Where to sit, sip and slow down in Reykjavik.
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Reykjavik lingers in over a cortado.
Reykjavik Roasters on Karastigur is the city's specialty-coffee anchor, a snug 1929 house roasting its own beans and pulling careful espresso.
Signature drink: Single-origin filter
Tip: The original branch behind Skolavordustigur. There are sibling cafes on Brautarholt and Freyjugata too.
Mokka Kaffi on Skolavordustigur has been Reykjavik's oldest cafe since 1958, run by one family and famous for waffles with rhubarb jam and hot chocolate.
Signature drink: Hot chocolate and waffles
Tip: Little has changed since the 1950s, down to the espresso machine. Cash-friendly, no laptops culture.
Cafe Babalu on Skolavordustigur is a quirky two-floor Reykjavik living room of board games and books, pouring coffee with sandwiches, crepes and soups.
Signature drink: Coffee and crepes
Tip: Vegan-friendly plates and a sunny upstairs balcony. A cosy stop on the climb to Hallgrimskirkja.
Grai Kotturinn, the Grey Cat, on Hverfisgata is a tiny basement Reykjavik brunch room famous for the Truck, a plate of pancakes, bacon, eggs and potatoes.
Signature drink: Coffee and pancakes
Order: The Truck, the cafe's signature pile of pancakes, bacon, eggs and potatoes.
Tip: Just a handful of tables, so expect a queue at weekends. Breakfast and lunch only.
Cafe Loki faces Hallgrimskirkja from Lokastigur, a Reykjavik cafe built on traditional Icelandic plates of dark rye bread, mashed fish and rye ice cream.
Signature drink: Coffee and rye bread plates
Order: The Icelandic plate of rye bread with mashed fish, then rye-bread ice cream.
Tip: One of the easiest places to try traditional Icelandic food without a sit-down dinner. Walk-in only.
Stofan Cafe sits on Ingolfstorg square on Vesturgata, a Reykjavik living-room cafe of worn armchairs, cake and coffee that suits a slow afternoon downtown.
Signature drink: Coffee and cake
Tip: The name means living room and the upstairs sofas earn it. Good for a long sit with cake and wifi.
Kaffibrennslan works a historic Laugavegur house as a Reykjavik cafe by day and a relaxed bar by night, pouring coffee, cake and Icelandic beer.
Signature drink: Coffee and beer
Tip: The street-watching window seats on Laugavegur are the prize. Happy hour bridges cafe and bar.
Cafe Haiti on Geirsgata roasts beans flown in from Haiti on its own machine, a small Reykjavik harbour cafe pouring single-origin espresso since 2007.
Signature drink: House-roasted Haitian coffee
Tip: Roasts beans on site in the harbour cafe. Whole beans by the bag to take home.
Sandholt on Laugavegur is a 1920 family bakery and cafe in Reykjavik, where the all-day sourdough breakfast and pastry counter draw a main-street crowd.
Signature drink: Coffee and sourdough breakfast
Order: The sourdough breakfast plate, or a croissant straight from the bakery counter.
Tip: The cafe shares the room with the bakery, so the pastries could not be fresher. Open from 07:00.
Kaffi O-le on Laugavegur is a relaxed main-street Reykjavik cafe pouring espresso and flat whites with cake, a dependable mid-shopping coffee stop downtown.
Signature drink: Flat white
Tip: Right on the Laugavegur shopping strip, so it fills with browsers. Good for a quick caffeine break.
Kaffi Grandi is a daytime cafe in the Grandi harbour district inside FlyOver Iceland on Fiskislod, pouring espresso with croissants, bagels and pastries.
Signature drink: Americano and ham-and-cheese croissant
Tip: Card only, no cash. Open daily until early evening, handy before or after the FlyOver Iceland show.
The Brautarholt branch of Reykjavik Roasters doubles as the roastery, a larger and brighter Reykjavik room where you can watch beans roast while drinking.
Signature drink: Pour-over
Tip: Less touristy than the Karastigur original and with more table room. Whole beans for sale at the bar.
Deig near the Old Harbour on Tryggvagata pairs coffee with doughnuts, bagels and bagel sandwiches, a casual Reykjavik counter sharing space with Le Kock.
Signature drink: Coffee and doughnuts
Order: A doughnut or a loaded bagel sandwich with a strong coffee.
Tip: Shares premises with Le Kock and the Tail cocktail bar, so it runs late some nights. Counter service.
Kaffi Vest is a neighbourhood cafe in the western Vesturbaer district of Reykjavik on Melhagi, a local spot for brunch and coffee away from the centre.
Signature drink: Coffee and brunch
Tip: Out in residential Vesturbaer near the swimming pool, so it draws locals more than tourists.
Solon Bistro at the corner of Bankastraeti and Laugavegur is a downtown Reykjavik cafe-bistro of coffee, sandwiches and brunch, an all-day room at the heart.
Signature drink: Coffee and brunch
Tip: Brunch runs 11:00-16:00 daily. Cafe by day, bar later, a quick-stop central anchor.
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