Reykjavik recommendations

[superram]

Going to Iceland in half term with dh and dc12 and 9. Can you recommend some restaurants? We eat most things and although not poor we’d rather not pay through the nose-it’s going to be expensive enough….. we have a couple of tours booked but also looking for recommendations in or near to rekjavik in terms of things to do-we will have a car a couple of days. All advice gratefully received!

Bumping for the day crowd!

We really enjoyed a visit to the geysers & of course, Gulfross waterfall. Also enjoyed a fun night out at Lebowskis bar

With children we really like Flatey, a pizza restaurant in the Grandi area. Also Frederiksen which is close to Ingólfstorg downtown. It can be fun to go to the food halls - there is one in Grandi and one by Hlemmur, besides others in the suburbs.

Sægreifinn does nice lobster soup at lunchtime which is not too expensive for Iceland but some people don't like to go there because they also have minke whale on the menu, so it depends where you draw the line.

Hamborgarabúllan is a good place for burgers, but it's very small inside so can be hard to get seats if you want to eat there.

There is no getting around the fact that eating out in Reykjavík IS very expensive, though. I can't recommend anything cheap that is also an actual restaurant that is nice to sit in, rather than places like KFC.

Noodle Station was good!

Reykjavik is stunning, but quite small. I went a few years back with my then husband and I remember all the eateries were in a fairly small area, so it’s super easy to navigate. That said, it IS expensive in general but worth it. There were no chains there which is what I loved about it, but Google the famous hot dog stand they have there - they’re super cheap, delicious and from what I remember, they have photos of all manner of famous people from Barack Obama to Metallica who have tried their hotdogs. It was literally just a stand, but took care of lunch on the cheap a couple of days we were there. Enjoy!

Eat the lamb stew at the cafe at gulfoss. You wont regret it.

Don't eat pasta anywhere: it really isn't what the Icelanders excel at.

Saegrafinn-cheap and basic seafood (very limited menu), sky lagoon, blue lagoon, lots of awesome and cheap vietnamese places (like Thai), Askur (does a lunch buffet-outskirts of Reyk), kerid crater, northern lights tour (decent month to see them!), Gai restuarant (fusion sushi etc)

*Gaia

Le kock was delicious. Just a burger place but yummy and really reasonably priced. Lovely milkshakes too. X

There were no chains there

There are loads, most of them just aren't in 101. You can get Subway, KFC, Dominos, Ruby Tuesday - you can also get McDonald's except it is called Metro and Nandos except it is called Haninn.

If you don't mind about it being nice surroundings and can handle a fast food vibe, Smass/Stél on Ægisíða is another of our favourites, though we always get takeaway. They do burgers and fried chicken. Or you can get falafel and schwarma and stuff at Zorbian - that really is quite cheap.

Hraðlestin downtown does decent Indian food and has some good lunch deals.

Sorry to hijack would love to know if any vegetarians found nice food to eat in rejkyavik.

Not me but dh and ds are.

The restaurants down by the harbour are nice. All of them are expensive but good vegetarian options.

Svarta Kaffið - this place did the most amazing soup in a bread bowl (vegetarian options too).
I went back in 2011 but checked and they are still open.

For hot tub bathing , ice plunge pools and swim, we actually really enjoyed both the public baths in Reykjavik (Sundhölle and Laugardalslaug). Cheap and just wonderful

In Reykjavik we ate in a noodle place which I think was Krua Thai. Not massively expensive and choices for 3 vegetarians. Only DH had beer though.

We had a lovely lunch at Reykjavik Rost too, near the old harbour.

We ate in and took packed lunches for other meals.

In terms of trips, the Golden Circle is a must. Walking around Thingvellir, Geysir and Gullfoss is free except for parking if you drive there. There are lots of information boards in English so you can manage without a guide.

We stopped for great ice-cream on a farm between Geysir and Gullfoss.

Kerid Crater has an access charge but is lovely. You can walk around the rim and then around the lake at the bottom.

The Secret Lagoon is cheaper than Blue Lagoon and is a great end to the day. Literally a hot pool surrounded by grass!

If you don't want to rent a car then lots of companies do half or full day trips.

I would love to have done a whale watching boat trip but my family get seasick on a boating lake unfortunately.

We used Tröll for the excursions that we did and they were fab. And also a bit cheaper than other companies.

Horse riding! The icelandic horse is a unique breed and there will be options for beginners.id love to go back, been a long time. I just remember food being incredibly expensive.

The food in the service stations on the main roads is really good. The hot dogs are (apparently) legendary and there is always coffee/hot chocolate too.

I went to a cafe just opposite the church in Rejkavik - it's on the corner, can't remember what it's called. The lamb stew and fish stew are lovely there.

If you get a chance to drive further afield, the coast to the East is amazing. There's a black sand beach at Vik which is incredible, and the glacier near there is fab too. Your children would probably love a glacier walk! Further north the glacier at Jokulsarlon and the diamond beach near there are incredible. I spent more time out there than in the city.

The Blue Lagoon is touristy, but it's worth it.

I'd love to take my children there - I think they'd love it.

We did walk up the volcano that's erupting - it's incredible, the lava fields just bubbling away. I think it's just erupted again though and it's now closed. Go if you get a chance. It's amazing.

@Itsnotdeep

We did walk up the volcano that's erupting - it's incredible, the lava fields just bubbling away. I think it's just erupted again though and it's now closed. Go if you get a chance. It's amazing.

The eruption finished in October last year.

Oh I thought it erupted again recently, maybe it was another one!

We were there last year.

Thank you so much, some great recommendations. Weather might not be kind to us but at least we won’t starve!