Iceland sure was photogenic; even during the "off-season", though I've read that Iceland is now facing the mixed blessing of too many tourists, which of course has its own share of problems (ask the guy who grew up in Hawaii about this). We didn't find things (other than our last two dinner restaurants) too crowded, people were very friendly, and the country is ruggedly beautiful.
We stopped the car a few times on the way back from Gullfoss................ look at the views!
We arrived back in Reykjavik, dropped by a little grocery store (Bonus), then headed back to the apartment. Relaxed a bit, showered, napped, got up, relaxed, showered, you get it, right?
From this point on, we'd basically be hoofing it around Reykjavik, and we walked to our dinner destination, Fiskmarkadurinn (The Fish Market).
I'd made reservations online and was glad I did as the place was really busy. In fact, we had a nice seat in lounge for about 20 minutes or so until a table opened up. One interesting thing about Iceland. There are coat racks....I mean pretty massive racks where everyone hangs their coats. It's really easy to forget where your coat is on the rack, so I made sure to put our coats in specific places.
In the comments of my first Iceland post, "KenB" asked about food and drink prices. Yes, things are fairly pricy. I'm list the prices for this meal, since it's one that I recall.
While waiting in the lounge we decided to have a few local beers. I noticed beer from Borg Brugghús on the list, so we decided to try two of them.
The Bríó Lager was quite nice, somewhat floral, clean tasting, somewhat creamy, and also 1.490 kr - $14.
I opted for the Hans Rauchbier, which had a nice smokiness to it, lightly hoppy, really good! 1.790 kr - $17.
After this we decided to lay off the drinks.
We finally got a table. Sitting we noticed folks were either getting sushi or the tasting menu. There's a bit of an Asian influences on some of the dishes here. We weren't super hungry and decided on ordering a la carte. As is the norm for us, we went with several starters and one main. Of course, things started with a fantastic moist rye bread and the amazing butter they have here in Iceland.
And a nice amuse.
The Fishmarket Lobster Soup (2,900 kr - $27.50)
The soup was prepared using coconut milk, so we had our doubts, but this was really good. The coconut milk gave the dish some rich-smoothness, the langoustine tail was perfectly cooked, so very tender and slightly sweet. Not a big fan of the mandarin oranges in this dish.
Next up was the Bitter Lemon Glazed Arctic Char (3,200 kr - $30).
I love the way they pickle items in Iceland; very crisp, very nice flavors. The artic char was moist and slightly buttery, the rye bread outstanding, the edamame puree interesting but not really adding to the dish.
Of course we had to try the Robata Grilled Minke Whale (2,800 kr - $26.50).
According to the Marine Institute of Iceland, there is a sustainable yearly catch number for Minke Whales. So I thought we should try this. Even though there was a good amount of horseradish grated on the soy and ginger glazed whale meat; I thought it was much too "livery" in flavor for me. The Missus, who loves liver really enjoyed this.
We noticed the main courses looked fairly large, so we decided to only order one; the Grilled Blue Ling (5,300 kr - $50).
We though the Hollandaise sauce actually detracted from the mild flavor of the perfectly grilled fish. There was a touch of smokiness, the fish was nicely seasoned and melted in your mouth. The bit of foie gras was a nice touch as it added a good deal of richness; though it over-powered the fish when eaten together. The smoked cheek of catfish was nice and crisp and added a nice textural counter-point.
This was a nice meal. The Missus enjoyed Herself so much; especially that Minke Whale, that She had me make reservations at the sister (brother) restaurant of the Fishmarket for the next night. In terms of prices, starters go for around $27-$35 and mains $50-$85, the tasting menu is about $115 per person without drinks. Service was very nice though the tables were quite close together.
Fiskmarkadurinn (The Fish Market)
Adalstraeti 12
Reykjavik 101, Iceland
interesting assortment of foods, glad they were done rather nicely since they are somewhat pricey.
Posted by: kat | Monday, 30 October 2017 at 10:05 PM
My wallet feels your pain, brother! Looks like Iceland is going further down on my list of places to visit someday......
Posted by: Kenneth Bonus | Tuesday, 31 October 2017 at 05:55 AM
We really enjoyed our meals in Reykjavik Kat!
Lol Ken! You wonder why so many folks love the hot dogs and pizza here, right? Still, we felt it was worth it. Though almost $7 a gallon of gas is kind of painful as well.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 31 October 2017 at 07:14 AM
What, $7! Yikes!
The landscape is so beautiful there.
Posted by: caninecologne | Tuesday, 31 October 2017 at 03:26 PM
Oh yes CC - http://www.globalpetrolprices.com/Iceland/gasoline_prices/
Iceland is quite stunning!
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 31 October 2017 at 03:52 PM