Updated in May 2025 to reflect meal prices in Iceland in 2025.
Part of many travellers’ planning before coming to Iceland is to estimate the cost of the trip, including how much they can expect to pay for meals during their stay. We took a look at meal prices in Iceland, mainly focusing on some of the most popular restaurants and fast food places but also briefly covering options from the grocery stores.
The Cost of a Meal in Iceland
How much can you expect to pay for eating out in Iceland? Let’s start by looking at the price range for eating out at restaurants in Reykjavík. Many restaurants will have lunch offers and generally it will be more expensive to eat out for dinner.
Fast Food
The most basic and classic fast food in Iceland is a hot dog and the most popular hot dog place is called Bæjarins Beztu, located downtown Reykjavík. The most common version is ein með öllu referring to “a hot dog with everything” (where everything means ketchup, mustard, remoulade, raw onion and fried onions. The price of ein með öllu in May 2025 is 820 ISK. One hot dog is hardly a meal though, so some people take two if they want to get full.
Another widely popular fast food in Iceland is from the Syrian restaurant Mandi. One of the best items on their menu is lamb shawarma, which now costs 2090 ISK. Drinks cost 250-550 ISK except tap water, which is always free of charge.
Subway has been popular in Iceland since it first opened in 1994. The price of a Subway sandwich (6 inch) is on average around 1529 while a 12 inch sandwich will cost 2349 ISK on average. “Meal of the day” offers have lower prices on selected sandwiches and include a drink, 6 inch meal of the day costs 1699 ISK and a 12 inch sandwich meal costs 2499 ISK.
KFC meals cost between 2399 ISK for a Zinger Twister meal to 2499 ISK for a Bacon Tower burger meal. KFC has several offers, including a family pack for four costing 7399 ISK including eight bits of chicken, fries, hot brown sauce, cocktail sauce, coleslaw and 2 L of soda.
Domino’s Pizza is the most popular fast food in Iceland and has branches around the country. Their most popular pizza (Domino’s Extra) costs 2390 ISK for a small one and 3890 ISK for a medium sized. A soda with it costs 420 ISK for half a litre or 580 ISK for 2 L. There are various offers there, 2 for 1 being the most popular but that requires buying breadsticks with the order.
Casual Dining
The food halls are somewhere in between fast food and casual dining. In Pósthús Food Hall & Bar, you can get a main course for around 3490 ISK, e.g. sushi poké bowl.
Forréttabarinn offers a range of appetisers and desserts of various sizes and is among the most popular restaurants in Reykjavík. The menu consists of fresh local ingredients with South European influence. It also includes a range of vegetarian dishes and a choice of four-course set meals. Classic appetisers cost 2250 ISK, e.g. a langoustine soup with bread, a crispy duck wrap and chicken quesadillas. Grand appetisers cost 3550 ISK including fish of the day, lamb ribeye and grilled horse fillet. For drinks, small beers on tap cost 1200 ISK and large ones (half litre) 1600 ISK.
Kopar by the old harbour in Reykjavík combines old Icelandic traditions with modern cuisine. Main courses cost from 4990 ISK for fish of the day to 9790 ISK for black angus rib eye (250 g).
Salka Valka is a small and cosy restaurant in Skólavörðustígur (rainbow street) which offers main courses for 2700 ISK for a soup with fish or vegetables & bread to 5350 ISK for a lamb shank.
Jörgensen Kitchen & Bar is located across the street from Hlemmur Food Hall. It has fish of the day for 4690 ISK and Icelandic lamb sirloin for 6490 ISK.
Snaps Bistro is one of the best restaurants in Reykjavík and famous for their fish of the day and friendly atmosphere. Fish of the day costs 5490 ISK and a beef ribeye 250 g is available for 7870 ISK.
Fine Dining
Fiskmarkaðurinn or the Fish Market has their specials from 7190 ISK for vegetable spring rolls to 8790 ISK for fish gourmet.
Grillmarkaðurinn offers main courses like lightly salted cod for 6990 ISK and beef tenderloin for 9690 ISK.
Apótek has fish of the day with soup of the day for 4890 ISK and rib-eye danish crown for 10490 ISK. Their lunch offer is two courses for 7990 ISK and three courses for 8990 ISK.
Geiri Smart has grilled arctic char for 5890 ISK and beef tenderloin for 8590 ISK.
Traditional Icelandic Cuisine
Do not get fooled by the name of Íslenski barinn or the Icelandic bar, because it is a lot more than a bar. They have a simple menu and their fish of the day is usually one of the best you can get in the city for 4150 ISK. If you are feeling more traditional Icelandic, you can get a singed sheep’s head for 3950 ISK or a slow cooked lamb shank with mashed potatoes, green ORA peas, caramelised red cabbage, rhubarb jam & gravy for 5150 ISK.
Café Loki specialises in classic home style Icelandic cuisine, including the Icelandic lamb meat soup for 4750 ISK and Icelandic plate Loki for 5400 ISK.
In the supermarkets of Iceland, you can find various traditional food items from the Icelandic Cuisine, including fish stew (Gríms plokkfiskur) in Krónan for 828 ISK.
Restaurants Outside the Capital
So far, we have been focusing on restaurants in Reykjavík. What about restaurants in the rest of Iceland? Let’s take a look at a few restaurants outside the capital area, one for each region.
Nielsen is located in Egilsstaðir in East Iceland and I have never got a better meal in an Icelandic restaurant than I got there in 2021, a tasting menu of five or six courses, made from local ingredients including reindeer. Their three course menu is listed for 8490 ISK when this is written.
Suður-Vík is located in the town of Vík in South Iceland, close to Reynisfjara (the Black Sand Beach). Main courses include a fillet of lamb for 6290 ISK. The Suður-Vík burger with fries is available for 4190 ISK.
Rub23 is a sefood restaurant in Akureyri in the north and has a mixed seafood plate for 8640 ISK.
Krauma geothermal baths in West Iceland have a restaurant where you can get an Icelandic lamb duo for 6990 ISK, Icelandic salmon for 5490 ISK and broccoli steak (vegan) for 4300 ISK.
Hótel Heydalur in the Westfjords has the most remote restaurant we cover here, located in an old barn 130 km from Ísafjörður and around 330 km from Reykjavík. They have the house burger (Heydal’s burger) for 3000 ISK served with rosemary potatoes. Lamb fillet with wild mushroom sauce is available for 6000 ISK. I can recommend the Heydal’s burger, it was a positive surprise.
Offers and Discounts
As mentioned earlier, many restaurants have lunch offers, including Apótek in the fine dining category with their two course lunch offer for 7990 ISK.
In the fast food category, Subway has their meal of the day with a 6 inch sandwich for 1699 ISK and 2499 ISK for a 12 inch sandwich.
If you want to get a meal in Iceland for the lowest possible price, head to the next supermarket, ideally Bónus or Krónan as they have the lowest prices and most branches. In Krónan, you can get fish stew for 828 ISK.
There was a Facebook discussion in 2023 among tourists in Iceland about sandwiches and wraps from the supermarkets, that many of them seem to like. It surprised me as a local, because I’ve grown tired of these sandwiches long time ago and have heard the same from many other Icelanders. But I can imagine there is a big difference in trying them for the first time and having had them regularly since childhood. The long sandwiches (langlokur) are available with various tastes, e.g. egg and ham, chicken and bacon or ham and cheese. They are convenient to grab in the car or to put in the backpack for a hike. The price for a long sandwich from Sómi in Krónan is 799 ISK.
- What’s On in Iceland Facebook group where you can ask locals and other travellers anything regarding Iceland
Conclusion
Now you hopefully have a clearer idea of what you can expect to pay for a meal in Iceland, depending on your preferences. To sum up, here is what we found out from looking at the restaurants mentioned above:
- The cheapest fast food item we covered is a hot dog from Bæjarins Beztu for 820 ISK. That is unlikely to get you full if you are hungry though, but a lamb shawarma from Mandi should and costs 2090 ISK
- In the casual dining category, you could for example get a sushi poke bowl at Pósthús Food Hall & Bar for 3490 ISK or fish of the day at Snaps for 5490 ISK
- In the fine dining category, you could get a rib-eye Danish crown for 10490 ISK at Apótek or beef tenderloin at Grillmarkaðurinn for 9690 ISK
- If you are looking for traditional Icelandic food, you could head to Íslenski barinn and get a singed sheep’s head for 3950 ISK or to Café Loki to get Icelandic lamb meat soup for 4750 ISK
- Fish of the day is usually a safe choice in restaurants in Iceland and Íslenski barinn never fails with theirs for 4150 ISK
- If you want to pay less for the meal than in the restaurants, head to local supermarkets, where you could get e.g. a fish stew (Gríms plokkfiskur) for 828 ISK in Krónan
Related:
- How Much is Food in Iceland?
- How Much is a Beer in Iceland?
- Supermarkets in Reykjavík and Around Iceland
- Prices in Iceland
Get familiar with food in Iceland by joining a guided tour:
