Sandholt is a bakery in 101, Reykjavik.
Sandholt has baked on Laugavegur since 1920, a fourth-generation Reykjavik bakery whose long-fermented sourdough and croissants set the city's standard.
Tip: The all-day breakfast in the cafe section pairs the bread with eggs and cheese. Arrive early for croissants.
Address: Laugavegur 36, 101 Reykjavik
Braud and Co works a graffiti-painted house on Frakkastigur, a Reykjavik bakery whose warm cinnamon rolls and sourdough draw a near-constant queue.
Order: A cinnamon roll pulled warm from the oven; ask what just came out.
Tip: You can watch the bakers through the open kitchen. Multiple branches, but Frakkastigur is the original.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon roll
Bernhoftsbakari, founded 1834, is Iceland's oldest business, a Reykjavik bakery now run by the fifth generation and stocked with snudur and kleinur.
Order: A snudur, the Icelandic cinnamon bun, or a twisted kleina doughnut.
Tip: Iceland's oldest continuously operating business, on Klapparstigur. The traditional pastries are the draw.
Worth the queue: Snudur cinnamon bun
Deig near the Old Harbour on Tryggvagata is a Reykjavik bakery of doughnuts, bagels and bagel sandwiches, sharing its room with the Le Kock burger counter.
Order: A filled doughnut, or a bagel sandwich for a heartier breakfast.
Tip: Run by chef Markus Gudnason and open early. Good for a quick takeaway bagel near the harbour.
Worth the queue: Filled doughnut
Hygge on Baronsstigur is a small Danish-inspired micro-bakery in central Reykjavik, baking sourdough and laminated pastries from scratch with seasonal ingredients.
Tip: Opened 2022, with a sibling site at Seljavegur 2 by Grandi. Cardamom knots and filled croissants sell out by mid-morning.
Worth the queue: Cardamom knot
Bjornsbakari on Hringbraut has baked since 1900, a long-running Reykjavik neighbourhood bakery turning out kleinur, snudur and daily bread for locals.
Tip: More local than touristy, out toward Vesturbaer. Good for traditional pastries without the downtown queues.
Worth the queue: Kleina doughnut
Braud and Co works a graffiti-painted house on Frakkastigur, a Reykjavik bakery whose warm cinnamon rolls and sourdough draw a near-constant queue.
Order: A cinnamon roll pulled warm from the oven; ask what just came out.
Tip: You can watch the bakers through the open kitchen. Multiple branches, but Frakkastigur is the original.
Worth the queue: Cinnamon roll
Bernhoftsbakari, founded 1834, is Iceland's oldest business, a Reykjavik bakery now run by the fifth generation and stocked with snudur and kleinur.
Order: A snudur, the Icelandic cinnamon bun, or a twisted kleina doughnut.
Tip: Iceland's oldest continuously operating business, on Klapparstigur. The traditional pastries are the draw.
Worth the queue: Snudur cinnamon bun
Deig near the Old Harbour on Tryggvagata is a Reykjavik bakery of doughnuts, bagels and bagel sandwiches, sharing its room with the Le Kock burger counter.
Order: A filled doughnut, or a bagel sandwich for a heartier breakfast.
Tip: Run by chef Markus Gudnason and open early. Good for a quick takeaway bagel near the harbour.
Worth the queue: Filled doughnut
Brikk on Hateigsvegur near Hlemmur reinvents the Icelandic snudur in a Reykjavik bakery, with salt-caramel and Nutella versions plus sourdough sandwiches.
Order: A salt-caramel snudur, the bun that built the bakery's reputation.
Tip: Started in Hafnarfjordur in 2017 and grew from there. The over-the-top snudur are the signature.
Worth the queue: Salt-caramel snudur
Hygge on Baronsstigur is a small Danish-inspired micro-bakery in central Reykjavik, baking sourdough and laminated pastries from scratch with seasonal ingredients.
Tip: Opened 2022, with a sibling site at Seljavegur 2 by Grandi. Cardamom knots and filled croissants sell out by mid-morning.
Worth the queue: Cardamom knot
Bjornsbakari on Hringbraut has baked since 1900, a long-running Reykjavik neighbourhood bakery turning out kleinur, snudur and daily bread for locals.
Tip: More local than touristy, out toward Vesturbaer. Good for traditional pastries without the downtown queues.
Worth the queue: Kleina doughnut
