Kleina appears as a signature dish in 1 Iceland cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Kleina (Icelandic doughnut) · Reykjavik
Kleina is a twisted, lightly spiced fried Icelandic doughnut, denser and less sweet than its American cousin. It is a traditional coffee-table treat sold in every Icelandic bakery.
The kleina arrived from Scandinavia and became a fixture of Icelandic baking by the 19th century, made at home for guests and holidays. The dough, flavoured with cardamom or lemon, is rolled, cut into diamonds, slit and twisted into its signature knot before frying. It is eaten plain with coffee, never iced. Reykjavik's oldest bakeries, Bernhoftsbakari among them, still turn them out daily as part of the traditional pastry counter.
Where to eat in Reykjavik:
- Bernhoftsbakari
- Bjornsbakari
- Sandholt