected. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a sign that, while using a big smiley face, quickly turned somewhat hostile. It essentially told us not to choose our seats and not to cause drama, which felt unnecessarily aggressive for a place where people spend good money to enjoy their evening. A more service-oriented approach, especially considering Iceland’s high prices, would make much more sense. Guests may want to sit by the window to enjoy the sea view, and that seems like a reasonable expectation in such a location.

Once seated, we were attended to by a friendly man who was very helpful and quickly brought us our meals, which were delicious. Sadly, the positive experience with him contrasted heavily with the attitude of the young woman working there. She had an earpod in and seemed disinterested in her job. Her unfriendly demeanor and passive attitude made us feel unwelcome. When we approached the bar to pay, she didn’t even acknowledge us, nor did she ask if we enjoyed our dinner. She just silently nodded towards the cash machine before walking away without saying a word.

This lack of communication and courtesy would be unacceptable even in a fast food setting, but in a restaurant where we spent our last evening on holiday, it was especially disappointing. Not being wished a nice evening or thanked for our business left us with a sour note, which is unfortunate given the quality of the food and the beautiful location.

A small attitude adjustment and a friendlier approach from the staff would go a long way to improve the...

I ate here for a special "last meal" in Iceland. It's right at the northern tip of the Reykjanes Peninsula. There's a historic lighthouse and a working lighthouse, as well as a primitive camping area and a museum. We just came for the food though! The restaurant is on the second floor of the building (there is an elevator) and is absolutely lovely inside. It's bright and airy and decorated with lots of plants and interesting antiques. You also can choose to sit by the windows to have a nice view of the water in the bay. Service was slow but I believe that's because we arrived at 7:45pm/19:45 so there were only two people working! The menu was small, but the food was absolutely amazing. I've had plokkfiskur a few times and this was far and away the best I've had. They add some delicious sauce, plus pomegranate seeds and balsamic drizzle, and the creaminess from the sauce plus slightly sweet tartness of those really took the dish to another level. It was really complex. Absolutely delicious. The traditional brown bread served with it was better than I've had as well. It was almost the texture of a muffin or cake, but in a good way. The salad and the dressing were also delicious. My son loved his lamb and potatoes too. We got the hot apple cake for dessert and it was far, far better than we had expected. It was very pricey even for Iceland, but for a special dinner, I think it was worth it. And the portions were plenty big. If we hadn't been leaving the next morning I probably would've taken mine with me to eat later. Anyway, if you find yourself looking for really good Icelandic food in a lovely location somewhat near Keflavik, this...

The food is ok, but the waitress is rude and racism.

Reply to your message:

I am not angry because we were moved to a different table, but because of the attitude of your staff.

When we wanted to sit at a window-side table, one of your staff members shouted at us from the bar, saying, “You can’t sit there, you can only sit at a table for two.” Their voice carried across the entire restaurant. I felt so bad, I believe your staff should have handled this situation in a more professional manner. Ten minutes later, another two people came in and sat at the window-side table we originally wanted, but no one said anything to them. Could you please explain why? When I was paying the bill, I asked the staff why others were allowed to sit there while we were not. One staff member told me it was because they had a reservation, while another told me it was because they refused to move and insisted on sitting there. I find these reasons to be made up on the spot. Your restaurant has a policy that reservations are not allowed for groups under eight people, and we saw no staff member trying to stop them from sitting there. This means your staff simply used a rude manner to prevent us from sitting at that table.

This is what happened. Also, as you can see from the video, after I asked my question and was about to leave, another staff member came out of the kitchen and said something rude to me, which is what led to the argument that followed.

In the end, if you don’t want future guests to have a similarly bad experience, I suggest your staff change...