Grandi means sourdough pizza and Omnom chocolate. Reykjavik Roasters on Kárastígur pulls the best single-origin filter in Iceland - worth the short walk from the harbor. After dark, Slippbarinn makes some of the best cocktails in Iceland while the North Atlantic wind howls against the windows.
15 addresses across restaurants, bars, and cafes - all in Grandi.
Best restaurants in Grandi.
Grandi eats like a working harbor that learned to cook. Grandagarður alone gives you Flatey's 60-second Neapolitan pies, Grandi Mathöll's stalls inside an old fish factory, and Matur og Drykkur turning saltfish-era recipes Michelin-worthy next door to the Saga Museum. Kaffivagninn has been feeding dockworkers since 1935, and still does.
Restaurant
Matur og Drykkur
$$$ · Restaurant
Michelin-listed restaurant inside a 1924 salt fish factory that also houses the Saga Museum, with a black-and-white photo of the old factory floor still hanging in the dining room. The ten-course tasting menu reinvents 19th-century Icelandic recipes - cod's head braised and glazed with berries, rye bread soup with ice cream.
Iceland's oldest continuously operating restaurant, started as a coffee wagon serving harbour fishermen in 1935 and still dockside at Gamla höfnin. The plokkfiskur and fresh catch come off the boats just outside, and the house-made cakes deserve your attention too.
Multi-vendor food hall in a renovated fish factory at Grandagarður 16, with seven to nine stalls covering everything from fresh Icelandic seafood to Korean and Indonesian plates. Industrial ceilings, communal tables, harbour light through big windows - this is how the old Fish Packing District eats now.
Sourdough Neapolitan pizza on Grandagarður, with organic dough proved 24 hours and fired at 500°C for about a minute. No reservations, concise menu, family-friendly - locals bring their kids, and the crust is legitimately great.
Northern Italian restaurant on the first floor of the Marshall House, run since 1993 by chef Leifur Kolbeinsson, who's credited with introducing fresh pasta to Icelanders. Handmade tagliatelle, veal Milanese, and harbour views over the working marina through high windows.
Grandi's bar scene runs on beer, not cocktails. ÆGIR 101 pours the brewery's own lineup straight from the source, and Slippbarinn holds down the harbor edge for anything stirred or shaken. The rest of the list sits downtown on Laugavegur and around - close enough to walk after a pizza on Grandagarður.
Drink
ÆGIR 101 Bar - Taproom
$$ · Bar
Taproom tied to the Ægir Brugghús brewery, pouring their Icelandic craft lineup on draft. Staff know what they're serving, and the crowd skews local rather than tourist.
Neighbourhood bar inside the Local 101 Hotel serving Icelandic-focused cocktails and small plates in a candlelit room. Not confirmed to be in Grandi proper, but the spirit is right - low-key, local-leaning, no fuss.
Over 200 bottles line this Laugavegur wine bar, focused on natural wines from small European producers with tapas plates to match. If you've been drinking craft beer all day at the harbour, this is a solid gear shift.
Craft beer bar with a rotating tap list of Icelandic and Scandinavian brews in a wood-paneled downtown room. Not technically in Grandi, but a reliable stop if you're after local micros and don't want to overthink it.
Widely credited as the birthplace of Reykjavík's cocktail culture, inside the Berjaya Marina Hotel right at the Old Harbour next to a still-functioning dry dock. The bar team makes all bitters, syrups, and liqueurs from scratch, and the large windows frame the marina perfectly.
Coffee in Grandi means the harbor outpost, not the Kárastígur original - Reykjavík Röst pours inside an 1800s baiting shed where fishermen once rigged their lines. For pastries on Grandagarður, Hygge handles the morning walk. The rest of the city's better cafés sit a short stroll east in 101.
Coffee
Plantan Kaffihús
$$ · Cafe
A 100% vegan café at Njálsgata 64 where everything is baked in-house, from cheese and jalapeño rolls to whatever else is on the day's board. Live plants everywhere, good specialty coffee, and technically outside Grandi - but close enough to mention.
Micro-bakery on the ground floor of Grandi by Center Hotels, turning out fresh pastries daily to anyone walking Grandagarður. The smell of cardamom buns pulls you through the door before you've decided you're stopping.
Reykjavík's defining specialty roaster, operating since 2008 out of a 1929 former skyr shop on Kárastígur. Single-origin pour-overs on Kalita Wave or AeroPress, beans from Kenya to Guatemala - not in Grandi, but worth knowing about.
Coffee house and bar set inside an original 1800s baiting shed at the Old Harbour, where fishermen once prepared hooks and lines. House-made pastries, smoked lamb sandwiches, and harbour views straight across to Esja on clear days.
All-day café-bistro in a former pharmacy that still has the original wooden shelves and marble counter, directly opposite Vesturbæjarlaug pool in Vesturbær. The signature burger with house-made chilli mayo is the neighbourhood's reliable constant.
For dinner at the harbour-front seafood spots and tasting-menu places, yes - book a day or two ahead in summer, longer for Friday and Saturday. Lunch and casual spots like the food hall and bakeries are walk-in. Sunday brunch fills up; reserve by Friday. Most restaurants take bookings online in English.
What's the tipping culture at restaurants in Iceland?
Service is included and wages are high, so a tip isn't expected, but for a good sit-down dinner rounding up or adding around 10 percent is an increasingly common gesture, and card terminals often prompt for it. Bars and cafes just get a round-up, and nothing is needed at the counter.
Are restaurants in Reykjavik cash-only or do they take cards?
Iceland is effectively cashless. Every restaurant, bar, food truck, and bakery in Grandi takes cards, and contactless via phone works everywhere. You can spend a full trip without touching an ISK note. Bring a card with no foreign transaction fees - prices are high and surcharges add up quickly.
What time do restaurants close in Grandi?
Kitchens in Grandi typically close earlier than central Reykjavik. Lunch spots wind down by 16:00, and most dinner restaurants take last orders between 21:00 and 22:00. The harbour area empties after dinner since it's largely industrial. For later eating or drinks, head back toward the main downtown strip about a 15-minute walk away.
Is there a dress code at restaurants and bars in Grandi?
None. Icelanders dress casually even at high-end tasting menus - jeans, sneakers, and a wool sweater are normal at the priciest seats in town. Bring a warm layer regardless of season since the harbour gets windy and many spaces have outdoor or semi-outdoor areas. Smart-casual is overdressing here.
Are there vegan or vegetarian options in Grandi?
Yes. Reykjavik has one of the highest per-capita vegan scenes in the Nordics, and Grandi reflects that. Most restaurants flag vegan dishes clearly on menus, and the area's food hall has dedicated plant-based stalls. Even seafood-focused kitchens keep at least one full vegan main. Bakeries usually offer vegan pastries and oat-milk coffee as standard.
Is tap water safe to drink in Reykjavik?
Tap water in Reykjavik is among the cleanest on earth - unfiltered glacial water, free, and better than anything bottled. Restaurants serve it on request at no charge. Don't buy bottled water; locals find it absurd. The faint sulfur smell in hot taps is from geothermal heating and harmless, but use the cold tap for drinking.
What's the late-night food scene in Grandi?
Limited. Grandi shuts down after dinner service, with few options past 22:00. For late-night food, walk or taxi to the downtown core where hot dog stands, pizza windows, and kebab shops run until 04:00 or later on weekends. The classic post-bar move is a pylsur with everything, available near the old harbour entrance.