One of the first things I scheduled on my trip to Iceland (which was amazing, read all about it here) was a food tour. Because eating is the most important thing, right?? 😉 I love food tours so much, and The Reykjavik Food Tour did not disappoint! I was kind of regretting scheduling the walking food tour when I stepped out of my hotel and almost got blew to the ground by the 40+ mph winds and rain! The winds in Iceland are no joke! An older lady almost fell over and grabbed me for support as she was getting off the bus – no exaggerating! Luckily, after the first stop the wind died down and the rain stopped! #winning
Our first stop was for some homemade bread and lamb stew. According to the guide, lamb stew is a very Icelandic dish. It’s a very hearty, warming, dish that kind of reminded me of beef stew – except with lamb of course =). The bread did not disappoint either – nice and crusty! Yum!
Next, we headed to Ostabudin to sample some cheeses and smoked meats. I tried a young blue cheese (which was pretty strong!), a black gouda, and a “golden” cheese, which was my favorite! I tried more lamb and horse meat (!!). I was a little weirded out eating horse, but it was actually really good! The wild goose with raspberry and champagne sauce was to die for though – by far my favorite thing at this stop! Seriously thought about buying a jar of the sauce =).
Our next stop was Cafe Loki for some rye bread ice cream. Not sure where else you can get rye bread ice cream! It sounds weird but was really good and definitely unique!
Of course, I had to try an Icelandic hot dog. Honestly, I was expecting to be underwhelmed because I’m not a huge hot dog fan, but apparently that’s just because I hadn’t had an Icelandic hot dog yet! 😉 Their hot dogs are made with lamb, topped with crispy fried onions, raw onions, ketchup, a sweet brown mustard and remoulade sauce. I’m not a raw onion fan (at all), but I wanted to try it with all the traditional toppings and it was so good! I loved the crunch from the fried onions. Best hot dog in the world? Definitely the best hot dog I’ve ever had!!
I felt pretty confident that I was going to love the next stop as soon as I saw the foodie quotes on the outside of their building =).
The New York Times says The Sea Baron’s lobster soup is the first thing you should eat when you arrive in Reykjavik! It was really good – creamy with big chucks of lobster.
Our last stop was the Apotek Restaurant. The building is an old pharmacy and it was a really cute little restaurant with a fun atmosphere. Their chef is well-known across Europe for his desserts, so we tried a “fancy” white chocolate mousse. So pretty and so tasty!
Our guide sent us home with some Icelandic chocolate bars and, of course, some skyr! I think I had skyr at least once every day! It’s sort of like greek yogurt but better! Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any in Tennessee….yet! Per google, they carry it at Whole Foods. =)
One of my last nights in Reykjavik, I ate at a really good restaurant called 3 Frakkar. I tried several more traditional Icelandic dishes like hashed fish with black (rye) bread, whale steak, skyr brûlée (which was maybe the best thing I ate in all of Iceland!), and smoked puffin! I left completely stuffed!! =) (Sorry for the terrible cell phone pictures!)
Go to Iceland, y’all. Just do it! =)
