Icelandic Street Food — Restaurant in Reykjavik

Based on the ratings and praise, I was so excited to try Icelandic Street Food and we came here for our first meal in Reykjavik. Unfortunately, it left us feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

They have three soups - shellfish, traditional lamb, and spicy tomato. A bowl of soup comes with a side of bread, or for an extra cost, you can get your soup in a bread bowl. The bowl is 2500 ISK ($20 USD) which seems very pricey, but it includes free refills with no time limit, so you could literally sit here all day if you wanted to. Sadly, they were all out of Icelandic pancakes when we arrived for dinner, but they offer unlimited waffles and jam!

The TRADITIONAL LAMB SOUP contained a few small pieces of tender lamb and a generous serving of root vegetables, but three of us all found the broth to be overly salty. It was so salty that I didn’t even go back for another refill. My sister got the SEAFOOD SOUP which was oddly a little sweet. The first bowl had a lot of little bay shrimp, but it wasn’t very hot. Her second bowl barely had any shrimp, which made us think we got the bottom of the pot. The bread provided on the side of each soup was fairly soft and essentially the interior of the bread bowls.

We ended our meal with some waffles which were thin and pretty good. However, they are served at room temperature (not hot) since they just cook them and leave them on a plate at the back counter. You can top them with the provided jam which I believe was either currant or lingonberry. We actually ended up enjoying the waffles much more than the soup.

There are two floors of seating inside and some tables outside. The seating upstairs is more roomy, but just be careful walking up the narrow staircase while...

I don't get the high reviews.

First, the soups are average at best. The tomato soup was watery. While it's all you can eat (drink) soup, I was told the shellfish soup on second helping that you only get the broth on refills, they do not give you more shrimp. What? Its all you can eat shellfish soup, not all you can eat selfish stock. Its not like they use large expensive shrimp these are very very tiny shrimp. Prob 100 per pound. Flavor was a 6. The lamb stew didn't have much flavor and the lamb in it was dry.

Second, they kept serving new customers before the previous customers could get refills. We waiting a long time for a soup refill.. too long especially for average soup.

Third, the wall says "free waffles". Its free because they never actually put up waffles. The entire time we were there there was an empty platter with empty toppings. There was a line of people behind my seat the entire time, waiting. Some left because they were tired of waiting so long. They finally brought a batch out, it was like 6-8 waffles. And they were gone within seconds. I asked if it was going to be awhile before they had more up, the guy looked at the empty platter and simply said yes.

For the business owner. Don't serve new customers if you can't keep up with the ones that already paid you. Don't serve "different" soup on the second helping. Leaving out the shrimp and just giving broth is, how do you say in Icelandic...

Icelandic Street Food is an absolute must-visit in Reykjavik! The food is simply amazing, with traditional soups served in hollowed-out bowl sized buns that come in multiple flavors. On our visit we tried the spicy tomato and traditional lamb stew, and both were incredible. The best part? You can ask for as many refills as you want! They even offer butter to top off your bun once you’ve had enough soup.

The experience doesn’t stop there – they also provide complimentary unlimited coffee refills and freshly cooked waffles, served with syrup or sugar. The premises are fantastic, spread over two floors, creating a cozy and welcoming atmosphere.

We decided to be adventurous and tried the Icelandic tradition of a small fermented shark, which was a fun and memorable challenge although not for the faint hearted. Depending on how many bowls of soup you can finish, you might even get your photo taken and put on the wall!

The staff are incredibly friendly and make the experience even more enjoyable, especially when they laugh with you (maybe more at you...) during the fermented shark challenge.

Considering the high cost of food in Reykjavik, this place is a gem where you can absolutely fill your boots for a reasonable cost. I can recommend this place highly enough and think it's perfect for anyone looking to try authentic Icelandic cuisine in a fun and friendly...