Kopar sits over the water at the Old Harbour on Geirsgata, a Reykjavik seafood room that leans on local langoustine and cod with vegan plates too.
Signature: Langoustine, Cod
Order: The langoustine, or the signature cod with whatever is in season.
Tip: Ask for a window table over the harbour. Lunch is the cheaper way into the same kitchen.
Kaffivagninn on Grandagardur has fed harbour workers since 1935, billed as Iceland's oldest restaurant, where the catch of the day is the meal in Reykjavik.
Signature: Catch of the day, Plokkfiskur
Order: The catch of the day, eaten where the fishermen themselves still eat.
Tip: Started as a coffee cart on the docks in 1935. Open from 08:00 for breakfast by the water.
Hofnin, The Harbour, fills a 1930s house on Geirsgata with family-run Icelandic seafood, a Reykjavik room for shellfish soup and plokkfiskur by the marina.
Signature: Shellfish soup, Plokkfiskur
Order: The shellfish soup, or plokkfiskur, the creamy Icelandic fish-and-potato stew.
Tip: Window tables look out on Mount Esja across the water. Popular, so book ahead in summer.
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: Five-course seafood menu
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.
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.
Tommi's Burger Joint, known locally as Bullan, grills no-nonsense cheeseburgers by the Old Harbour on Geirsgata, a Reykjavik name that went international.
Signature: Offer of the Day, Cheeseburger
Order: The Offer of the Day, a burger with fries and a drink in one set.
Tip: Founder Tommi Tomasson exported the brand to London and beyond. The harbour branch is the original feel.
Flatey Pizza at Grandi fires Neapolitan pies in a 500-degree oven on Grandagardur, San Marzano tomatoes on a soft, blistered base locals rank highly.
Signature: Margherita, San Marzano pizza
Order: A simple margherita to judge the dough, then branch out.
Tip: The Grandi room by the harbour is the original. There is a second outlet in the Hlemmur food hall.
Grandi Matholl on Grandagardur is a 2018 food hall in an old fish factory at the Old Harbour in Reykjavik, with seven counters of Icelandic seafood and global street food.
Signature: Mixed plates from multiple counters, Fresh seafood
Order: Sample plates across several counters, with seafood from Frystihusid for the local catch.
Tip: Casual harbour-side eating with industrial windows over the fishing fleet. Open daily 11:00 to 21:00.
Bryggjan Brugghus is a harbourside brewpub and bistro on Grandagardur, brewing its own beer in Reykjavik and pairing it with mussels and hearty bistro plates.
Signature: Mussels, Beer-paired plates
Order: A pot of mussels with a house-brewed beer alongside.
Tip: Live jazz some evenings and big windows onto the harbour. Brewery tours run on request.
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.
Kaffi Grandi is a daytime cafe in the Grandi harbour district inside FlyOver Iceland on Fiskislod, pouring espresso with croissants, bagels and pastries for a coffee break by the docks.
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.
Kaffibrugghusid is a Grandi micro-roastery on Fiskislod founded by Sonja Bjork Grant in 2014, roasting origin-led coffee and running barista classes.
Tip: A wholesale roastery rather than a cafe, open to the public on Wednesdays for beans and brewing kit.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia
How they serve: Whole bean retail, Espresso, Cupping classes
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.
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.
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.
Bryggjan Brugghus brews on the old harbour at Grandi, a Reykjavik microbrewery and bistro pairing its own tank beer with mussels and live music.
Tip: One of the few breweries actually brewing in Reykjavik proper. Brewery tours run on request between meals.
Grandi Matholl on Grandagardur is a harbourside Reykjavik food hall near Harpa, its stalls running from Korean and Nepalese to pizza and Icelandic plates.
Tip: Quieter than Hlemmur and good for groups who cannot agree on a cuisine. Right by the Old Harbour.
The Grandi harbour strip on Grandagardur is Reykjavik's open-air food cluster, where Valdis ice cream and the fish-and-chips truck draw a steady crowd.
Tip: Walk the strip from Valdis to the fish truck to graze. Best on a rare sunny Reykjavik afternoon.
Saegreifinn on Geirsgata serves its famous langoustine soup far cheaper than the restaurants, a budget taste of Icelandic shellfish at the Reykjavik harbour.
Try: Lobster soup
Tip: The soup with bread is a full meal for the price. Small and casual, with barrel seats.