The fastest, cheapest, frequently best food on Reykjavik's streets.
Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in Reykjavik.
Baejarins Beztu Pylsur has sold Iceland's lamb hot dogs from a Tryggvagata kiosk since 1937, the most famous street-food window in Reykjavik by far.
Try: Icelandic lamb hot dog
Order: One with everything, eina med ollu, with raw and crispy onion, ketchup, mustard and remoulade.
Tip: Bill Clinton ordered his with mustard only in 2004, so that is now called a Clinton. Open very late.
Saegreifinn, the Sea Baron, on Geirsgata serves a langoustine soup many call the world's best, plus grilled fish skewers in a tiny harbour shack in Reykjavik.
Try: Lobster soup
Order: The langoustine soup with bread and Icelandic butter, the dish that made it famous.
Tip: Started in 2003 by a former fisherman. Communal benches and barrels for seats; cosy and very small.
Banh Mi at the Hlemmur food hall on Laugavegur 107 stuffs crisp baguettes with marinated proteins, pickled veg and herbs, a fast Vietnamese street counter in Reykjavik.
Try: Vietnamese banh mi sandwich
Order: A pork banh mi with extra chilli, eaten standing at the food-hall tables.
Tip: Inside Hlemmur Matholl, the old bus terminal turned food hall. Quick, cheap, takeaway-friendly.
Lobster Hut is a food cart on Kalkofnsvegur near Harpa, serving Icelandic langoustine sandwiches, soup and salad far cheaper than a sit-down Reykjavik room.
Try: Lobster sandwich and soup
Order: The lobster sandwich, loaded with Icelandic langoustine for far less than a restaurant.
Tip: A summer operation that may close in bad weather. Cheap fresh langoustine, eaten standing by the harbour.
Fish and Chips Vagninn is a red food truck at Vesturbugt harbour on Grandagardur, frying super-fresh Icelandic cod and chips British-style in Reykjavik.
Try: Cod and chips
Order: Cod and chips, made from fish landed only hours earlier by the family's own boats.
Tip: Run by a fishing family with their own vessels, so the cod could not be fresher. Eat it by the water.
Voffluvagninn is a bright yellow waffle wagon parked near Hallgrimskirkja, serving warm waffles with sugar, chocolate and cream as a Reykjavik street snack.
Try: Waffles with cream
Order: A waffle with jam and whipped cream, eaten on the steps below the church.
Tip: A seasonal cart that parks by Hallgrimskirkja in good weather. A cheap sweet stop between the sights.
Valdis at Grandi on Grandagardur scoops some of Reykjavik's most inventive ice cream, with over four hundred flavours tried since 2013, from rye to liquorice.
Try: Icelandic ice cream
Order: Ask for the rye-bread or liquorice scoop, two flavours that taste like Iceland.
Tip: Queues out the door on summer evenings despite the cold climate. Cash or card both fine, no seating.
Hamborgarafabrikkan, the Hamburger Factory, on Katrinartun is an Icelandic gourmet-burger chain whose fish and chips and burgers feed Reykjavik families.
Try: Gourmet burgers and fish and chips
Order: A loaded gourmet burger, or the fish and chips if you want a break from beef.
Tip: Family-friendly and roomy, in the Turninn tower north of the centre. Larger groups fit easily here.
Mandi on Ingolfstorg square is the city's busiest shawarma window, a halal Reykjavik street-food counter wrapping kebab and falafel late into the night.
Try: Shawarma and falafel
Order: A chicken shawarma wrap, dripping with garlic sauce, eaten on the square.
Tip: Fully halal and open late, so it catches the after-bar crowd. The falafel covers the vegetarians.
Hlollabatar has filled hot Icelandic subs since 1986, a Reykjavik sandwich window whose loaded baguettes feed the late-night and lunchtime crowds.
Try: Hot subs
Order: The New York sub, the house favourite, hot off the press.
Tip: The original Reykjavik sub shop, copied many times since. Several branches, some open very late.
Hallo Xin Chao at Hlemmur Matholl on Laugavegur cooks Vietnamese street food and pho from a counter in the old bus terminal, a fast Reykjavik stop near the Hlemmur transit hub.
Try: Vietnamese street food and pho
Order: A bowl of pho or a banh mi, the two house counters that locals queue for.
Tip: Inside Hlemmur Matholl food hall, so plenty of shared seating around. Open daily until 21:00.
Deig near the Old Harbour on Tryggvagata sells doughnuts and bagel sandwiches from a fast counter, a Reykjavik stop sharing space with Le Kock burgers.
Try: Doughnuts and bagels
Order: A filled doughnut, or a loaded bagel sandwich for breakfast on the move.
Tip: Open early for a takeaway bagel before the harbour. Shares the building with Le Kock and the Tail bar.