Iceland Vegetarian and Vegan Food Guide
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Iceland has a name for itself for having expensive food and there is a pretty good chance you will get sticker shock. Cost aside, Iceland has some of the best vegan and vegetarian food I have had on my travels. Regular grocery stores stock vegetarian and sometimes vegan options and many restaurants have vegetarian options. I was surprised after hearing about some of Iceland’s traditional foods to come away with the opinion that Iceland is one of the best travel destinations for vegan or vegetarians.
While restaurant food definitely is more expensive than I am used to, I found grocery stores to not be that much more expensive than my usual groceries. The cost of restaurant food is just something that you have to mentally prepare for in advance. The good news is that the cost you see is what you will pay because you already have tax included and tipping is not necessary in Iceland. In fact, I suspect that the high cost of restaurant food is because of the higher cost of labour in Iceland.
I suggest starting your time in Iceland with a food tour in Reykjavik. While they can accommodate vegetarians, vegans unfortunately cannot eat most of the foods offered. The tour is a great option to get an idea of what vegetarian food is available in Iceland and to experience traditional Icelandic food.
Vegan and Vegetarian Food in Iceland
I found it to be surprisingly easy to find vegan and vegetarian food while traveling in Iceland. I was actually shocked by it because I was expecting it to be less common. Even grocery stores sell a couple of varieties of vegan sandwiches that will have vegan cheese on them. That doesn’t seem to be common in most of the places I’ve traveled or here in Toronto so I was pleased by that.
A lot of restaurants have a vegan or vegetarian option. Not even a bad, afterthought version of the food but a real option with thought put into it and vegan mayo, cheese, or other add-ons. Happily, it’s not just in the capital of Reykjavik. I found delicious vegan food in Vík and Hveragerði as well. While you may miss out on typical Icelandic dishes, the vegan food I had definitely had a unique Icelandic spin to it.
Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Reykjavik
There is never enough time on a vacation to try food from everywhere I want to and I was in Reykjavik for a very short time. Glo, Kruska, Kaffi Vinyl, C is for Cookie, and checking out Hlemmur Mathol were on my Reykjavik foodie wish-list. Kaffi Vinyl is top of my try list so next time I make it to Reykjavik, that will be where I’m heading for dinner. Hlemmur Mathol is a food hall in Reykjavik that has multiple vendors in it and it sounded like some really yummy options. I was trying to keep mains around 20-25$ so a lot of places did not make my list.
Núðluskálin, Reykjavik– Permanently Closed
Located in the main tourist area of Reykjavik, this noodle and soup restaurant was exactly what I wanted on a chilly evening. A cozy and casual restaurant, the soup on this menu is filling and a really great portion size. For protein, they have tofu as an option for their soups. They do also serve meat dishes here. There is one vegan dish on the menu but you can also have any of the dishes on the menu made vegan. You also can adjust the spiciness level you want in your dish. I had the Green Through vegetable soup which was absolutely delicious and exactly what I was looking for.
Vegan-Friendly: Yes
Hours: Mon-Fri 1130am-9pm, Sat 12pm-8pm
Location: Skólavörðustíg 8 – 101 Reykjavík
Price Point: All items 1950 ISK, kids menu is cheaper
Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Vik and Hveragerdi
Soup Company, Vík
The Soup Company is also the same location as the Icelandic Lava Show. A casual restaurant where they have several soups on offer. One vegetarian option of Creamy Mushroom soup and the vegan option of Indian Vegan soup. The vegan soup does vary but they always keep one vegan soup on the menu. I went with the Indian Vegan soup and it was delicious. I recommend this more as a lunch option than a dinner option as I found it to be a bit of a smaller serving than I was hoping for. They do offer up unlimited bread to go with it though. There are some paninis and a salad as well if you are looking for something more than soup.
Vegan-Friendly: Yes
Hours: Mon-Sun 12pm-9pm
Location: Víkurbraut 5, Vík
Price Point: 1390-1990 ISK
Website: Click here.
Smiðjan Brugghús, Vík
A brewpub right in the centre of Vík, Smiðjan Bbrugghús have a good variety of burgers on the menu, including a very yummy vegan burger. They also have ribs and pulled pork. The vegan burger here is a kale and quinoa patty topped with onion rings, garlic aioli, pickles, vegan cheddar, and tomatoes. Everything about it was good, including the bun they put it on. I highly recommend it. My only concern here would be the garlic aioli, it likely is vegan mayo but I didn’t ask so if you’re vegan you may want to double check. It came with a side of fries that were equally as delicious and I would stop in just to have those. I can’t comment on dessert as I was stuffed after eating the burger but peanut butter and porter chocolate mousse sound pretty yummy to me.
You can get a flight of four beers here to sample what they have on offer. The Gurken, Gurken, Gurken beer is seriously sour, fun to try but I could hardly drink more than two sips of it. You really need to like sour for it to work. The other three were really delicious, especially the Christmas beer on offer which had some kind of citrus flavour to it.
Vegan-Friendly: Yes *make sure the aioli is vegan
Hours: Sun-Sat 12pm-12am, kitchen open till 10 pm only.
Location: Sunnubraut 15, Vík
Price Point: Burgers: 2490-2990, Vegan burger 2590 ISK, Flight of Beer 1500 ISK
Website: Click here.
Ölverk Pizza & Brewery, Hveragerði
This was my favorite vegetarian restaurant I ate at in Iceland. I kind of hate that it’s in Iceland because I want it to be just down the block from where I live. Hveragerði is on the way to the Golden Circle and only 30mins from Reykjavik so it’s a great place to find vegetarian food on your travels in Iceland. If you can, stop in here. The pizza I had was delicious and had the best crust I’ve had in a while. If you’re vegetarian there are about five or more different pizzas on the menu that fit the bill. For vegans, there is one permanent vegan pizza on the menu. They also do up amazing smelling sweet potato waffle fries. It’s a very popular place so you may have to wait a couple minutes for a table but it is totally worth it.
I went for the pizza of the month, the Vegan Nacho Pizza. I didn’t know that I wanted nachos and pizza combined but it was amazing. Vegan cheese, vegan ground beef, peppers, nachos, pickled red onion, vegan sour cream, and cilantro. It was delicious and the toppings were so well thought out. Ölverk has all the regular pizza options on their menu and then more experimental varieties like the one that has banana slices as a topping. If you want to leave things up to chance, there’s even an option for a Chef’s choice pizza.
They brew beer here and the one I tried was delicious, it was the seasonal Christmas beer. You can also buy flights of beer to sample a variety or book a tour of their brewery.
Vegan-Friendly: Yes
Hours: Sun-Thurs 1130am-10pm, Fri-Sat 1130am-11pm, no new orders 1 hour prior to closing
Location: Breiðamörk 2, Hveragerði
Price Point: Pizza: 2100-3050 ISK, Flight of Ölverk Beers: 2700 ISK
Website: Click here.
How to Save Money on Food in Iceland
If you are staying places with a kitchen, it would be easy to eat on a budget by cooking for yourself. If you are staying places that have basic amenities like a kettle or a small fridge, you can at least get by having basic breakfasts of Skyr yogurt and having coffee or tea. Pastries are also cheap to buy from the grocery store for breakfast.
If you’re a vegetarian, try the Skyr! It’s so creamy and delicious. I was surprised to find out that the apple flavour was my favourite. The brand I bought had 16g of protein so it’s sure to fill you up for breakfast or a light lunch. It also came with a folded spoon so it was very travel-friendly.
I brought some snacks with me to Iceland including protein bars and cashews which helped out with lunch. Grocery stores in Iceland have a good selection of sandwiches and wraps, including vegan and vegetarian sandwiches, to help round out the lunch experience. I was surprised with how easy it was to find vegan groceries in Iceland. It makes spending the majority of your daily food budget on dinner a bit easier to swallow.
The biggest way I saved at restaurants was by skipping out on alcohol as it is very expensive. Water is free and a few places just had water jugs out that you could serve yourself. Soup is generally one of the cheapest things you can find on the menu, especially if it’s the vegan/vegetarian one.
Cost of Groceries in Iceland
Before heading to Iceland, I was sufficiently freaked out that the cost of groceries would be atrocious and just completely unaffordable. Depending on where you come from you will have more or less sticker shock. Toronto is pretty expensive for groceries so it was only a slight price increase for some items. Keeping in mind that almost everything has to be imported there and it makes sense.
To give you an idea of how much groceries cost, I’ve put together the price of items I bought at the grocery store. It’s basically snack food and breakfast. I most often shopped at Bonus, which had everything I needed and seems to be the budget option for Iceland. Cost is always in Icelandic Krona. At the time of writing, 100 ISK is about 1.08 Canadian, 0.81 USD or 0.72 Euro.
- Gatorade: 229
- Isey Skyr Yogurt (170g): 175
- Pringles: 249
- Vegan Sandwich: 379-419
- Licorice: 249
- Beer: 99-229
- Lays Chips: 198-299
- Clementines (about 1lb): 376
- Nutella (350g): 398
- Bananas (700g): 168
- Box of 20 Teabags: 398
- Crackers: 169
Food Experience in Iceland
Most restaurants I ate at you ordered and paid at the counter and then you sat down at your table. They would then bring the food to you. I’m a big fan of this system. It means when I’m hungry and tired, I get my food faster and can leave when I want without having to flag down a server to get my bill.
Overall, I felt like my daily cost of food in Iceland was not that far off from what I would normally spend in Europe because of having cheap lunches and breakfast and splurging on dinner costs. In addition, if you are in Iceland exploring the natural scenery, the cost is pretty low for parking so your low sightseeing costs can balance out the higher cost of restaurant meals.
I was also really happy with the quality of food in Iceland and generally impressed by the serving sizes. Vegan and vegetarian food was easy to find and is more substantial than just salads or pasta.
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Never thought about the food when thinking of visiting Iceland, but this sure be helpful as a vegetarian. Will definitely save this for later, thanks for sharing!
Iceland is mostly known for its beautiful scenery but they have great food too! Glad it will help you out as a vegetarian traveller 🙂
While I am not vegan, I am always looking to cut down meat/dairy from my diet. I find it SUPER overwhelming when heading to a new country, which is why I am so thankful for people like you who make guides! Saved for my future trip to iceland babe!
Figuring out food is one of the most stressful parts of my day when traveling! I’m glad you enjoyed the guide 🙂
Although I’m not a vegan, it’s good to know that Iceland has so many Vegan options. Plus, everything looks delish!
Everything was delicious, I was so impressed by Icelandic food!
As a vegan traveler, I am so grateful for this post! I think it is the first vegan Iceland guide I’ve seen. Thank you for this, it’s great!
You’re welcome! As a vegetarian food guides seem especially important so I have been trying to create them for locations I visit as what can I eat there is usually my first question about travel.
These look delicious! Iceland has such an interesting selection of delicacies, I’m glad they have vegan and vegetarian options as well!
They do have some interesting food choices there, and thankfully really yummy vegan ones!
I love this! I went to Iceland before I was vegan, but I also had a ‘nacho’ pizza, though mine was from Dominoes so it must be a thing 😛
I had never heard of nacho pizza before Iceland, I guess it’s a thing!
This is so good to see! I’d love to visit Iceland, but all the food I’ve heard about there is meat. The places you described here look delicious!
That’s what I had heard about before I left as well. A lot of posts that included hot dogs. The food options for vegans and vegetarians across Iceland were actually quite impressive.