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.
3 editor picks for Kleina (Icelandic doughnut) in Reykjavik, ranked by editorial score. All Reykjavik signature dishes · Kleina (Icelandic doughnut) across every city.
Bernhoftsbakari ★ 4.4
101 · Klapparstigur 3, 101 Reykjavik
Bernhoftsbakari, founded 1834, is Iceland's oldest business, a Reykjavik bakery now run by the fifth generation and stocked with snudur and kleinur.
Sandholt ★ 4.4
101 · Laugavegur 36, 101 Reykjavik
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.
Bjornsbakari ★ 3.9
101 · Hringbraut 35, 101 Reykjavik
Bjornsbakari on Hringbraut has baked since 1900, a long-running Reykjavik neighbourhood bakery turning out kleinur, snudur and daily bread for locals.