Fiskmarkaðurinn / Fish Market — Restaurant in Reykjavik

A very disappointing experience. We booked this for the last night of our week in Iceland as given the price point we assumed it would be a special way to end our trip. Initially the service seemed good and we were served the sushi we ordered as a starter reasonably quickly. But the wait for the main course went on and on. After we’d been seated for an hour and a half we called over a waitress to ask when we might get our food. She said the kitchen was very busy and she wasn’t sure but would check. She also said our bottle of wine (which we’d stopped drinking as thought it would be all gone by the time the food arrived) would be complimentary. She didn’t check that offer with a manager so it was clearly pre agreed because there were delays. Yet no one had spoken to us to explain this. We had to ask. The people at the next table were in a similar situation. About 5 minutes later the food arrived. We’d both order the Fish Gourmet which consists of small portions of three fish dishes on the menu. One was halibut, which we’d both considered ordering as our main course but decided the dish we chose would be a good way to also try other fish dishes too. When she described the dish the waitress said one of the fish was tuna. We immediately questioned that and were told they had run out of halibut. So it had been substituted with tuna. A very different fish and an extraordinary thing to do without discussing it with us. My friend dislikes the taste of tuna and would never have ordered it. I wouldn’t have chosen it either but tried it and it was very lightly cooked, not a way I would choose to eat it so I didn’t. They offered to make us something else but given how long we’d already waited we declined. They said we didn’t needed pay for the dish and in the end took care of the whole bill as they would only have been the sushi left for us to pay for. We were glad not to be presented with a bill but would have preferred the special last night experience we thought we had booked. The only bright side is that the food we ate was very good and we got chatting to the lovely Icelandic couple next to us. They’d had the tasting menu and the food had also been a long time coming so we bonded over the shared poor experience. Clearly the restaurant was not sufficiently staffed or stocked for the amount of bookings they had taken. I only hope they learn from the experience. I’d also suggest the restaurant politely ask customers not to use mobile phones at the table and remove headphones. We sat opposite three tables of families that included teenagers and they spent almost their entire time on their phones. It was distracting and spoilt the ambience of what should have been a wonderful...

Worst meal in Iceland. Restaurant compensated us for the poor experience but we can’t in good conscience not to write a honest review. Hope owner is serious about improving not to offer compensation to silence unsatisfied customers.

To be fair, the steak was cooked alright, dessert was huge and the brunette waitress was attentive. However, the restaurant failed miserably in food and service overall.

We understand this is not meant to be an authentic Japanese restaurant but an Icelandic restaurant with Asian twist. However, to make a good fusion restaurant, one should show basic understanding and respect of the cuisines involved. Any Japanese person or person who has good exposure to Japanese food would have been horrified by the following:

Found a big bone in the flounder sashimi, which is considered a significant mistake in Japanese cuisine and poses choking hazard. Tempura is a lightly fried dish with airy batter to showcase the flavour of the ingredient. Deep fried slumps in scary red batter that one can’t make of what’s in it is not tempura (see photo of what we got on top and what tempura should look like on bottom). The fish on sushi should not be treated (unless seared). Dying the halibut with beetroot juice ruins the flavour of the fish and gives the impression the fish is not fresh (see photo of the bone in sashimi and dyed sushi).

Staff in general have poor communication skills and no ability to resolve any issue. When the waitress asked how the food was, we mentioned there was a bone in the sashimi. The manager came over but said nothing as if she didn’t know why she’s here. We repeated ourselves and she replied “do you want some discount or more sushi” which is both laughable and insulting. We then explained the gravity of the issue and she said they sometimes can’t pick out all the bones and mistakes happen, and finally they were sorry. This shows a seriously lack of understanding, empathy and solution. We asked another waitress to check on our main course as we waited for almost two hours and were only half way through the tasting menu. She asked “are you in the rush” which is an insensitive reply to say the least.

Unfortunately our last meal in Reykjavík ended in disaster. While the compensation is appreciated, the bad memory we got from this restaurant is...

It was a special occasion for us and we chose the "Fish Mrkt" after checking them out online. We walked in just after 18:00 without a reservation and got a seat right away. Not long after it filled up so we must have been very lucky - we'll make a reservation next time. We were upstairs and loved the look of wood and stone. This is an upscale looking restaurant and the staff are knowledgeable, available and attentive. Each dish is described as it is served. The presentation is excellent.

I started with the lobster soup in coconut broth. It was very tasty with chunks of lobster, mandarin orange segments, and a dash of chili oil on top for a bit of a bite. It was delightfully complex and rich. It was a full- and filling helping. I learned later there is the option to split the soup with a companion - an option I would take in future. My dining companion had the salmon, a goodly-sized fillet over a bed of barley and topped with a spiraled apple salad. The tartness of the apple balanced the sweetness of the tomato glaze. The barley was salty but nothing else was salted. I had the lamb with roasted mushrooms. The lamb was flavourful, tender and pink and the mushrooms (some sliced, the rest in a creamy puree) gave the dish a woodsy, wild taste. The pickled beet wasn't the stereotypical sweet purple glob that frequently comes to mind but instead was lightly pickled and, I'm guessing, roasted and lightly toasted (?) because it added the hint of earthy zest to the dish. It was a lovely dish - I really shouldn't have had the soup before - I'd recommend going with a lighter starter. For after, I had the lemon tart which was fine - a bit too sweet and not as zesty as I expected. My dining companion had the Licorice and Praline lava mousse. It was a feast for the eye... it looks like a little volcano and when the server poured the sauce in the hole, it started to smoke and bubble. Oh, and it tasted amazing too. Fish Mrkt is in the higher price range but is a quality restaurant with excellent and entertaining food well...