Fish Company is a seafood fine-dining restaurant in 101 Grandi, Reykjavik.
Fish Company, Fiskfelagid in Icelandic, cooks Reykjavik's most awarded seafood in the 1884 Zimsen house, a five-course menu of local fish landed that day.
Signature dishes: Five-course seafood menu
Must order: The five-course gourmet menu, which changes with the day's catch.
Tip: Voted the Grapevine's best seafood for over a decade. The downstairs room under the bridge is the one to book.
Address: Vesturgata 2a, Grofartorg, 101 Reykjavik
Matur og Drykkur revives old Icelandic recipes in a former salt-fish factory at Grandi, named for a classic cookbook and Michelin Guide listed in Reykjavik.
Signature: Cod head, Old Icelandic recipes
Order: The slow-cooked cod head, the dish that put the kitchen on the map.
Tip: It shares the building with the Saga Museum down at the old harbour. Open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner.
Grillmarkadurinn, the Grill Market, works fire and smoke over Icelandic produce on Austurstraeti, a reliable Reykjavik room for lamb and aged beef.
Signature: Dry-aged rib eye, Salted cod with lobster
Order: The dry-aged rib eye, or the Trip to the Countryside tasting if you want range.
Tip: Adventurous diners can find reindeer and whale on the menu. Dinner only from 17:30.
Fish Market, Fiskmarkadurinn, gives Icelandic seafood a Japanese turn on Adalstraeti in Reykjavik, with a sushi counter and robata grill that made its name.
Signature: Sushi, Robata-grilled fish
Order: The sushi, or the tasting menu that runs the grill and raw-bar both.
Tip: The upstairs Uppi wine bar pours from the same kitchen if you want a lighter sitting. Dinner from 17:00.
Apotek Kitchen + Bar fills the old first-pharmacy building on Austurstraeti in Reykjavik, cooking Icelandic-European small plates and an open Argentine grill.
Signature: Argentine-grill plates, Small plates
Order: The shareable small plates and anything off the open Argentine grill.
Tip: The happy hour at the long bar is one of downtown's better deals. Open from 11:30 for lunch.
Matur og Drykkur revives old Icelandic recipes in a former salt-fish factory at Grandi, named for a classic cookbook and Michelin Guide listed in Reykjavik.
Signature: Cod head, Old Icelandic recipes
Order: The slow-cooked cod head, the dish that put the kitchen on the map.
Tip: It shares the building with the Saga Museum down at the old harbour. Open Wednesday to Sunday for dinner.
Sumac Grill + Drinks brings North African and Lebanese flavours to Icelandic produce on Laugavegur in Reykjavik, the sister venue that hides the Ox counter.
Signature: Mezze, Charcoal-grilled meats
Order: The mezze spread and the charcoal-grilled lamb; share across the table.
Tip: Sister to the Michelin-starred Ox, which sits behind it. Cocktails here are among the city's best.
Dill on Laugavegur was Iceland's first Michelin-starred restaurant and still leads its New Nordic cooking with a foraging-driven tasting menu in Reykjavik.
Signature: Dung-smoked trout, Skyr and sunchoke
Order: Whatever the set tasting menu serves; the kitchen smokes, ferments and forages its own larder.
Tip: Founded by Gunnar Karl Gislason, Dill holds a Michelin Green Star too. It books out weeks ahead, so reserve early and take the wine pairing.