Iceland Series: Eating Vegan When Travelling in Rural Iceland

In my previous post, I explained how we started mapping out our trip to Iceland and also researched vegan-friendly restaurants. With this information easily displayed to us on a map, we were able to plan how and where we were going to eat while we were there.

Mushroom barley bowl from ​Silva Hráfæði

While some people might think it is more work to plan all of this out and is just one more reason not to be vegan, I actually really enjoyed it. Like I’ve said, this is my first trip that I’m planning out and after looking at pictures and reading blogs about people’s experiences in Iceland, I am only getting more and more excited about it. For me, researching restaurants now makes me even more excited and ready to visit.

During our travels, we tried to avoid eating at restaurants when we could. This proved to be sometimes necessary, since some of the places we visited didn’t have restaurants at all or if there weren’t restaurants, the vegan options were limited. We ended up staying at Airbnbs, all of which had kitchens, and this allowed us to buy food ahead of time and make our own food. Most of our food was sandwiches- Iceland actually had a lot of good vegan options at their grocery stores, including vegan mayo, cheese, and deli slices. We also got peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches for breakfast. In addition, we brought granola bars and snacks with us from home to supplement the food we bought in Iceland.

The only issue we had when travelling was on day that we planned to go to a restaurant near Myvatn. They had two vegan options on the menu, but once we got there, they were out of both items. In addition, they unfortunately weren't very accommodating, so we ended up going to a nearby grocery store. Despite this setback, the rural grocery store had fresh veggies, bread, and vegan cheese, allowing us to make delicious sandwiches. 

​The main issues we had while travelling were when we traveled outside of Reykjavik. There were few restaurants and these few restaurant had even fewer vegan options. However, we did still manage to find a number of restaurants that did offer vegan options. Below is a list of some of our favorite outside of Reykjavik:

Nut loaf with a mushroom sauce at ​Silva Hráfæði

​Silva Hráfæði (Northern Iceland)
This restaurant was located outside of Akureyrki in the northern part of Iceland. They are all vegetarian and tend to be on the healthier side. The food was delicious here and really was so flavorful. Plus it was a really cozy atmosphere. The restaurant was located in a building with breath-taking views. It overlooked a valley that was completely gorgeous. We adored this place.

Raw raspberry ice cream with compote and chocolate topping

​Hotel Anna (Southern Iceland)
We stopped here on our tour of the southern coast and found a delicious vegan entrée. It’s located just east of Seljalandsfoss off of 1. From what I remember, they had a mushroom loaf with a side of roasted vegetables and potatoes, the perfect hearty meal when visiting the windy southern coast. 

Skogafoss, just east of Hotel Anna

​Restaurant at Icelandair Hotel Klaustur (Southern Iceland)
This restaurant was located in Kirkjubæjarklaustur, an hour east of Vik. We ended up going here after a long day of glacier hiking, waterfall hiking, and a boat tour. The restaurant was located in the hotel and was very high class and expensive. Looking back, we probably would not have gone to it, but at the time, we were all very hungry and looking for any type of food. They had a vegan mushroom patty, which was labelled on the menu and actually pretty good. It is a great option if you’re looking for a nice dinner and don’t mind spending a good chunk of change on your meal.

Vegan bowl at Yellow in Selfoss

​Yellow (Southern Iceland)
Yellow in Selfoss (about an hour east of Reykjavik) was a surprise and great option for a meal. Their menu was a “build your own bowl” style and they had numerous options. My meal consisted of a vegan protein (nuts and chickpeas) with brown rice and green curry. It was so delicious and the perfect start to our day of hiking and exploring.