Food History of Reykjavik

Key eras

Settlement and the medieval larder, 870 to 1500

Norse settlers arrived around 870 with sheep, cattle and a need to survive long winters. With little grain and no easy refrigeration, Icelanders preserved everything: lamb was smoked or salted, shark and skate were fermented, whey soured dairy into skyr, and fish was wind-dried into hardfiskur. These techniques, born of scarcity, still define the traditional table.

Centuries of hardship under foreign rule, 1500 to 1900

Under Danish trade monopolies and a harsh climate, the Icelandic diet stayed narrow for centuries: fish, lamb, dairy and rye were the constants, with fresh vegetables a rarity. Bread was scarce enough that rugbraud, dense dark rye, was sometimes baked slowly in geothermal ground. The midwinter Thorrablot feast preserved the old fermented and smoked foods as a point of pride rather than mere necessity.

Independence, cod and modern abundance, 1900 to 2000

The twentieth century brought independence in 1944 and a fishing boom that made cod and haddock the backbone of the economy. Refrigeration, imports and rising incomes widened the diet, while geothermal greenhouses began growing tomatoes and cucumbers. The first proper restaurants and the 1937 Baejarins Beztu hot dog stand marked a slow shift from pure survival cooking to eating for pleasure.

New Nordic and the Michelin era, 2000 to today

In the 2000s a new generation of chefs, led by Dill, reframed Icelandic ingredients through the New Nordic lens of foraging, fermentation and local sourcing. Iceland joined the Michelin Guide Nordic Countries in 2017, and Dill, Ox and Moss have since held stars. A wave of natural-wine bars, craft breweries and food halls has turned Reykjavik from a stopover into a genuine food destination.

Immigrant influences

• Danish: Centuries of Danish rule left pastries like vinarbraud and snudur, the smorrebrod open-sandwich habit and a love of strong coffee that still shapes Reykjavik cafes.
• Thai and Vietnamese: Southeast Asian families opened the noodle shops and Thai kitchens that now give Reykjavik its cheapest reliable hot meals, from Noodle Station to Ban Thai.
• South Asian (Pakistani and Indian): Pakistani and Indian families brought halal curry houses and tandoor cooking, from long-running Austur-Indiafjelagid to Shalimar and the dosa kitchen Hradlestin.
• Middle Eastern: More recent Middle Eastern arrivals opened the shawarma and falafel counters such as Mandi that feed the late-night and budget crowds around downtown.

Signature innovations

• Fermented shark (hakarl), curing Greenland shark safe to eat
• Skyr, an ancient cultured dairy now exported worldwide
• Rugbraud baked in geothermal ground, the thunder bread
• The Icelandic lamb hot dog, eaten with everything
• New Nordic cooking that put Iceland on the Michelin map