Reykjavík Region Restaurant Tips by yooperprof Top 5 Page for this destination

Oliver: More, please!

Restaurant and nightspot with an elegant feel. Oliver has an interesting and eclectic menu, and very pleasant waitstaff who go out of their way to make your experience here as pleasant as possible - even if you are a tourist!

I had an excellent bowl of lobster soup here - good hearty tomato-based broth, with chunks of lobster meat, crab, and shrimp floating around as well. I like my lobster in a soup - it means i don't have to come face to face with the critter! Served with a generous rich salad - with lots of rocket and arigula - this was a lighter meal but a very satisfying one.

Oliver has an elegant dining room in the back, but I enjoyed sitting in the front bar area and watching the elegant Reykjavik-ers as they enjoyed a quiet mid-week night-out. I'm told, however, that this place really become a magnet of club-hoppers on the weekends.

Address: Laugavegur 20A

Comparison: more expensive than average

Price: US$21-30

Rating: 4

Theme: Eclectic/International

Solon: A Wise Choice, from coffee to dining to nightlife

Reykjavik has a lot of places like Solon: establishments with multiple personalities, that is. In the daytime, it's a cafe with salads and soups. (I came in on one brisk afternoon when I absolutely needed a cup of warm broth to defrost my bones.) In the evening, there's a transformation to a chic dining spot. Then, later at night the lights dim further, the DJs start spinning, and the beautiful people of 101 turn out to sip their campari and soda.

I had a nice cup of fish soup here in the afternoon, but I don't think I can give a full restaurant review just on that! However, I can say that as with my other Iceland dining experiences, service was good, and the overall price was more or less what I would expect to pay in a big international city. Which Reykjavik is not, but the prices here are definitely big city across the spectrum.

Address: Bankastr?ti 7a

Comparison: about average

Directions: in the middle of the main drag

Price: US$11-20

Rating: 3

Theme: Eclectic/International

Apotek: Outstanding seafood, international style

This was not only the best restaurant I visited in Iceland, it was one of the top two or three restaurants I've visited _anywhere_ in recent years.

I usually like to try a different restaurant every night when I'm on a short holiday, but my first meal experience at Apotek was so good, and the menu so interesting, that I felt I _had_ to come back for a second night.

Apotek gives you two separate options, a somewhat informal cafe and a somewhat formal dining room. My first night here I ate in the cafe and ordered the "fish of the day," which was a reasonably priced (by Icelandic standards) grilled salmon in a leek sauce. It was just amazingly good, artfully presented in one of those architectural "towers" which restauranteers are so fond of these days. Honestly, I had not expected anything quite so wonderful on the "casual" side of the restaurant.

When I returned, I chose to sit in the more elegant dining hall, a beautiful salon with light colored wood and brass accents. One of the specialties of the house is the baked salt cod, prepared in a delicious saffron glaze. Another home run for Apotek. And sweetly decadent dessert: pear Napoleon - one of those concoctions with a bittersweet glaze, nicely paired with a glass of australian riesling.

Apotek is located in one of the landmark buildings of central Reykjavik, a former commercial landmark from the early 20th century. Tall, tall ceilings. I will definitely revisit Apotek on my next trip to the city.

(Kudos to the restauranteur, Gudvardur Gislason.)

Address: Austurstraeti 16

Comparison: more expensive than average

Directions: on the main street

Phone: 354-5757-900

Price: US$31-40

Rating: 5

Theme: Seafood

Website: http://www.veitingar.is

B5: Bistro that's a design classic

B5 is a spiffy place with elegant accoutrements near the very center of Reykjavik. It's name comes from its address: Bankastraeti 5. Looking inside from the street you might think this was some elegant private club, but it's public and quite friendly. I love the soft classic Scandinavian furniture, and the service was swift and professional. I came here twice during my short sojourn: free internet access is a big plus for me. If you'd like to come in just for coffee, that's fine too. One day I feel a little tired, so I sampled some of the local "styr" - something similar to a yoghurt, but smoother and more "set." With blueberries, it was as satisfying and surprising as this restaurant.

Address: Bankastraeti 5 (the main street)

Comparison: about average

Price: US$21-30

Rating: 5

Theme: Eclectic/International

The Restaurant at the Blue Lagoon: The Restaurant at the Blue Lagoon

After your silica bath, after your hot water immersion, after the mud packs and the waterfall massage, you might be a little peckish. I know that I was, and I needed a final good meal before facing the rigors of air travel. The restaurant at the Blue Lagoon offers good Icelandic cuisine in a setting which does justice to the spa, to its location, and the slight euphoric glow (tinged with some melancholy) that you might be feeling in your last hours in Iceland. It's a bit pricey but worth it, IMHO. I stuck with the seafood and was not disappointed: some tasty and perfectly cooked trout in a delicate almond sauce. You're not going to eat this well on the plane!

Comparison: more expensive than average

Price: US$21-30

Rating: 5

Theme: Seafood