History
The Grapevine calls kjotsupa a meal Icelanders have eaten for centuries and one of the few traditional dishes still eaten regularly. It was once a special meal for Sundays or Christmas, early cooks thickened it with barley before rice and oats, and a pot keeps on the stove for days. Cafe Loki, across the street from Hallgrimskirkja, lists its Icelandic lamb meat soup at ISK 4,850 and says its lamb roams free during the summer.
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Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1kg lamb on the bone, shoulder or neck
- 2 onions, quartered
- 3 carrots, chunked
- 1 small swede, cubed
- 2 potatoes, cubed
- Handful of dried soup herbs or fresh thyme
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Put the lamb in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, skimming off any foam.
- Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt, then simmer gently for about an hour until the meat is tender.
- Add the carrot, swede and potato and simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes.
- Lift out the lamb, pull the meat from the bone, and return it to the pot.
- Add the herbs, season well, and simmer five more minutes before serving with rye bread.
Tip from the editors. The soup tastes better the next day; make it ahead and reheat gently for a deeper flavour.
Where to eat kjotsupa (icelandic lamb soup)
Kjotsupa (Icelandic lamb soup) in Reykjavik
Cafe Loki ★ 4.2
Café Loki is a restaurant across from Hallgrímskirkja serving Icelandic home-style food, with rye bread slices with mashed fish and rye bread ice cream.
Why locals goA family-run restaurant on two floors right across from Hallgrímskirkja, the most famous landmark in Reykjavik, cooking classic Icelandic home-style food.
TipThere are no table reservations, so it is first come, first served.
More places near Cafe Loki
Not on this list, but close by, nearest first. Every one is in our guide with its address, hours and what to order.
- Kol Restaurant Steakhouse, under 100 m away
- ROK Scandinavian, about 100 m away
- Cafe Babalu Café, about 200 m away
- Salka Valka Kitchen Casual dining, about 200 m away
- Snaps Bistro French Bistro, about 200 m away
- Krua Thai Thai, about 200 m away
More cities are in research. Want kjotsupa (icelandic lamb soup) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.