Icelandic Food: Traditional Dishes and What to Try

Iceland’s preserved foods still matter, but many now belong to seasonal celebrations rather than everyday meals. Hákarl, meaning fermented shark, and svið, meaning singed sheep’s head, are mainly eaten at traditional events or tried once for the experience. Modern Icelandic cooking is simpler and more varied, combining high-quality local ingredients with baking traditions, international influences, and convenient everyday food.

Our local team member in Iceland explains what to order first, what the best-known dishes taste like, and what visitors often misunderstand. You’ll find everyday staples, seasonal feast foods, local drinks, restaurant suggestions, and affordable options such as bakeries, soup, supermarket food, and hot dog stands.

For a first taste of Icelandic food, start with fresh fish, lamb soup, skyr, or a hot dog. These choices are widely available and easy to enjoy, while fermented shark is better approached as a small taste of Icelandic history.

Everyday foods are available throughout the year. Preserved feast foods are most visible during Þorri, the old Icelandic winter month from late January into February, when Þorrablót midwinter celebrations take place.

Traditional Icelandic food is the cooking that developed around the ingredients Icelanders could produce locally and preserve for long winters. Fish, sheep, cattle, and dairy supplied much of the diet, while drying, smoking, salting, fermenting, and preserving food in sour whey allowed families to store it when fresh ingredients were scarce.

Fresh fruit and vegetables were historically less available than animal products. Imported apples and oranges were once expensive treats associated with Christmas, while grain also had to be imported after local cultivation declined. These limitations helped shape a cuisine based on filling meals, careful preservation, and making full use of every available ingredient.

Today, refrigeration and imported produce have removed the need for many of these preservation methods. Their importance is now largely cultural: some preserved foods remain familiar staples, while the strongest sour and fermented dishes are mainly associated with winter celebrations.

Icelanders today eat a modern and varied diet rather than a fixed menu of traditional dishes. Home-cooked fish, meat, dairy products, bread, and soup remain familiar, but pasta, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, international food, and takeaway are also ordinary parts of daily life. What people eat depends on their household, age, budget, and schedule, just as it does elsewhere.

Visitors can get a better sense of everyday food by looking beyond restaurants. A supermarket lunch, a bakery pastry, a café soup, a swimming pool hot dog, or a restaurant fish special may reflect modern Icelandic eating habits more accurately than a platter of preserved holiday-special foods.

You can also learn about Icelandic eating habits from a hotel breakfast buffet. Alongside familiar choices such as bread, cheese, porridge, and skyr, you may find pickled herring, smoked fish, and lýsi, the Icelandic cod liver oil. Lýsi is traditionally taken by the spoonful or as a supplement rather than treated as part of the meal, so visitors shouldn’t mistake it for a sauce or dressing.

Icelandic food history is tied to a harsh climate, isolation, and whatever could be farmed or caught nearby. When the Norse settlement started in the late 9th century, people brought sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, and cereal-farming traditions from Scandinavia. Archaeological evidence shows that barley was grown during the settlement period, while fishing, seabirds, eggs, wild plants, and marine mammals added variety to the diet.

Grain cultivation became less reliable as the climate cooled during the later Middle Ages and appears to have disappeared by around 1500. Imported grain became increasingly important. Foreign trade also shaped what Icelanders ate: English and German merchants traded with Iceland before Denmark imposed a trade monopoly from 1602 to 1787. Goods such as rye flour, sugar, coffee, and spices gradually entered Icelandic kitchens, although many remained expensive for ordinary households.

One of the greatest changes came in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Decked fishing vessels, motorized boats, growing ports, and the saltfish trade turned fishing into the foundation of Iceland’s modern economy. Towns expanded around the industry, imported food became more readily available, and diets gradually grew more varied. Refrigeration, greenhouses, supermarkets, and international travel later changed everyday cooking again. Modern Icelandic food reflects all these periods, combining farming and fishing traditions with Danish baking, imported ingredients, and influences from around the world.

The foods below range from everyday staples to dishes people try mainly for the experience. Each one says something about how Icelanders have eaten for generations.

Fresh fish and seafood are among the best introductions to Icelandic food. Cod, called þorskur in Icelandic, and haddock, called ýsa, are two of the most familiar choices and may be grilled, pan-fried, baked, or served in creamy fish dishes. Fish and chips, seafood soup, and a daily fish special appear on menus around the country. You may also find redfish, Atlantic wolffish, plaice, or halibut, depending on the restaurant and the day’s supply. Bleikja means Arctic char, a mild freshwater fish similar to trout that’s especially good pan-fried or grilled.

Humar is the Icelandic word commonly used for langoustine, also called Norway lobster. It isn’t a true lobster, despite often being translated simply as “lobster” on English menus. Höfn in southeast Iceland is historically famous for langoustine, and restaurants there still serve it in soups, pasta, and dishes with garlic butter. Langoustine’s source can vary, so ask the restaurant if knowing whether it was caught in Iceland matters to you.

Kjötsúpa literally means “meat soup,” although the Icelandic version is normally made with lamb. It’s one of the country’s best-known comfort foods and an approachable introduction to traditional Icelandic cooking. Lamb, often on the bone for a richer broth, is simmered with vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and rutabaga, also called swede. Some household recipes add rice or oats to make the soup more filling. Recipes vary between families, but the result is a simple, nourishing meal that’s especially welcome in cold weather. 

Icelandic lamb has an important place in the country’s food culture. Icelandic sheep belong to an old Northern European short-tailed breed descended from animals brought by Norse settlers more than a thousand years ago. Imports of live sheep are tightly restricted to protect local animals from disease, which has helped keep the breed largely isolated. During summer, many lambs graze freely on mountain and countryside pastures, eating grasses, herbs, heather, and other wild plants. In autumn, farmers and local communities gather them during réttir, the traditional sheep roundup that remains an important part of rural life.

Plokkfiskur is a comforting Icelandic fish-and-potato dish whose name roughly translates as “plucked fish.” A staple of Icelandic home cooking, it is traditionally made by flaking cooked cod or haddock and combining it with potatoes, sautéed onion, butter, milk, and a little flour to create a thick, creamy mixture. The exact texture varies from household to household: some versions resemble a rustic mash, while others are served as a creamier stew or baked in the oven with cheese on top.

The dish developed as a practical way for families to turn leftover fish and potatoes into a filling new meal, an especially useful tradition in a country where fishing has shaped everyday life for centuries. Today, plokkfiskur remains a familiar comfort food served in Icelandic homes, cafés, and traditional restaurants. It is commonly accompanied by dense, slightly sweet Icelandic rye bread, known as rúgbrauð, with butter. Mild, hearty, and easy to prepare, a basic plokkfiskur recipe is an approachable way to bring a taste of Iceland into your kitchen and makes an excellent weeknight dinner.

Grjónagrautur is the everyday shortened form of hrísgrjónagrautur, a name that literally means “rice grain porridge”: hrísgrjón means “rice grains,” while grautur means “porridge.” It’s a thick, warming dish cooked slowly with milk and a pinch of salt. It’s more often eaten as a simple, filling meal, with sweetness added at the table in the form of cinnamon sugar. Some people also pour cold milk or cream over it, add raisins, or serve it with lifrarpylsa, meaning “liver sausage,” creating a traditional combination of sweet and savory flavors.

Rice was once an expensive imported ingredient, and the dish became associated with Christmas and other special occasions during the 19th century. This festive connection, which Iceland shares with other Nordic countries, remains alive in some families. A whole almond may be hidden in the Christmas porridge, with a small gift awarded to whoever finds it. Today, however, ordinary grjónagrautur is best understood as nostalgic Icelandic comfort food: economical, easy to prepare, and commonly enjoyed at home rather than reserved exclusively for celebrations. Ready-made portions are also sold in the refrigerated sections of Icelandic supermarkets. They can be eaten cold or gently reheated, making them an easy local food to try while traveling.

Skyr, pronounced roughly “skeer,” is a thick, cultured Icelandic dairy product that has been made since the country’s settlement more than a thousand years ago. Although it’s eaten like Greek yogurt, skyr is traditionally classified as a fresh acid-set cheese, meaning bacterial cultures produce the acid that forms the curds. Producers generally use skimmed milk and may add a small amount of rennet to help the milk curdle. Much of the whey, the watery liquid left after curds form, is then removed. This process gives traditional skyr its dense texture, high protein content, and low fat content. Plain skyr has a fresh, mildly tangy flavor, and Icelanders traditionally mixed it with milk or cream and a little sugar.

You’ll find skyr in the refrigerated sections of supermarkets, convenience stores, and most hotel breakfast buffets. It’s commonly eaten with berries, granola, or honey, while shops also sell vanilla and fruit flavors, drinkable skyr, lactose-free options, and richer whole milk varieties. Because flavored products may contain added sugar or sweeteners, look for hreint skyr, meaning “plain” or “pure skyr,” if you want an unsweetened version. You may also see óhrært skyr, meaning “unstirred skyr,” which is especially thick and close to the traditional product. Skyr isn’t limited to breakfast, since Icelanders also eat it as a filling snack and use it in smoothies, desserts, sauces, and baking.

The Icelandic hot dog, called pylsa, is one of the country’s most popular quick meals. It’s fast, affordable by Icelandic standards, and available almost everywhere. What sets Icelandic hot dogs apart is their lamb-based sausage, which also contains pork and beef, and the mixture of sweet, creamy, and crunchy toppings. A complete hot dog comes with ketchup, sweet brown mustard, remoulade, a tangy mayonnaise-based sauce, crispy fried onions, and raw onions. To order everything, say eina með öllu, meaning “one with everything.”

Reykjavík’s best-known stand is Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur, a name meaning “the town’s best hot dogs.” The family-run business has operated since 1937, and former US president Bill Clinton helped raise its international profile when he stopped there in 2004. You don’t need to visit Reykjavík to try a good pylsa, however. Cooked hot dogs are sold at service stations, convenience stores, swimming pool cafés, and roadside stands across Iceland, making them one of the easiest meals during a road trip.

Rúgbrauð, meaning “rye bread,” and flatkaka, meaning “flat cake,” are traditional Icelandic rye breads with very different textures. Rúgbrauð is a dense, dark, moist loaf with a noticeably sweet flavor. Long cooking at a low temperature contributes to that sweetness, although most modern recipes also contain sugar or syrup. Flatkaka is a soft, thin, usually unleavened rye flatbread that can have a faint smoky flavor. One piece is called flatkaka, while the plural is flatkökur. It was traditionally cooked on hot stones or directly over glowing embers, while modern versions are generally cooked on a griddle or electric hotplate. Both breads are sold in supermarkets and bakeries and are commonly topped with butter, cheese, mutton pâté, smoked fish, pickled herring, or hangikjöt, meaning smoked lamb. Rúgbrauð is also traditionally served with plokkfiskur, Icelandic fish and potato mash.

A geothermal version of rúgbrauð is known as hverabrauð, meaning “hot spring bread.” At Lake Laugarvatn on the Golden Circle, pots of dough are buried in geothermally heated black sand and cooked slowly for about 24 hours. Visitors can see another version of this tradition at Sturlureykir Horse Farm near Reykholt in West Iceland, where steam from a natural hot spring heats an underground bakery. The farm uses a family recipe that’s more than 100 years old, and offers a tasting of freshly cooked rye bread. However, you don’t need geothermal ground to make this bread at home. It can be baked in an oven-safe pot at 100°C (about 210°F) for 8 to 10 hours, with a tray of water beneath it to help retain moisture. The result is similarly dark, moist, and sweet loaf.

Harðfiskur, a name that literally means “hard fish,” is dried fish and one of Iceland’s oldest preserved foods. Before refrigeration, drying allowed fishing communities to keep their catches for months, and the fish once filled much the same role in Icelandic meals as bread did elsewhere. It’s usually made from haddock, cod, or Atlantic wolffish. Traditionally, cleaned fish was hung on outdoor racks in cool coastal air and then beaten to make it softer and easier to pull apart. Modern producers may use controlled indoor drying and mechanical equipment, but removing the moisture still gives harðfiskur its concentrated flavor, high protein content, and texture, which ranges from crisp and flaky to chewy.

Harðfiskur is ready to eat, so it doesn’t need to be soaked or cooked. Icelanders commonly tear it into pieces and spread them with butter, which softens the dry texture and balances its saltiness. Packaged portions are sold in supermarkets, fish shops, convenience stores, and many service stations, making it an easy road trip snack, although it’s wise to reseal the bag because the fish aroma can linger. Labels may list ýsa, meaning haddock, þorskur, meaning cod, or steinbítur, meaning Atlantic wolffish. Harðfiskur has a clean, savory fish flavor and shouldn’t be confused with hákarl, fermented Greenland shark, which has a much stronger smell and taste.

Kleinur are traditional Icelandic pastries made by cutting lightly sweetened dough into diamond shapes, making a slit in the center, and pulling one end through to create their distinctive twist. They’re deep fried until golden, giving them a gently crisp exterior and a soft, dense center. Cardamom and vanilla are the traditional flavorings, and unlike many doughnuts, kleinur aren’t usually glazed or filled. Kleina means one pastry, while kleinur is the plural. Related pastries are associated with Christmas in other Nordic countries, but Icelanders enjoy kleinur year-round.

You’ll find fresh kleinur in bakeries and cafés, where they’re commonly served with coffee or a glass of milk. Packaged versions are also sold in supermarkets and at some service stations, making them an easy road trip snack. The classic version is plain and flavored with cardamom, although some bakeries offer chocolate-covered or other modern variations. A bakery visit is also a chance to try a snúður, an Icelandic cinnamon roll, vínarbrauð, a layered Danish pastry, or rúgbrauð, Iceland’s dense, dark rye bread.

Bragðarefur is an Icelandic soft serve dessert blended to order with candy, fruit, nuts, cookies, or sauces. Its name combines the Icelandic words for “flavor” and “fox” and is often translated as “taste fox.” It’s similar to a McFlurry, but Icelandic ice cream shops generally offer far more combinations. You’ll usually choose a soft serve base and three additions, with popular options including Daim chocolate, licorice, strawberries, crushed cookies, caramel, and chocolate sauce. The number of included additions and any extra charges vary between shops.

The finished bragðarefur is served in a cup and eaten with a spoon. Portions can be generous, so a small may be enough for one person. You’ll find it at ice cream parlors in Reykjavík, Akureyri, and towns around Iceland, and locals enjoy it throughout the year, even in cold weather. Some shops offer different soft serve varieties or dairy-free alternatives, but the selection varies. You can choose a suggested combination from the menu or create your own.

Hákarl, cured Greenland shark, is one of Iceland’s best-known unusual foods, and many visitors try it for the cultural experience rather than as a full meal. Fresh Greenland shark meat is unsafe to eat in quantity because it contains high concentrations of urea and trimethylamine oxide. During the extended fermentation and drying process, these compounds undergo chemical changes while liquid drains from the flesh and its moisture content falls. Traditional producers may cure the shark for 1 to 3 months before hanging it to dry for several more months, although exact methods vary by producer, season, and weather. This preservation method is central to Iceland’s centuries-old tradition of preparing hákarl, which transformed an unsafe raw ingredient into food that could be stored and eaten.

Hákarl has a powerful ammonia-like aroma, although its flavor is often milder than its smell suggests. The finished product is ready to eat and normally served in very small cubes, so first-time tasters should begin with one piece. It can be found in some supermarkets, specialist food shops, tasting tours, bars, and at the Bjarnarhöfn Shark Museum in West Iceland. Hákarl is often followed by a chilled shot of Brennivín, Iceland’s caraway-flavored spirit, sometimes nicknamed the Black Death because of its historically stark black label.

Svið is an Icelandic dish made from a sheep’s head that’s singed to remove the wool, split lengthwise, cleaned, and boiled after the brain has been removed. It developed from the practical tradition of using as much of a slaughtered animal as possible. The cheek provides the largest and most tender piece of meat, while the tongue is also commonly eaten. The eye is edible and considered a delicacy by some Icelanders. Svið tastes mainly like boiled lamb, so its appearance is usually more challenging than its flavor.

Svið is now strongly associated with Þorrablót, Iceland’s midwinter feast, although it isn’t limited to the festival season. It’s usually served hot or cold with mashed potatoes or mashed swede, a root vegetable also known as rutabaga. Cooked or frozen sheep’s heads may be available at Bónus, Iceland’s main budget supermarket chain, and other grocery stores, but stock varies by location and season. Check the package to see whether the head is ready to eat or requires further cooking. A less visually confronting alternative is sviðasulta, pressed sheep’s head meat made by removing the cooked meat from the bones and setting it, along with its gelatin-rich broth, into a firm loaf that’s sliced and served cold.

Icelanders have a particular fondness for lakkrís, or licorice, especially when it is combined with milk chocolate. Icelandic licorice ranges from soft and sweet to intensely salty. The salty varieties often contain salmiak, or ammonium chloride, which gives them a sharp flavor that can surprise first-time tasters. Licorice appears throughout Icelandic candy, from chocolate bars to chewy ropes and ice cream toppings. Visitors unfamiliar with salty licorice may find a mild chocolate-covered variety more tolerable and familiar.

Supermarket candy aisles and pick-and-mix sections offer the widest selection, although licorice is also sold in convenience stores, service stations, and airport shops. Popular choices include Þristur, which combines milk chocolate, a soft chocolate filling, and pieces of licorice; Draumur, a chocolate bar with a licorice center; Eitt Sett, a classic chocolate-and-licorice pairing; Djúpur, licorice covered with chocolate and a crisp sugar shell; and Opal, small licorice pastilles. Check ingredient labels if you have dietary restrictions, since many varieties contain wheat, milk, or gelatin. They aren’t necessarily gluten-free or vegetarian.

Icelandic drinks to try include cold tap water, coffee, Appelsín, Kókómjólk, Malt og Appelsín, local beer, and Brennivín. Around 96 percent of Iceland’s drinking water comes from groundwater, and the cold tap water is not only safe to drink, but also very delicious. Carry a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water and let the tap run until it is properly cold before filling it. In areas supplied with geothermal hot water, the hot tap may have a harmless sulfur smell, but the cold water should taste fresh and clean.

Coffee is part of daily life in Iceland, whether it comes from a pot at home or work or from one of Reykjavík’s independent cafés. It is often enjoyed with a cinnamon bun, kleinur doughnuts, or a slice of cake. For a local soft drink, try Appelsín, an Icelandic orange soda produced since 1955, or Kókómjólk, a boxed chocolate milk commonly enjoyed with pastries and sometimes even hot dogs. At Christmas, Appelsín is mixed with Malt, a sweet nonalcoholic malt drink, to make Malt og Appelsín, also known as jólaöl (Christmas ale or Christmas beer).

For something stronger, try Brennivín, Iceland’s signature aquavit, a Nordic spirit flavored with herbs or spices. Its name roughly means “burning wine,” an old expression for distilled alcohol rather than actual wine. Brennivín is clear and dry, with a distinctive savory caraway flavor. It’s usually served very cold in a small glass, either sipped or taken as a shot, although Icelandic bars also use it in cocktails. 

Ordinary supermarkets only sell drinks with a low alcohol content, so most full strength beer, wine, and spirits are bought from state operated Vínbúðin shops. Iceland’s beer culture has grown considerably since the national beer ban ended in 1989, and breweries around the country now produce lagers, pale ales, stouts, sour beers, and seasonal releases.

Traditional drinks are only one part of the picture. Icelandic supermarket fridges also reflect a strong preference for caffeinated energy drinks, low-sugar refreshments, and drinks with added ingredients such as vitamins or marine collagen.

Whale, puffin, and horse meat are sometimes presented to visitors as Icelandic delicacies, but they are not equally common or viewed in the same way by Icelanders. Whale meat is not an everyday food, even though it might still appear on some menus aimed at tourists. A 2018 Gallup poll on whale meat consumption found that 84 percent of Icelanders had never tried it and only 2 percent had eaten it six or more times in the previous year. Although the survey is now dated, it shows that local consumption was already limited. Commercial whaling remains controversial because of animal welfare concerns, low domestic demand, and the importance of whale watching to Icelandic tourism.

Puffin meat also raises serious conservation concerns. Iceland’s breeding population of Atlantic puffins, called lundi in Icelandic, is classified as critically endangered on the country’s 2025 Red List of Birds, following major population declines. Puffin may still appear on some restaurant menus, but visitors who want to protect the species have good reason to skip it and enjoy watching the birds responsibly in the wild instead.

Horse meat is a different issue because horses are domesticated animals, not threatened wildlife. Some Icelanders eat horse or foal meat, particularly as steaks and other prepared cuts, while others prefer not to eat it. A 2019 study of Icelandic attitudes to horse meat found that upbringing and family habits strongly influence whether people choose it. Whale, puffin, and horse meat are not essential Icelandic experiences, so travelers can decide for themselves based on conservation, animal welfare, and their own values.

Icelandic Christmas food is rooted in family tradition and is served mainly during the holidays. A typical Christmas table includes hangikjöt (smoked lamb), hamborgarahryggur (a salted, often glazed pork loin), potatoes, peas, and laufabrauð, the thin, deep-fried leaf bread that families cut into delicate patterns together before the holiday. The full Icelandic Christmas spread includes several more courses, from pickled herring to rice pudding.

The Christmas season also has a famously pungent tradition. On December 23, Þorláksmessa, or St. Thorlak’s Day, some Icelanders gather to eat kæst skata, cured skate, ahead of Christmas Eve. During curing, naturally occurring urea in the fish breaks down and produces ammonia, giving the dish its powerful smell. The custom originated in the Westfjords before spreading across Iceland, and although many families continue it today, plenty of Icelanders choose to skip it.

Þorrablót is Iceland’s midwinter feast, held during the old Norse month of Þorri from late January into February, and þorramatur is the spread of traditional foods served at it. The platter gathers the old preservation foods in one place: smoked lamb (hangikjöt), wind-dried fish (harðfiskur), dense rye bread (rúgbrauð), and fermented shark (hákarl), usually washed down with shots of Brennivín.

The more adventurous items are cured in fermented whey, a sour method known as súrmatur. They include svíð (singed sheep’s head), sviðasulta (head cheese), lifrarpylsa (liver sausage), blóðmör (blood pudding), and hrútspungar (cured ram’s testicles). Modern þorramatur buffets usually combine these sour foods with milder smoked and dried dishes, and many Icelanders attend as much for the company, speeches, and toasts as for the food.

To try it, look for þorramatur menus at traditional Reykjavík restaurants during Þorri, or pick up a þorrabakki sampler tray from a supermarket. Outside those few winter weeks, the foods are harder to find, since most are tied to the season.

Reykjavík gives you the widest choice of traditional and modern Icelandic food in one place. Café Loki serves home-style dishes such as rye bread, smoked lamb, dried fish, and rye bread ice cream near Hallgrímskirkja. Íslenski Barinn is a casual option for lamb soup and other familiar Icelandic dishes, while Matur og Drykkur reworks recipes from old Icelandic cookbooks with modern techniques. For seafood, Messinn specializes in fresh fish served in hot pans with butter-fried potatoes and vegetables. A guided Reykjavík food tour is a convenient way to sample several dishes while learning how they fit into local life.

Reykjavík also has a modern fine dining scene built around Icelandic produce. DILL holds one Michelin star and uses local and seasonal ingredients in a contemporary tasting menu, with a strong focus on preservation, foraging, and making full use of each ingredient. Pairing a simple traditional meal with a modern restaurant experience shows how Icelandic cooking has evolved without abandoning its core ingredients.

Good regional restaurants are worth planning for as well. Tjöruhúsið in Ísafjörður is known for communal fish meals based on the day’s catch, which may include cod, wolffish, halibut, redfish, and fish soup. Pakkhús in Höfn serves langoustine dishes, fresh cod, and lamb beside the harbor. In West Iceland, Hjá Góðu Fólki is a small café and art house serving homemade food, pastries, and specialty coffee, with locally grown salads and herbs from its greenhouse. Menus and opening hours can change seasonally, so check ahead and reserve at places that accept bookings. Tjöruhúsið strongly recommends reservations, while Pakkhús does not currently accept them.

Iceland is best known for fresh seafood, lamb, skyr, Icelandic hot dogs, dark rye bread, and traditional preserved foods such as hákarl. Cod, haddock, Arctic char, and lamb feature widely in local cooking, while skyr is a thick, protein-rich cultured dairy product eaten for breakfast or as a snack. Icelandic hot dogs, known as pylsur, are among the country’s most popular quick meals. Hákarl, cured Greenland shark, is internationally famous but eaten far less often than these everyday staples.

Icelandic food is generally very good, especially when it focuses on fresh fish, lamb, soups, dairy products, bread, and pastries. Its mixed reputation often has more to do with high restaurant prices and unusual preserved foods than with the quality of everyday Icelandic cooking. For a representative introduction, try the fish of the day, lamb soup, bakery items, or plokkfiskur, a comforting dish made with flaked fish, potatoes, onion, milk, and butter.

Food in Iceland is expensive because the country is a small and remote market with high wages, transport costs, and operating expenses, while many products and agricultural inputs must be imported. Restaurant prices already include tax and service, so tipping is not generally expected. To spend less, shop at budget supermarkets such as Bónus, Krónan, and Nettó, prepare some of your own meals, and choose bakeries, hot dogs, soup, lunch specials, supermarket meal counters, and gas station cafeterias instead of relying entirely on restaurants. Cold tap water is safe to drink, so carrying a refillable bottle also saves money.

Icelanders usually eat traditional food at home rather than in restaurants. Supermarkets sell everyday staples such as skyr, flatkaka (a soft Icelandic flatbread), rúgbrauð (a dense dark rye bread), harðfiskur (dried fish), and hangikjöt (smoked lamb). Restaurants are more likely to serve fresh seafood, lamb, fish soup, and modern interpretations of older recipes.

Older preserved foods become more popular during Þorrablót, a midwinter feast held from late January into February. During this period, supermarkets sell þorramatur (assortments of smoked, dried, fermented, and whey-preserved foods), while some traditional restaurants offer seasonal tasting menus. Outside the Þorrablót season, complete sampler trays are harder to find, though many individual staples remain available year-round.

For your first meal in Iceland, choose something locals regularly eat, such as fiskur dagsins, meaning “fish of the day,” or a bowl of lamb soup. For an inexpensive snack, order an Icelandic hot dog with everything by asking for eina með öllu. This gives you a more representative introduction to Icelandic food than starting with hákarl.

Plokkfiskur is a thick fish and potato dish with a texture somewhere between a mash and a creamy stew. The name comes from the Icelandic verb plokka, meaning to pick or pull apart, referring to the flaked fish. Restaurant versions may be smoother and richer than the rustic version commonly prepared at home, but both are mild, filling, and easy for first-time visitors to enjoy.

Þorramatur is not one dish but a seasonal tasting selection served during the Icelandic month of Þorri, from late January to late February. It brings together foods preserved through smoking, drying, curing, fermentation, and soured whey. Visitors can usually sample it at a Þorrablót celebration, a seasonal restaurant buffet, or in a packaged þorrabakki tray from a supermarket. Complete selections are difficult to find outside the Þorri season.

Skyr is traditionally classified as a fresh cultured cheese, but it is sold, served, and eaten like yogurt. The distinction comes from its production: much of the whey is separated from the cultured milk, leaving a concentrated product with a thicker texture and more protein. Plain skyr can be quite tart, while supermarket versions are also sold sweetened or flavored with fruit, vanilla, and other additions.

Hákarl is the Icelandic food most often described as strange because of its powerful ammonia smell and lingering flavor. It is normally served as a few small cubes rather than a complete meal, so visitors can try it without ordering a large portion. Kæst skata, cured skate traditionally eaten on December 23, can be an even more intense experience, but it is highly seasonal and much harder for travelers to encounter. Neither dish represents what Icelanders eat from day to day.

Yes, Icelanders still eat fermented shark, or hákarl, but mostly as a traditional food for special occasions, particularly the midwinter Þorrablót feast. Some people enjoy it, while others rarely eat it at all. Fermented shark is much more closely tied to tradition and curiosity than to everyday meals.

Icelanders eat a varied modern diet, and there is no single everyday Icelandic menu. Breakfast might include bread, porridge, cereal, or skyr, while lunch is often a sandwich, soup, salad, leftovers, or a workplace meal. Dinner may feature fish or meat, but pasta, pizza, tacos, curries, burgers, and other international dishes are just as familiar in Icelandic homes. Older preserved foods are much more seasonal than this daily routine suggests.

Yes, Icelandic food is expensive, particularly in restaurants. Based on Reykjavík prices updated in July 2026, an inexpensive restaurant meal averages about 3,500 ISK (€24 or US$28), with a typical range of 2,200 to 5,000 ISK (€15 to €35 or US$18 to US$40). A fast-food combo averages about 3,250 ISK (€23 or US$26), while a three-course meal for two at a midrange restaurant averages about 15,000 ISK (€105 or US$120). A hot dog at Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur costs approximately 880 ISK (€6 or US$7). These conversions use July 2026 exchange rates of about 143 ISK to €1 and 125 ISK to US$1, so foreign currency amounts will fluctuate. Check the latest food prices in Iceland when planning your budget.

Yes, you can drink the tap water in Iceland. Use the cold tap for the freshest taste and refill a reusable bottle instead of buying bottled water. If the water initially feels warm or smells slightly sulfurous, let it run until it becomes properly cold, as a small amount of geothermal hot water may have remained in the tap or mixing fixture. The sulfur smell associated with Icelandic hot water is harmless and does not indicate that the cold drinking water is contaminated.